Cisco just released an updated version of VIRL (Virtual Internet Routing Lab), with a number of additional features. And as always, the upgrade process is a test in and of itself…how good are you at following detailed and exact instructions?
Here is the VIRL announcement page.
Enjoy!!
Haha good luck! Grab a cold one (and by that of course, I only mean Dr. Pepper) and enjoy the ride!
You know, I’ve still yet to take look at this. I’d this a lot like G3 or Packet Tracer?
I’ve never used Packet Tracer, but I’ve heard it’s rather limited in a number of ways, really only intended for newbies. GNS3 is much more robust and is freeware, but it does not run the latest IOS code. I have used GNS3 a bit (a long time ago), but got very frustrated with all of it’s bugs, so I just stuck with real hardware. (I’ve heard it is better now, but I just don’t really care…the bad taste remains.) As for VIRL, it is created and supported by Cisco…is used extensively internally within Cisco, runs the latest code, has an extensive feature set, and is the future for network simulation. I’m still just scratching the surface of VIRL, but I really like it. But, to be honest, it will take months of playing with it to really learn all that it can do, and it’s not free.