OpenDNS

Online Resources:

• OpenDNS - Sign-Up page
• Fortinet - Explanation of the seven layers of the OSI model
• Cisco - Pete Johnson - An OSI Model for Cloud

The Domain Name System (or simply DNS) is a part of the application layer, or layer 7 of the OSI model. It deals with translating domain names into IP addresses (think www.google.com → 64.233.160.0) which allows devices to connect to websites and other resources. OpenDNS provides an alternative DNS resolution serivce to end users that is faster and more reliable than typical DNS services given by Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

On top of DNS resolution, other services offered by OpenDNS include content filtering and security tools that can defend devices on your network against malware, phishing scams, and Roblox - sorry kids! Administrators of the account can alter these features to meet their own needs. Filtering can be done manually or by keywords such as porn, alcohol, drugs, etc.

The home version of OpenDNS is available at no-cost. It is a fun personal project you can do to help speed up and protect your home network. The OpenDNS enterprise security products have recently been rebranded to Cisco Umbrella, which you can get some exposure to when using this service.

Click here to view my wiki detailing steps on setting up OpenDNS on a home network.

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Azure for Students

Online Resources:

• Azure - Student Sign-Up
• Azure - Full documentation
• Microsoft Learn - Azure Fundamentals

Azure for Students is an excellent resource for students new to cloud technology because it offers FREE access to a wide range of industry-standard servicves, provides practical experience, and comes with a wealth of learning resources and support. This program can be a stepping stone for students looking to build a solid foundation in cloud computing and advance their skills in a rapidly growing field.

Some of the reasons that I chose Azure:

□ Free Access: Azure for Students provides a credit balance that can be used to explorer and experiment with various Azure services. This means students can try out different features and functionalities without incurring any costs.

□ Real-World Experience: Offers a practical, hands-on approach to learning. Can be used to create, deploy, and manage applications, databases, virutal machines, and more. This real-world experience is invaluable for understanding

□ Industry Standard: Azure is one of the leading cloud platforms in the industry, alongside other major players like AWS or Google Cloud. Familiarity with Azure can be a valuable skill in the job market, as many companies use or plan to use Azure for their cloud infrastructure. Also, Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory administration.

□ Certification Opportunities: Microsoft offers a wide range of certifications related to Azure, including the AZ-900 certification which Azure for Students was invaluable with helping me retain information in order to succeed in the exam.

□ Free resources: Azure powers my website. I only currently pay for my domain.

Click here to view my wiki detailing steps for getting started with Azure for Students + best practices.

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Oracle OCI Free Tier

Online Resources:

• OCI Free Tier - Sign-Up
• OCI Free Tier - What's Included?
• Oracle MyLearn - Learn Oracle Cloud

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Free Tier has a most notable generous allocation of resources at NO cost. Users are provided with a substantial (compared to other cloud offerings) amount of compute, storage, and networking instances to run a variety of workloads without incurring any charges. This enables students, small business, etc. to test, develop, and deploy applications or projects without the financial commitment typically associated with cloud computing.

Additionally, OCI Free Tier provides individuals with access to a range of premium services and features that are typically associated with enterprise-level cloud platforms. This includes offerings like Oracle Cloud's Autonomous Database, which leverages advanced machine learning algorithms to automate routine tasks, ensuring high performance and security while reducing administrative overhead. By providing access to these advanced services at no cost (with free credits available), OCI Free Tier enables users to experiment with cutting-edge technologies and incorporate them into their projects.

Overall, the Oracle OCI Free Tier is a powerful and cost-effective option for individuals and businesses looking to test the capabilities of a robust cloud infrastructure.

Click here to view my wiki detailing steps for getting started with OCI Free Tier, creating your first compute instance + connecting to it via an SSH client.

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This Website

Keywords:

HTML/CSS

Javascript

VS Code

Github

Azure

Online Resources:

• YouTube - Tyler Potts - CSS ONLY Modals Tutorial
• YouTube - Easy Tutorials - How To Make Responsive Website Design Using HTML And CSS Step By Step
• YouTube - WEB CIFAR - One Page Full Website Project For Practice | HTML & CSS Responsive Website
• Website - W3 Schools

HTML/CSS + JavasScript

Creating this website pushed me to dive further into HTML, CSS and JavaScript. When I was a child, I can remember creating websites for fan-related works of my favorite shows and books at that time. Since then, I have been curious about designing sites and applications. See above for some of the sites and YouTube videos I watched to become better acquainted with designing this site.

