Virtualized labs have now become a very popular simulation tool for many engineers. Obviously, these virtualized labs still require a good amount of hardware resources, but the point is that anyone can invest in a powerful computer or server to emulate an entire network topology. Beyond the cost savings and quicker turnaround, virtualized lab environments brought network testing labs to the personal computers of many network engineers.
It all started with building a physical lab environment, where we had to purchase hardware, physical space, power, cables, and the list goes on… After physical labbing became cumbersome and costly, we (network engineers) began looking at virtualized solutions (GNS3, EVE-NG, CML). Before we dive into the content, let’s take a step back to appreciate where we are at in building test network environments.
