I love the built-in Wireshark capability in EVE-NG. BTW, EVE-NG Community is free. You just have to get images for anything you want to emulate. Virtual images for various vendor products are sometimes freely available, with trail licenses. For instance Junipers vMX was freely available for a while with a 60 day license. …also vSRX, vQFX, and the new vJunos-switch (I think vEX). Aaron
On Sep 28, 2023, at 3:16 PM, Mark Prosser <mark@zealnetworks.ca> wrote:
++ all that was said thus far. Physical equipment with console access is the best way to test software/firmware issues. As for virtualization, it's great for expanding your topology quickly.
Use a virtual bridge in GNS3 or EVE-NG and you can make your smaller footprint physical lab into a larger topology with ease -- especially around cabling. It also allows you to do packet generation & link simulation (packet loss, jitter) much easier. You can even couple it with T-Rex.
- Mark