VS Code

VS Code was used in this project to write code as well as manage my files. I also used it to push changes to my GitHub repository remotely.

GitHub

GitHub is outstanding in how it wears many hats - it holds the repository for my work, it keeps version control and can allow me to create a New version of my code as well as rollback changes if needed. It can also push my work directly to my Azure Static Web App which then projects my work onto this URL.

Azure and Domain Hosting

Azure Static Web Apps are actually a free resource and has not costed me anything. It is a part of my Azure for Students account. You can view more about this service here. In a nutshell, a static web app is a service that automatically builds and deploys full stack web apps to Azure from a code repository. It supports popular front-end frameworks or static site generators, and serverless API backends.

Site hosting was done through the soon to be defunct Google Domains. Moving forward, I will be switching registrars to Cloudflare due to them being a superior offering for domain services and security. I currently use them for analytics, logs, SSL/FLS, Email services, and more.

Learn More

To learn more and get an in-depth guide, click here.

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Splunk- SIEM

Keywords:

SIEM

Lab

Cybersecurity

Security+

Online Resources:

• Splunk - Free Trial Page
• Splunk - Cloud Platform
• Splunk - Why Splunk?
• Cisco - NetAcad Cybersecurity Courses

What is a SIEM?

A SIEM, or Security Information and Event Management, is a software that aggregates and analyzes security data from various sources across an organization, such as network devices, servers, and applications. It helps in detecting and responding to potential security incidents by providing real-time monitoring, correlation events, and generating alerts for suspicious activities.

Security+

This project was made to assist me with being better acquainted with a SIEM and how it works. It was put together to show me firsthand how it works in order to help me become better-prepared for the SY0-601 exam - as well as teach me more about an industry-leading tool used for searching, monitoring, and analyzing machine-generated data from various sources like applications, servers, networks, and devices.

SIEM Project Documentation

To learn more and get an in-depth guide, click here.

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Automation with Terraform

Keywords:

Linux

Lab

Automation

Cloud

Hypervisor

VS Code

Online Resources:

• Terraform - Installation
• Terraform - Tutorials
• Terraform - Certifications

What is Infrastructure as Code (IaC)?

Infrastructure as Code - sometimes abbreviated as IaC - is writing your infrastructure (database, networks, etc.) to version controlled scripts or code. It is your environment written in a single code base. You can use one command to build it all up, and then another command to tear it all down.

What is Terraform?

An open source IaC tool that is created by Hashicorp. You can define cloud and on-prem environments and config files that are easy to read, version controlled, can be automated and shared with one another.With Terraform you can work with major cloud environments such as AWS, Azure, and with other tools such as Docker, Kubernetes, etc. These third party tools are worked with providers. Terraform is agentless - you don't have to go installing agents on all of your servers or databases, you just use providers to talk via an API to these servers or databases. With Terraform you essentially declare what your environment will look like, and Terraform will easily spin it up, update it, or tear it down.

Terraform Hands-On Project

To learn more and get an in-depth guide, click here.

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Windows Server 2019

Keywords:

Hypervisor

Server Manager

Domain Controller

Active Directory

Online Resources:

• Microsoft - WS 2019 ISO
• Terraform - Tutorials
• Terraform - Certifications

What is Windows Server 2019?

Windows Server 2019 is part of the Windows NT family of operating systems and is the successor to Windows Server 2016. Aspects of Windows Server 2019 and why it is important: enchanced security, hybrid cloud capabilities, improved container support, enhanced storage features, and improved performance.

What is a Domain Controller?

Another important part of Windows Server 2019 is it is responsible for authenticating and authorizing all users and computers within a domain. Some key functions of a domain controller is authentication, authorization, account management, centralized policy management, replication, DNS services, Time sync, syslogs.

My Windows Server 2019 Project

To learn more and get an in-depth guide, click here.

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