faid.alani
Portrait of Faid Al-Ani

> IT Support · SOC Analyst · Houston, TX

Faid Al-Ani

I keep small-business networks running by day and build a homelab SOC at night, so I understand both the systems and the threats against them.

View lab work Read the blog
4+ yrsField IT
Sec+SY0-701
CySA+CS0-003
EN · ARBilingual
01 / about

Hands-on first

whoami~/faid

For the past four years I've run my own IT contracting business, supporting small offices and home clients across Houston. Most days that means printers, Wi-Fi and network drops, POS systems, NAS setups, and working alongside clients' developers when something breaks between their software and the hardware.

I earned my AAS in Computer Systems Networking with a Cybersecurity Specialist focus from Houston City College in 2025, passed Security+, and I'm continuing toward my bachelor's at the University of Houston-Downtown. I'm looking for a SOC analyst or Tier 2 IT support role where I can use both sides of that experience.

profile.conf
  • educationAAS, HCC (2025)
  • currentB.S., UHD
  • certsSecurity+, CySA+, CSAP
  • languagesEnglish, Arabic
  • locationHouston, TX
  • relocateDallas, TX
02 / projects

Lab work

A working company network I built and defend at home.

● Featured build

Proxmox Homelab SOC

A virtualized small-company network for practicing detection and administration end to end: a Windows Server domain with users and workstations, a Wazuh SIEM collecting endpoint logs, Nessus for vulnerability scanning, and Kali for generating attack traffic to detect.

proxmox-ve
├── DC01      # Windows Server · AD DS, DNS, DHCP, Group Policy
├── ADMIN01   # Admin workstation · tiered local-admin rights
├── WS-*      # Domain-joined user workstations
├── WAZUH     # SIEM · agent log collection and alerting
├── NESSUS    # Vulnerability scanning
├── KALI      # Attack simulation
└── DNS/VPN   # Pi-hole, AdGuard, Tailscale
ProxmoxActive DirectoryWazuhNessusKali LinuxTailscale
Read the build write-up →
● Identity

AD Access Control with GPOs

Group Policy that gives the admin account local admin on every workstation except the domain controller, and lets standard users sign in anywhere except the DC and the admin machine.

Group PolicyLeast privilege
● Network analysis

PCAP Triage Workflow

A repeatable Wireshark method for first-pass analysis: protocol hierarchy, conversations, targeted filters, DNS inspection, then endpoints.

WiresharkSOC triage
● Perimeter

pfSense Firewall Lab

Configured pfSense interfaces and rules during CySA+ lab work, alongside Bluetooth discovery and rainbow-table hash-cracking exercises.

pfSenseFirewall rules
● Hardware

No-POST Diagnostics

Isolated a failed power supply on one machine and traced a no-POST fault on another by testing RAM sticks one at a time, then the motherboard.

TroubleshootingPC hardware
03 / experience

Event log

career.logsort: newest

  1. Independent IT Contractor

    Self-employed · Houston, TX

    • Support several small businesses (3–6 users each) plus residential clients
    • Handle networking and connectivity, printers, POS, server and NAS setup
    • Work with client software developers to resolve integration issues

  2. Field Technician

    Dish Network

    • Installed and troubleshot customer equipment on site
    • Reviewed ticket history in an internal Oracle-based system before each visit

  3. Bilingual Call Center Representative

    HOPE Clinic

    • Served English- and Arabic-speaking patients in a HIPAA-regulated environment
04 / skills

Toolkit

security
  • Wazuh SIEM
  • Nessus
  • Wireshark
  • Kali Linux
  • MITRE ATT&CK
  • NIST
  • Cyber Kill Chain
systems
  • Active Directory
  • Group Policy
  • Windows Server
  • Proxmox VE
  • Linux
networking
  • TCP/IP
  • DNS / DHCP
  • pfSense
  • Tailscale
  • Pi-hole
  • Cabling
05 / credentials

Certifications

CompTIA CSAP badgeCSAP
Earned · Stackable

CompTIA Security Analytics Professional

CSAP · awarded for holding both Security+ and CySA+

CompTIA Security+ badgeSEC+
Earned

CompTIA Security+

SY0-701

CompTIA CySA+ badgeCySA+
Earned

CompTIA CySA+

CS0-003

AAS
2025
Completed

AAS, Networking

Cybersecurity Specialist · Houston City College

06 / blog

Write-ups

Notes from the lab and the study desk.

homelab · 7 min read

Building My Homelab SOC on Proxmox

How I turned one server into a small company network with Active Directory, a SIEM, and something to attack it.

read → certifications · 5 min read

How I Passed Security+ (SY0-701)

What I studied, what the exam felt like, and what I'd do differently.

read →
07 / contact

Open a ticket

Hiring for a SOC, security, or IT support role in Houston or Dallas? I'd like to hear about it.

emailcontact@faidalani.com
linkedinlinkedin.com/in/faid-alani