GNS3 Network Emulator
Install GNS3
This is quick guide how to install GNS3 1.x on Linux Ubuntu.
Prerequisites
- Install dynamips and GNS3 dependencies
sudo apt-get install libpcap-dev uuid-dev libelf-dev cmake python3-setuptools python3-pyqt4 python3-ws4py\
python3-netifaces python3-zmq python3-tornado
- Download GNS3 sources
wget https://github.com/GNS3/gns3-gui/releases/download/v1.3.1/GNS3-1.3.1.source.zip unzip GNS3-1.3.1.source.zip
Install Dynamips
unzip Dynamips-*.zip cd Dynamips-* mkdir build cd build cmake .. make sudo make install
Install GNS3 server and GUI front end
unzip gns3-server-*.zip unzip gns3-gui-*.zip cd gns3-server-* sudo python3 setup.py install cd ../gns3-gui-* sudo python3 setup.py install
Run
gns3&
Initial configuration
Gns3 > Edit > Preferences > Dynamips
- Enable ghost IOS support - memory mapping allows loaded images in RAM to be shared between other routers
Gns3 > Edit > Preferences > General > Local paths > My binary images: /home/piotr/GNS3/images
- Setup default IOS images directory
Gns3 > Edit > Preferences > Dynamips > IOS routers > New
- Browse.. for IOS image > Decompress image [Yes] extension will change from .bin to .image
- Name it > leave default RAM > add slot cards > add WIC cards > compute 'Idle-PC finder' > Finish
- Create new devices - router
Hardware emulated by GNS3
- Router 3725
- Fixed ports
- 2 FastEthernet fixed ports (GT96100-FE)
- NM slots: 2 (maximum of 32 FastEthernet ports or 8 serial ports)
- NM-1FE-TX - 1port Fast Ethernet 10/100BaseTX interface
- NM-16ESW - 16 port Fast Ethernet card (used to create a switch)
- NM-4T - 4 port synchronous (sync) serial network module, DB-60 ports, provides a data rates: port0 only 8 Mbps, port0&2 4 Mbps each or 2 Mbps on all four ports simultaneously.
- WIC slots: 3 (maximum of 6 serial ports)
- WIC-1T - 1-port serial WAN interface card (WIC-1T) Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC)
- WIC-2T - 2-port Asynchronous serial ports speeds 600bps-115.2Kbps or in Synchronous mode - 8Mbps per port
- Router 7200 - Port Adapters (PA)
Online Insertion and Removal (OIR) is supported, allowing you to replace PAs while the router is running.
- PA-FE-TX (1 FastEthernet port)
- PA-2FE-TX (2 FastEthernet ports)
- PA-4E (4 Ethernet ports)
- PA-8E (8 Ethernet ports)
- PA-4T+ (4 serial ports)
- PA-8T (8 serial ports)
- PA-A1 (1 ATM port)
- PA-POS-OC3 (1 Packet-Over-SONET port)
- PA-GE (1 GigabitEthernet port)
Connect to Router console
GNS3 (dynamips hypervisor) is listening on IP 127.0.0.1 ports starting from 2501. Therefore to emulate AUX serial connection we need to telnet 127.0.0.1 port_number. See an example below:
piotr@piotr-x:~$ telnet 127.0.0.1 2504 Trying 127.0.0.1... Connected to 127.0.0.1. Escape character is '^]'. Connected to Dynamips VM "R3" (ID 3, type c7200) - AUX port Press ENTER to get the prompt.
Configure VPCS - Virtual PCs
Run vpcs in a terminal, then using 1, 2 ... 10 switch between virtual PCs. Use ? at the end of the command for help.
Configure static IP address/mask in CIDR notation and GW
VPCS[1]> ip 10.0.10.10 10.0.10.1 24 Checking for duplicate address... PC1 : 10.0.10.10 255.255.255.0 gateway 10.0.10.1
Show current IP configuration
VPCS[2]> show ip all NAME IP/MASK GATEWAY MAC DNS VPCS1 10.0.10.10/24 10.0.10.1 00:50:79:66:68:00 VPCS2 192.168.1.100/24 192.168.1.254 00:50:79:66:68:01 VPCS3 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0 00:50:79:66:68:02
Show all info including lport (listen on port)
VPCS[2]> show NAME IP/MASK GATEWAY MAC LPORT RHOST:PORT VPCS1 10.0.10.10/24 10.0.10.1 00:50:79:66:68:00 20000 127.0.0.1:30000 fe80::250:79ff:fe66:6800/64 VPCS2 192.168.1.100/24 192.168.1.254 00:50:79:66:68:01 20001 127.0.0.1:30001 fe80::250:79ff:fe66:6801/64 VPCS3 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0 00:50:79:66:68:02 20002 127.0.0.1:30002 fe80::250:79ff:fe66:6802/64
VPCS - save and load configuration
- Save configuration
VPCS[1]> save vpcs-gns3.conf
- Restore configuration
~/VPCS$ vpcs vpcs-gns3.conf
Configure GNS3 - connect to the host network via cloud device
In GNS3 you need to add a Host (cloud group device) to your topology. Then right click to configure. Go to NIO UDP tab. To establish connection with VPCS1 select:
GNS3 VPCS1
local port remote port
| |
nio_udp:30000:127.0.0.1:20000
|
remote host
Explained from point of view of GNS3 (host device on the topology)
- Local port: 30000 - gns3's host device listens on UDP 30000 port
- Remote host: 127.0.0.1 - host operation system where VPCS is installed
- Remote port: 20000 - VPCS1 is listening on UDP 20000 on the host operation system
GNS3 emulator odds
We need to remember that GNS3 is a graphic interface on top of Dynamips emulating Cisco 7200 hardware. Therefore we need to remember about all odds:
- there is no emulation of Layer1 therefore a link connection need to be hard coded as AUTO SPEED/AUTO DETECT do not work
- to create/delete a connection it may require to power off a device
Issues
- Cannot cloase New Project window in Ubuntu 14.04
wmctrl can close a window based on a substring or exact match of the window title wmctrl -c 'substring' or wmctrl -F -c 'exact match'
sudo apt-get install wmctrl wmctrl -l 0x03000002 0 piotr-x XdndCollectionWindowImp 0x03000007 0 piotr-x unity-launcher 0x03000011 0 piotr-x unity-panel 0x03000016 0 piotr-x unity-panel 0x0300001b 0 piotr-x unity-dash 0x0300001c 0 piotr-x Hud 0x0280000a 0 piotr-x Desktop 0x03200012 0 piotr-x GNS3 0x0320001d 0 piotr-x New Project 0x0320002a 0 piotr-x New Project 0x03200098 0 piotr-x New Project 0x0400000b 0 piotr-x piotr@piotr-x: ~ wmctrl -c 'New'
- Cannot find New Project window in Ubuntu multiple screen setup
A: Show all desktops overview and drag the windows in physical view of the main screen. Usually your laptop screen is smaller than an external monitor causing that a part of the screen is only logical and does not have a physical screen size.
References
- Quick install GNS3 1.2.3 on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Dynamips, GNS3, IOU, IOUYAP, VPCS