Are you excited to make your GNS3 network testing more powerful with SONiC, but worried it might be too complicated? Don't worry! π
GNS3 doesn't come with SONiC ready to go, but we'll show you an easy way to add it. This guide breaks it down into simple steps that anyone can follow. We'll provide you with everything you need to make your network tests even cooler π. In this article, we'll teach you how to add a new template to the web version of GNS3.
So, are you ready to join us on this journey? We'll smoothly integrate SONiC into your GNS3 world β it's as easy as pie! ππ
Just remember, there are different ways to add SONiC images to GNS3, and we're showing you one of them.
Prerequisites
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A functional GNS3 Server -> Link to the article where it's all explained
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Access to the requisite SONiC image.
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A fundamental understanding of networking concepts and familiarity with GNS3 operations.
Step 1. Open the Web UI of the GNS3
If you have a functional GNS 3 Server, launch your browser and open the specified IP address. This will take you to the GNS3 interface where you can manage your network simulations. You can also add a new template without .gns3a appliance file in the web version of GNS3. To do that, simply go to the web version of GNS3. After you logged in, on the top of the page click the "Go to preferences" button, as seen below on the screen.
Step 2. Creating the template.
1. Select the "QEMU" option from the drop-down list.
2. Select the button "Add QEMU VM template".
3. Select the "Server type" at the top of the window, and select "Run this QEMu VM locally".
4. Select the "QEMU VM NAME" and name your new template.
5. Select the "QEMU binary and memory" and from the drop-down list select:
- Qemu binary select /bin/qemu-system-x-86-64
- Ram change to 4096
6. In the Console type:
- Console type select telnet
7. Select a SONiC image. You can use an existing one or upload a new image.
Where you can find the SONiC VS image?
To find and download the newest version of the SONiC VS image, please visit the below page.
https://sonic-net.github.io/SONiC/sonic_latest_images.html
8. If using a new image, click New Image, click Browse button and navigate to the .img file that you downloaded on your PC. Wait for the upload progress window to appear. Once the upload is successful the progress bar which is at the bottom of the screen will turn blue. If it's finished, click the Add template button.
Step 3. Configuring the template.
1. Select the the template that you just created.
2. We still need to configure our template that we just made. To do that, proceed to the next step. Simply click the drop down lists and proceed as seen below.
General settings we need to change
- Category: change it to Routers
- vCPUs: change it to 2
In the HDD section:
- HDA(Primary Master) - change "Disk interface" to virtio
In the Network section:
The Adapters field specifies the number of network interfaces the device should have. The First port name field specifies the first port which is equivalent to the management port in SONiC, so it should be set to eth0. In this case, we configured 10 adapters. The first adapter is eth0 and the remaining 9 adapters are assigned to the Ethernet ports. The Ethernet port numbering starts from 0, so the ports will be named as follows: Ethernet0, Ethernet1,...,Ethernet8.
- Change Adapters to 10.
- Change First port name to eth0.
- Change Type to Intel Gigabit Ethernet(e1000).
After that, click "Save" button.
Congratulations!
You have successfully created a SONiC template in GNS3. Now you can utilize SONiC in your GNS3 network simulations.
Happy Networking !!! π
If you're looking for more GNS3 tutorials and resources, you can explore the following articles:
How to create a new GNS3 appliance template to work with SONiC using GNS3 Desktop Client?