From Homelab Engineer to AI Infrastructure Architect

🧩 Overview

Starting in Spring 2026, I will begin my journey toward becoming a Cybersecurity Architect specializing in AI infrastructure and enterprise networking.
This roadmap outlines how I will progress from my academic study at UTSA’s BBA in Cybersecurity to advanced Cisco certifications such as CCIE Data Center, leading toward a role in AI-first companies like NVIDIA or Cisco.

🎓 Current Certifications and Skills (as of 2025)

📅 Career Roadmap Timeline (2026–2034)

🧱 Phase 1: Academic Foundation (2026–2028)

Goal: Build strong networking and cybersecurity fundamentals while completing UTSA’s BBA in Cybersecurity.

Focus Areas

• Network architecture, subnetting, and VLANs
• Virtualization with Proxmox and pfSense
• Security fundamentals and risk management
• Scripting with Bash and Python

Short-Term Certifications

• 🎯 Cisco CCNA
• ⚙️ CompTIA Security+
• ☁️ AWS Cloud Practitioner

Experience Targets

• Part-time IT or NOC position
• Expand Proxmox enterprise network simulation
• Document homelab projects using mdBook

🚀 Phase 2: Network Engineering Growth (2028–2030)

Goal: Transition into full-time network or cybersecurity engineering roles.

Focus Areas

• Enterprise Layer 2/3 design and VLAN segmentation
• Automation via Ansible and Terraform
• Network monitoring and observability (Prometheus, Grafana)
• Cloud networking and security integration

Key Certifications

• 🧠 CCNP Enterprise
• 🔐 Cisco CyberOps Associate
• ☁️ Azure Network Engineer Associate

Roles

• Network Engineer
• Security Operations Engineer
• Infrastructure Automation Specialist

🧩 Phase 3: Advanced Architecture (2030–2032)

Goal: Develop advanced data center and security architecture skills.

Focus Areas

• Cisco ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure)
• VXLAN, EVPN, and SDN frameworks
• Cloud-native network automation
• Identity and Access Management across AD and Kubernetes

Certifications

• 📘 CCNP Security
• ⚙️ Cisco DevNet Professional
• 🧩 CCIE Data Center (Written)

Career Path

• Senior Network Architect
• Cybersecurity Engineer (Automation Focus)

🧠 Phase 4: AI Infrastructure Leadership (2032–2034)

Goal: Design and secure high-performance AI networks.

Focus Areas

• AI cluster networking (InfiniBand, NVLink, RoCEv2)
• Zero Trust architectures and multi-tenant security
• High-throughput data center automation pipelines
• AI security compliance and monitoring

Certifications

• 🏅 CCIE Data Center (Lab Complete)
• 🔐 CISSP or CCSP
• 👨‍💻 DevNet Expert (Optional)

Career Path

• Cybersecurity Architect
• AI Infrastructure Architect
• Principal Network Engineer (AI Systems)

🧰 Supporting Technologies in the Homelab

📚 Continuous Learning Resources

🏁 Final Vision

By combining formal education from UTSA, hands-on homelab architecture, and progressive Cisco certifications, my long-term mission is to design and secure scalable AI-driven network infrastructures.

Through this roadmap, I aim to evolve from a homelab engineer to an AI Infrastructure Cybersecurity Architect — capable of building and defending intelligent, data-driven networks for the next generation of computing.

🏗️ Homelab Topology Overview

My homelab environment is designed to simulate an enterprise-grade network and cybersecurity infrastructure, fully virtualized on Proxmox VE 9 with pfSense, TrueNAS Scale, and multiple Linux and Windows VMs.
This environment is used for hands-on practice in Active Directory, network segmentation, Kubernetes, and infrastructure automation using Terraform and Ansible.

🌐 Network Architecture

All VLANs are trunked through pfSense, which acts as the default gateway, DHCP/DNS provider, and inter-VLAN router.
Firewall rules and NAT policies are defined in pfSense to isolate or allow traffic between VLANs as needed for testing.

🧱 Virtual Machine Layout

🧩 Network Services Overview

🔒 Security and Segmentation

• pfSense enforces inter-VLAN policies — for example, K8s nodes can reach AD for authentication but not directly access SIEM.
• VLAN 99 is isolated for admin-only access to pfSense, TrueNAS, and Proxmox GUIs.
• All traffic to the internet routes through pfSense’s WAN (bridged or passthrough NIC).
• Firewall rules simulate Zero Trust segmentation, testing lateral movement prevention and network hardening.

⚙️ Automation and Integration

• Terraform provisions VMs, network bridges, and VLANs inside Proxmox.
• Ansible configures systems post-deployment (networking, packages, K8s init).
• LDAP / RealmD connects Linux systems to AD for central authentication.
• TrueNAS shares storage via iSCSI/NFS for VM disks and backup volumes.
• Kubernetes runs lab microservices and containerized testing tools.

🧠 Lab Use Cases

• Practicing Active Directory and LDAP integration with Linux-based services
• Simulating enterprise segmentation and security policy enforcement
• Deploying Kubernetes and Terraform in realistic networked environments
• Hosting SIEM and log correlation tools for threat monitoring practice
• Running TrueNAS-based storage networks with VLAN-isolated traffic

🧩 Summary

This homelab provides a self-contained enterprise network ecosystem designed for hands-on learning in:

• Network security architecture
• Virtualization and infrastructure-as-code
• Active Directory and domain management
• Kubernetes and DevOps automation
• Cybersecurity monitoring and analysis

Together, these systems form the foundation for my path toward becoming an AI Infrastructure Cybersecurity Architect — blending networking, security, and automation into one cohesive platform for experimentation and professional growth.