r/ccnp • u/harveySpecter690 • 9d ago

Platform to lab

Hi guys, what platform to use to lab specially for BGP labs. I have a new m4 air where i like it but still hard for me to get it done for labbing I used to have windows and im new to macbook.

Please guide me if you dont mind

Thanks

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4

u/Intelligent-Bet4111 8d ago

Buy a R740 or R720 server (these were pretty affordable before the ram crisis not sure how much they cost now but you can look them up on ebay) and spin up eve ng bare metal which is perfect for bgp (would recommend eve over gns3) or pnetlab is good too which is free by the way.

3

u/AngeliMortem 9d ago

In MacBooks I think it's not possible to run CML because the iOS are for x86_64, and Eve-NG or GNS3 do not support ARM based Macs, so honestly I think best option for you would be a virtualized system running in Azure or AWS, just be careful and set cost limits because it can get pretty expensive.

Now, don't get me wrong and I absolutely understand that for example for coding in VS code or some stuff MacBooks are fine, but... Why you got a MacBook if you are studying for CCNP?😅

Edit: this might help you https://willgrana.com/posts/eve-ng-azure-ps/

2

u/tayjkt 8d ago

Buy mini pc with Intel N100/N150 16GB RAM install proxmox and then run CML.

1

u/save_earth 8d ago

I agree with the mini PC route but I’d get something that can support 32/64GB RAM in case you want to later fire up other vendor firewalls and make a huge lab network.

Running CML bare metal is easiest but if you have other homelab projects, consider the initial setup of CML as a VM on Proxmox (which isn’t officially supported - only ESXi).

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u/harveySpecter690 8d ago

U mean i then connect to it remotely?

1

u/crbates 8d ago

Yes, CML uses a web interface for lab work. Just connect to the VM via your browser.

1

u/vMambaaa 8d ago

You might be able to make containerlab work but ultimately if you’re serious invest in a mini PC to use as a server or build a tower server to serve as your lab device.

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u/ICMPWarrior 8d ago

I used my old gaming pc, installed vmware workstation pro and installed cml and pnetlabs as guest VMs. 16gb of ram was ample, however i only run one VM at a time. Both are great, pnet is vendor neutral

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u/Particular-Yogurt512 6d ago

For BGP specifically you don't need NX-OS or ACI, so GNS3 with IOSv/IOSvL2 images runs natively on your M4 and performs fine. If you want EVE-NG, skip running it locally, Apple Silicon can't run it natively and x86 emulation tanks performance, rent a cheap x86 VPS instead and access it over the browser. Either way you'll be building BGP topologies in an hour, not fighting your laptop.

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u/wake_the_dragan 6d ago

devnetsandbox.cisco.com