Home Lab Infrastructure, IT Support & Network Technician
Documenting my path from hands‑on learner to IT professional — one lab, one commit, one system at a time.
Welcome! I’m Aliyah, an aspiring Cloud Engineer based in the Philadelphia area. I balance overnight shifts, evening classes, and a growing homelab where I break things on purpose and document how I fix them. This GitHub is my living portfolio: real labs, real troubleshooting, real growth.
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🎓 Certifications
CompTIA Tech+ ✅ | A+ Core 1 🎯 | A+ Core 2 🎯 | Network+ 🎯 | CCNA 🎯 | Security+ 🎯
🚀 What I’m Working On
- Building a VM-heavy homelab (Windows, Linux, AD, networking labs)
- Studying for CompTIA A+, Network+, and Cisco CCNA
- Creating documentation with clear steps, screenshots, and configs
- Developing repeatable templates for IT workflows and systems
- Strengthening fundamentals in hardware, virtualization, networking, and system administration
🧰 Tech Stack & Tools
| Category | Tools |
|---|---|
| Virtualization | VirtualBox |
| Operating Systems | Windows 10/11, Ubuntu |
| Networking | Cisco Packet Tracer |
| Scripting | PowerShell, Bash |
| Version Control | Git & GitHub |
| Homelab Hardware | ThinkPad T480 |
🏗️ Projects
| Project | Domain | Tools | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| VM Homelab Setup | Virtualization | VirtualBox, Ubuntu, Windows 11 | ✅ Completed |
| SOHO Network Diagram | Networking | draw.io | 🔄 In progress |
| Malware Removal SOP | Security | Markdown | ⏳ Upcoming |
| Subnet Calculator | IP Addressing | Python | ⏳ Upcoming |
| Wireshark Captures | Troubleshooting | Wireshark | ⏳ Upcoming |
⏳ Upcoming Projects
🔹 Active Directory Home Lab
A full AD environment built from scratch, including domain setup, user provisioning, GPOs, and troubleshooting logs.
Skills: Windows Server, DNS, DHCP, virtualization, documentation.
🔹 Linux Administration Labs
User management, permissions, services, networking, and automation with Bash.
Skills: Linux fundamentals, CLI workflows, system hardening.
🔹 Networking Fundamentals (Packet Tracer)
Subnetting, VLANs, routing, switching, and topology design.
Skills: CCNA-aligned networking concepts.