Getting Started with EVE-NG

EVE-NG is a network emulation tool that allow network engineers and IT professionals to design, simulate and test complex network environments. It supports images from multiple vendors ( OS, Network devices, Firewalls, Servers, vPCs …). It can handle large network topologies and it offers a user-friendly interface accessible via any web browser which is user-friendly.

Requirements

The CPU and RAM requirements depend on the number and type of nodes you intend to run in your setup. For simple network topologies, minimal resources may suffice, but as you add more endpoints like PCs, servers, and powerful routers such as the CSR1000V, the demand for resources increases significantly. To estimate the resources needed:

• Cisco Switches (IOSvL2): 1 CPU, 512 MB RAM
• Cisco Routers (CSR1000v): 2-4 CPUs, 4-8 GB RAM (depending on task complexity)
• Windows Hosts: 2 CPUs, 2-4 GB RAM
• Windows Servers: 2-4 CPUs, 4-8 GB RAM
• Linux Machines: 1-2 CPUs, 2 GB RAM

For the setup shown in the image below, only minimal resources were allocated, which resulted in smooth operations.

Installation

EVE-NG can be installed in various ways depending on the case, hardware resources and the level of performances required.

• Bare-Metal Installation : directly on the hardware
• VM Installation
• Cloud
• Docker Container
• Hosted Service (paid)

Building your project

For the community version of EVE-NG, which is free, not many devices come preinstalled. Therefore, you’ll need to manually add your images. Here’s how you can do it:

• Prepare Your Image Files: For Cisco devices, ensure that your image files are in .image or .bin format. For QEMU-based images, you can use formats like .qcow2, .img, etc.

• Transfer the Images: It is recommended to use SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) or SFTP to transfer the image files. Alternatively, you can log in via SSH to upload the images.

• Upload the Images: Place Dynamips-based images in the /opt/unetlab/addons/dynamips/ directory. For QEMU-based images, copy them to /opt/unetlab/addons/qemu/.

• Set Permissions: Run the command sudo /opt/unetlab/wrappers/unl_wrapper -a fixpermissions to set the correct permissions.

• Access Your Images: Your images will now be available in the nodes section and ready for use.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Excellent scalability
• Robust multi-vendor support
• User Friendly GUI
• Allow you to launch different

Cons

• Higher hardware requirements compared to other network emulation tools ( GNS3 )
• Long initial setup

Useful links

• Community Edition Cokkbook : https://www.eve-ng.net/index.php/documentation/community-cookbook/
• Supported images list : https://www.eve-ng.net/index.php/documentation/supported-images/
• How to create images : https://www.eve-ng.net/index.php/documentation/howtos/

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