Appliance virtualization is perfectly acceptable for a lot of things. But there are large sets of problems that you will never catch that way. 

To the OP :

With respect to 'strategies' : 

1. Test something to make sure it works. 
2. Then test it to see where and how it breaks. 

Lots of people do #1. Not enough do #2. (Looking at you, equipment vendors. )



On Thu, Sep 28, 2023 at 12:04 PM Nickolas Stevermer via NANOG <nanog@nanog.org> wrote:
If you're able to virtualize some of these appliances, almost any virtualization platform can be setup to connect nodes together. However I really enjoy using Eve-ng. It's a network virtualization web app that can be deployed on bare metal or in a VM. It lets you diagram, connect and configure setups and do testing with different network nodes. What is pretty nice with this is you can then just click on any of the connected links and wireshark pops up and you're viewing packet captures instantly. It kind of reminds me of Cisco's VIRL, but with maybe less overhead?  It has enabled me to run and connect several vendor appliances and build up configuration prior to acquiring the physical hardware for deployment.

- Nick Stevermer


On Thu, Sep 28, 2023 at 10:46 AM Mel Beckman <mel@beckman.org> wrote:
In any lab,I find concurrent access to serial ports is still an essential diagnostic tool. In a pinch you can get a used Cisco 2811 for $100, but there are multiport devices from lots of vendors. These let you SSH into the server and then connect to any serial port, giving you separate serial port windows all on the same screen. I’ve become fond of the WiFi-capable multiport modules from get-console.com. The ability to record logs from these serial ports in real-time helps a lot for documenting regression tests.

 -mel beckman

> On Sep 28, 2023, at 7:25 AM, Kenneth Vedder <kvedder@amplex.net> wrote:
>
> 
> Hello NANOG,
>
> We have been struggling with firmware bugs from a specific router vendor. I am looking to set up a test lab of our core network and a few remote site routers.  Protocols would include SR-MPLS, ISIS, EVPN MPLS and L3VPN with a little OSPF sprinkled in. I'd be grateful for any tips or resources anyone has that might cover testing strategies and/or best practices.
>
> Thanks,
> Ken


--
Nick Stevermer
Network Engineer
Technology Department
Duluth Public Schools
713 Portia Johnson Dr.
Duluth, MN 55811
Phone: 218-336-8754 ext 1227



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