We have talked about the
basics of the Cisco Networking, functions of Routers, Switches, etc. Now we are
moving to Cisco Networking Labs. We can do the labs by using real devices or in a virtual environment. Here I am using VE and I have already configured a GNS3
based Virtual Lab Environment to demonstrate the articles.
Tools for Virtual Labs
There are many tools are
currently available for doing Cisco Labs in VE. I will show you the best tools.
GNS3 – Powerful Open Source Network Simulator
The GNS3 (Graphical
Network Simulator-3) is the most popular network simulator and it provides many
advanced features to the user to learn and setup network labs. The GNS3 is
also providing the feature to connect the real devices to simulate complex
networks. For simulating the Cisco IOS, the GNS3 uses Dynamips emulation
software.
Main Features of GNS3
Multi-Vendor Support
(Cisco, Juniper, etc.)
Scaling – We can use
many devices in the topology and there is no limit
Note: Cisco IOS should
be available for configuring the devices in GNS3
Cisco Packet Tracer – Network Simulation Tool
This is a cross
platform visual simulation tool developed by Cisco. It allows users to
design and build virtual networking labs for learning purposes and also for
demo before the final network implementation. The other benefits of this tool
is support almost all cisco commands but not all. Let us move to the Virtual
Lab Setup.
Note: The Packet
Tracer doesn’t require any additional IOS for simulation the networking labs
GNS3 Installation
As mentioned above, the
GNS3 is an Open Source tool so do not need to pay the money for the download or
use. We can download the tool from this site - https://www.gns3.com/
Step 1: Download the
package from GNS3
The installation has
been completed but needs to download IOS from the Cisco site using Cisco Logins. I will
update those sections later. If you choose Packet Tracer for network simulation then
it doesn’t require any additional Cisco IOS.
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