Cisco VIRL (part of The Cisco Learning Network) vs. GNS3

Cisco VIRL/CML is obviously very well suited if you want to lab practically any Cisco based network platform. It does a fantastic job of supporting almost all feature sets in a production appliance. It may not be the best option if you require a very multi-vendor intensive solution for labbing purposes.

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If you want to design a network that contains devices from different vendors and you want to implement and monitor this network and make sure of the stability of this network before actually implementing it physically, then this is the right program. It allows you to design a complete network with different components and from different vendors with the possibility of integrating various devices and also linking them with network monitoring programs.

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• It allows for labbing complex environment topologies
• Interconnecting virtual nodes, which emulate network appliances, is extremely easy and intuitive
• Assuming you meet the minimum hardware requirements to run the virtual images, the nodes run relatively fast

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• The possibility of applying integrated labs that simulate reality by more than 90%.
• It enables the addition of different network devices from all vendors with the possibility of integration between them.

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• Better support for multi-vendor labs. Since Cisco VIRLs uses KVM as its hypervisor, not all vendor images will be fully supported in the Cisco VIRL/CML environment. For these particular use cases, it's sometimes better to use GNS3 or EVE-NG.
• Since there are several free offerings out there that allow you to emulate network appliances (especially Cisco IOS based devices), I would love to see Cisco offer more cost-effective alternatives to engineers over their current pricing model.

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• In my opinion, the program consumes a lot of device resources, especially when using the iOS version.
• The program does not contain network devices, so you need to search for the network devices that you need and add them manually.

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Cisco VIRL is a great network environment emulation tool when it comes to Cisco devices. However, I have run into some issues when trying to integrate other vendors virtual images into the Cisco VIRL/CML environment. For those specific use cases, I have had better luck with other emulation platforms like EVE-NG.

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Cisco VIRL/CML provides a similar emulation environment to GNS3 and EVE-NG but I would argue that it's the best when it specifically comes to Cisco network appliances. This is because you will have access to latest Cisco virtual images with the best support in regards to current feature sets. If you run into any issues, you can also get support from Cisco. The same can't be said about free emulation programs like GNS3 or EVE-NG. However, when it comes to multi-vendor labbing, I have found better success with EVE-NG.

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• It has allowed me to avoid mistakes when implementing changes on Cisco devices
• It has allowed me to better plan new network change implementations
• It has allowed me to be more confident in my network designs by providing me with a predictive model where I can gauge the effect that certain changes and new technology features will have on my network

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• Reducing spending on physical equipment
• Improving the quality of output work
• Developing the efficiency of the work team

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Independently Invited by TrustRadius

A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info