Developed comprehensive lab environments for CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-006) certification preparation. This project involved
modernizing severely outdated lab infrastructure, designing 31 hands-on labs across all exam domains, and deploying
the complete environment within the NETLAB+ ecosystem on Proxmox virtualization.
The existing lab environment was built for a deprecated certification exam using end-of-life operating systems. The original labs relied heavily on CentOS, which in December 2020 shifted from being a downstream RHEL clone to CentOS Stream—an upstream development branch. This broke the traditional "free RHEL" model that many organizations depended on. Rocky Linux emerged as the community-driven successor, founded by CentOS co-founder Gregory Kurtzer to fill this gap as the de facto free RHEL clone:
LX0-101/102 Linux+ Powered by LPI
CentOS 6.3 EOL 2020
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS EOL 2017
Fedora 17 EOL 2013
XK0-006 Linux+ V8 (Current)
Rocky Linux Server Current
Fedora Workstation Current
Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS Current
Ubuntu Desktop Latest Current
Labs are deployed via NDG NETLAB+ using virtualized pods on Proxmox infrastructure:
INFRASTRUCTURE 🖥️ Proxmox VE Virtualization Host MANAGEMENT ⚙️ NETLAB+ Server Lab Orchestration ↔
POD TOPOLOGY 🐧 Rocky Linux Server
🎩 Fedora Workstation
🟠 Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS
🟠 Ubuntu Desktop Workstation
Internal Management LAN
STUDENTS 👨💻 Remote Console
📚 Lab Guides
🔄 Snapshot Reset
The 31 labs provide comprehensive coverage across all five CompTIA Linux+ exam domains:
Services & User Management 31 labs organized into four progressive phases:
1-01 Installation (Rocky, Ubuntu Desktop, Ubuntu Server) 1.11.21.31.43.3
1-02 Hardware Information (lspci, lsusb, dmidecode) 1.25.1
1-03 Storage & Partitions (LVM, RAID, fdisk) 1.15.2
1-04 Boot Process & GRUB2 1.23.35.2
1-05 Shell Navigation & BASH Basics 1.52.25.1
1-06 BASH Features & Customization 1.54.2
1-07 Process Monitoring (ps, top, kill) 1.32.35.15.5
1-08 Permissions & Ownership (chmod, ACLs) 2.23.35.4
1-09 Text Editing (vi/vim) 1.52.24.2
1-10 Package Management (dnf, apt, rpm) 1.32.33.6
1-11 Text Processing (grep, sed, awk) 1.54.2
1-12 User & Group Management 2.13.45.4
1-13 System Time & NTP (chrony) 1.32.45.4
1-14 System Logging (journalctl, rsyslog) 1.32.43.15.1
1-15 Job Scheduling (cron, at) 2.33.34.1
1-16 Locale & Internationalization 1.3
1-17 Network Configuration (ip, nmcli) 1.45.3
1-18 Firewalls (firewalld) 3.25.3
1-19 SSH Configuration & Hardening 1.43.13.33.5
1-20 Encryption (GPG) 3.5
1-21 Firewalls (UFW & iptables) 3.25.3
1-22 BASH Scripting Fundamentals 1.54.2
1-23 Database Management (MariaDB) 1.32.45.1
1-24 SELinux & AppArmor 3.13.35.4
1-25 Containers (Podman) 1.72.65.1
1-26 Version Control (Git) 4.4
1-27 Backup & Recovery (tar, rsync) 1.63.65.2
1-28 Performance Tuning (sar, vmstat) 1.35.15.5
1-30 Ansible Automation 1.34.1
1-31 Desktop Environment 1.3
Creating a custom lab pod in NETLAB+ follows a structured workflow:
🖥️
1
Prepare VMs Deploy and configure VMs on Proxmox host
📸
2
Create Snapshots Golden_Master snapshot for each VM
🎨
3
Pod Designer Define pod structure in NETLAB+
🎯
4
Set Hotspots Map topology image to devices
✅
5
Commit Build Lock and finalize pod design (NLX)
📋
6
Clone Pods Replicate master to student pods
The NLX file acts as "source code" for the pod, containing all VM definitions, network connections, and topology visuals. Can be exported, backed up, and shared between systems.
Each VM requires a "Golden_Master" snapshot serving as the foundation for cloning. Students can reset to this state at any time during labs.
Interactive rectangular areas placed over device icons in the topology image. Clicking opens the VM console for that specific device.
Linked: Share virtual disks with parent (faster, storage efficient). Full: Independent copies (isolated, more storage).
VMs connect via internal management LAN. Static MAC addresses persist during cloning for consistent network identity.
Separate from Pod Designer. Creates specific exercises targeting the pod, attaches PDF instructions and preset configurations.
System Administration
Boot Process GRUB2 LVM RAID Partitioning Package Managers systemd Logging
Shell & Scripting
BASH vi/vim grep sed awk Regular Expressions Python Ansible
Networking & Security
SSH firewalld UFW iptables SELinux AppArmor GPG NTP/chrony
Modern Technologies
Podman Containers Git MariaDB Performance Tuning Backup/Recovery
Labs deployed and in active use - ✓ Upgraded from deprecated LX0-101/102 to current XK0-006
- ✓ Replaced EOL CentOS 6.3, Ubuntu 12.04, Fedora 17
- ✓ Deployed Rocky Linux, Fedora, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
- ✓ Created 31 comprehensive hands-on labs
- ✓ 100% coverage of all 5 exam domains
- ✓ Custom pod design deployed to NETLAB+ on Proxmox
- ✓ Lab documentation and instructor guides completed
- ✓ Student pods cloned and accessible