Current Situation, Priorities, and Project Progress
Over the past weeks, my learning routine has changed noticeably. While I am still highly interested in continuous hands-on training, especially on platforms like TryHackMe, my available time for structured self-study is currently more limited than usual. This is not due to a loss of motivation, but rather a shift in priorities caused by my internship and the upcoming project work that is now moving into a critical planning phase.
My internship currently demands a significant amount of attention. There are ongoing tasks, responsibilities, and real-world challenges that naturally take precedence, especially since they provide valuable practical experience. At the same time, my formal project work is approaching a point where preparation and planning become essential. In particular, the project proposal must be finalized and submitted soon, which means careful wording, technical accuracy, and feasibility are more important than ever.
For that reason, I consciously decided to temporarily reduce my external training activities and focus on building a solid foundation for the project. In the long term, this will pay off far more than trying to do everything at once.
In parallel to this, I have also started preparing for my final exams. I have obtained the last two exams including their solutions, based on the new examination catalogue introduced in 2025. Whenever I have some free capacity, I am already studying for Final Exam Part 2. My preparation is not limited to these exams alone, but also includes working with the workbook provided by my school as well as a learning app I purchased myself, mainly to refresh and strengthen my knowledge in economics and business-related topics.
Choosing a Project Topic
One positive aspect is that I have already chosen a project topic that I genuinely find interesting and relevant. The project focuses on the modernization of an outdated workstation infrastructure through centralized virtualization.
This topic stood out to me because it combines several important aspects of modern IT environments: infrastructure design, virtualization, system administration, scalability, and long-term maintainability. It is not only technically meaningful, but also highly relevant in real-world enterprise environments.
Many organizations still rely heavily on physical workstation systems that were deployed years ago and have since become difficult to maintain. Hardware failures, inconsistent performance, and high operational costs are common issues in such setups. My project aims to address exactly these challenges.
Project Goals and Technical Focus
The main objective of the project is to transition from a decentralized, hardware-heavy workstation environment to a centrally managed virtualized infrastructure.
Currently, workstation systems are operated locally on physical machines. Over time, these systems have shown increasing performance and stability problems, and scaling or replacing hardware has become inefficient. By introducing a virtualization platform, these physical workstations can be replaced with virtual desktop systems that are hosted centrally.
Users will no longer depend on a specific physical PC. Instead, they will access their virtual desktops via thin clients, existing hardware, or remote desktop connections. This approach offers multiple advantages:
- More efficient use of hardware resources
- Reduced dependency on individual workstation hardware
- Simplified administration and maintenance
- Easier backups and recovery
- Better scalability for future growth
From a technical perspective, the project will involve analyzing the existing infrastructure in detail, identifying requirements, and selecting a suitable virtualization platform. Based on this, a target architecture will be designed that aligns with performance, security, and usability requirements.
Planning, Testing, and Implementation
After the planning phase, a dedicated test environment will be set up. In this environment, selected workstation systems will be virtualized and configured as virtual machines. Required software will be installed, and essential services such as user authentication and printer integration will be implemented.
Testing plays a crucial role in this project. The goal is not just to get virtual machines running, but to ensure that they can be used productively in a realistic scenario. Performance, usability, and stability will be evaluated, and adjustments will be made where necessary.
The final outcome will be a pilot virtualization environment with at least two fully functional virtual workstation systems. These systems will support user logins, provide access to required applications, and allow printing through integrated peripherals. All relevant steps, configurations, and decisions will be documented to ensure transparency and reproducibility.
This pilot environment will then serve as a technical proof of concept and as a decision-making basis for a potential company-wide rollout in the future.
Current Status and Next Steps
At the moment, the project description is being refined. I am reviewing the technical scope, wording, and structure to ensure that everything is clear, realistic, and aligned with the official requirements. My supervisor and colleagues will also review the proposal to provide feedback and suggestions.
In approximately two weeks, the first official submission of the project proposal is planned. The project itself has already been approved by my teacher, which gives me additional confidence that the topic and scope are appropriate.
Interestingly, after speaking with some classmates, I realized that only very few have even selected a project topic at this stage. While this was somewhat surprising, everyone has their own workflow and priorities. For me, having a clear direction early on is a major advantage.
Motivation and Outlook
Even though my current schedule leaves less room for additional learning platforms and challenges, this phase is not a setback. On the contrary, it is a necessary step forward. The project work allows me to apply many of the concepts I have learned so far in a structured and realistic environment.
I am still fully committed to my goals in IT and cybersecurity. Once the project proposal phase is completed and the workload becomes more predictable, I will return to more intensive hands-on training alongside my practical work.
For now, the focus is on building something solid, well-planned, and technically meaningful.
More updates will follow as the project progresses.