In the topology, leaf01 and leaf02 are the access layer switches on the network. With the GNS3 VM, the GNS3 client makes the “connection” to virtualbox or vmware, we pick the correct VM and GNS3 takes care of the rest: starting the VM, configuring the network and making the appropriate connections.This section describes how to install and set up Cumulus VX with VirtualBox and GNS3 to create the two leaf and one spine topology shown below. The GNS3 VM feature simply makes it much easier, eliminates the complexity of having to install a VM, configuring the network and integrating this VM with GNS3 as a remote machine. This was always possible with the “Remote Servers” feature. When we run GNS3 we simply run a local network service to which our own PC connects to and through that connection that simulation instructions are passed to the GNS3 server.īut if GNS3 allows network connections then it’s possible for it to receive connections from external clients. If you have seen my previous post GNS3 e as portas console (portuguese) you had a hint on how GNS3/dynamips works. But features like running VM’s with Qemu are unstable and unpredictable especially in Windows. Users of GNS3 started using it more and more as a network simulation software in general and not only as a Cisco hardware emulator for IOS. I believe GNS3 VM also makes it easy for future growth of this application to support the latest when it comes to open source apps for linux, as is the case of docker containers now supported in GNS3 1.5. Running the GNS3 server, Dynamips hypervisor and Qemu (which doesn’t like windows) all in an isolated system, all the variables from the different operating systems are eliminated, reducing the impact of any host software and at the same time reducing GNS3 impact on the host (like high CPU utilization by GNS3). That’s exactly the problem GNS3 VM solves. What if it was possible to have GNS3 running in a reliable system, deterministic and where we are sure that all dependencies are installed and configured as they should be? Always? Windows, Linux, Mac are all different and each person’s PC is also different even when running the same operating system.

I’m going to follow Simon Sinek and start with the reasons to use a VM.Īll this time GNS3 is being developed for many operating systems, with each one having its own challenges.

Many people used their own VM’s for GNS3 and some are publicly available in projects like GNS3 Workbench working in a similar concept.

It’s a feature introduced in GNS3 from version 1.4 but the VM is not really something new. The GNS3 VM is a virtual machine which runs GNS3 and to which the GNS3 client installed in our PC connects to.

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