But have a problem here, I use Microsoft Hyper-V for other VMs tests, as well as for Docker for Windows. So, as an alternative to Cisco VIRL, I had two obvious choices: GNS3 or EVE-NG.įor running one of the three solutions (including VIRL) on a laptop under Windows 10, it is recommended and documented to use VMware Workstation. With the exceptional opportunities of the different cloud solutions actually, this is probably not the best solution, but it suits me well for a small lab and I’d like to continue to have this possibility.
Gns3 vs eve ng install#
I got used to install the client and the server parts of VIRL on my laptop, to not have to worry about connectivity when I want to do a lab or a demo to a colleague or a customer. I also created several sample topologies to help you get started.Recently, my license for Cisco VIRL expired and I wanted to test alternatives to have a lab on my laptop. Specify your topology as a graph in a DOT file - Cumulus Networks provides a DOT-to-Vagrant conversion tool.Specify your topology in a YAML file - use the Vagrantfile from YAML-with-Vagrant directory.Here are two approaches that you might find easier to work with:
Gns3 vs eve ng code#
Vagrantfile is really Ruby source code and thus a bit hard to create/modify if you're not at least vaguely familiar with programming languages. Building Your Own Vagrantfileīuilding a Vagrantfile describing your lab topology is the biggest hurdle you'll face when building a networking lab with Vagrant. To be fair, Juniper is no better when it comes to vMX.
Gns3 vs eve ng software#
Building a networking lab with Vagrant has never been easier - Arista, Cumulus and Juniper provide their software in Vagrant box format ready to be deployed within a Vagrant environment:Ĭisco is still a bit skittish - IOS-XRv Vagrant box seems to be in private beta and you have to use a pretty convoluted process to create your own Vagrant box from IOSv image or CSR 1000v. If you decide to build a virtual networking lab on your laptop, consider Vagrant. Some attendees of the Building Network Automation Solutions online course decided to use ESXi and create virtual machines from ISO images, others use GNS3 or EVE-NG, Cisco VIRL is an interesting option if you're focused on Cisco devices and don't want to get into the hassles of obtaining semi-illegal device images. Whatever you do, you'll need a virtualization environment, and images for network device virtual machines. You could decide to run the whole setup on your laptop (in which case you might be limited by the amount of RAM you can squeeze into it - many networking devices are resource hogs), buy a dedicated server to run the virtual lab on ( Intel NUC seems to be an interesting option), or even run the whole thing in the cloud. You can build your virtual networking lab in a number of ways. Still keen on building your own virtual lab? Keep reading. When working with physical devices you might want to use out-of-band management network for SSH access in case you badly mess up device configurations. The only requirement when building non-local lab (be it using physical gear or hosted virtual lab) is to have SSH access from your host (and VMs running within it) to the networking devices. You could build a physical or a virtual networking lab, or use a third-part virtual lab like Network To Code labs. Articles » Building a Network Automation Lab » Networking Lab