Proxmox Lab Build – From Scrap to SOC

by Cyborg Knight

⚙️ Proxmox Lab Build – From Scrap to SOC

Here’s how I turned an old 2008 Mac Pro into a functional home lab running Proxmox VE and built for cybersecurity testing and network services.

🧱 The Hardware

• Mac Pro 2008 (2.8GHz Xeon) with 8GB → upgraded with RAM from a second donor machine
• 120GB SSD (Proxmox boot), 1TB + 2TB drives for VMs and storage
• Minor hardware fixes (bent bay realignment, thermal cleaning)

🖥️ The Stack (So Far)

• Proxmox VE as base hypervisor
• Security Onion, Ubuntu, and Kali for SOC-style simulations
• NAS-like services for local backups + file hosting
• Planning to add Pi-hole, Unbound, and segmented VLANs

🔄 Challenges

• EFI bootloader weirdness on Mac hardware
• Drive mounting issues from dead SATA bay
• RAM compatibility and thermals

🚀 Why It Matters

This box now functions as:

• A SOC simulation stack
• A log/packet analysis playground
• A real-world reflection of what you’d find in entry-level security ops

This project evolves constantly, and I’ll be adding detection pipelines, log forwarding, and attacker emulation over time.