Overview

With the introduction of dynamips as a Cisco IOS emulation tool, it is now possible to
emulate almost any Cisco IOS image in a simulated hardware environment. Of course the
main problem with dynamips was that it was a CLI tool that required a lot of parameter
knowledge. To make the configuration easier, the dynagen tool was developed to provide an
INI file-like configuration interface. For most of the old school engineers out there this was
familiar, and easy to figure out and configure. GNS3 was developed to take the ease of the
configuration to a whole new level; this included a GUI-style interface that most people
familiar with Windows based systems understood (almost anyone with a computer). GNS3
added additional abilities to the dynamips platform including support for Cisco PIX and ASA
as well as Junipers JunOS. This article is a second in a series of GNS3 configuration
articles that aims to make the simulation of Cisco IOS environments easier to understand and
get those engineers out there looking to become Cisco IOS proficient a stepping stone.

Dynamips/GNS3 Issues
Before this article goes any further, we should point out that the only way to have either of
these products emulate a real IOS environment is to already have access to an existing IOS
image. Dynamips, dynagen and GNS3 don't include these images (this is because the legality
is in question). Before anyone can use these products, they must obtain one of these images
for the platform being emulated. There are ways to get these legally (purchase a Cisco
SMARTnet contract or have an existing Cisco IOS device) and not so legally (look online);
this article will not condone or approve the method used in obtaining this image. For the
purposes of this article, an image for a Cisco 7206 platform (7200) will be used.

GNS3 Initial Configuration

The main parts of the initial configuration of GNS3 to ready it for Cisco IOS emulation is the
configuration of Cisco IOS images into GNS3 and the configuration of any non-default
preferences. The following group of figures will show the different steps required to set up
Cisco IOS images and walk through the different preference options that can be configured
when emulating Cisco IOS.
Figure 1 shows the main GNS3 screen.

Figure 1 - Main GNS3 Screen

Figure 2 shows the menu item to be selected to configure the Cisco IOS images.

Figure 2 - IOS Image Menu Path

Once the IOS images and hypervisors menu option is selected, the screen shown in Figure 3
will be displayed. On this screen the path to the IOS image can be selected by clicking the
browse button as shown.

Figure 3 - IOS Image Selection

Once the browse button is selected the file selection window shown in Figure 4 will appear;
browse to the location of the image and select it and press the open button.

Figure 4 - File Selection Window

Typically, the Platform will auto populate if the IOS filename remains within Cisco's naming
convention and the model options available will populate the Model dropdown box. As
shown in Figure 5, the platform of the selected IOS image is c7200 and the only model
supported is a 7200. If for some reason the auto-population did not work, select the
appropriate platform and model.

Figure 5 - Platform and Model Population

One thing to note is that the IDLE PC value is important but will be populated when the first
lab is run with this IOS image and the IDLE PC process is completed; just leave it blank for
now. Once the options are correct select the save button, once this is done a screen like that
shown in Figure 6 will appear. Once the configuration is saved select the Close button.

Figure 6 - Cisco IOS Image Configuration Save

The second part of this article will display the screens used to configure the different
preferences available for GNS3, generally speaking the default settings should work for most
people. Figure 7 shows the menu item to be selected to configure GNS3 preferences.

Figure 7 - GNS3 Preferences

Figure 8 shows the main general preferences screen; there are a couple of different options
here that someone may want to alter including the project and OS image directories.

Figure 8 - General Preference Screen

The terminal settings screen shown in Figure 9 can be used to select the preferred terminal
application. Putty is generally included with the GNS3 installation, but SecureCRT, Telnet
and Teraterm are supported as well.

Figure 9 - Terminal Settings

The Dynamips configuration options can be altered if required, however, the default options
will work for almost all individuals.

Figure 10 - Dynamips Options

The one option that may need to be altered is the amount of memory that is allowed to be
used per hypervisor (each session of dynamips); value will be needed because this will
depend on the Cisco IOS image memory configuration. For beginning configurations, the
default configuration will work fine. If this memory usage limit does need to be configured
the screen shown in Figure 11 should be used.

Figure 11 - Dynamips Hypervisor Configuration

Summary
Once the Cisco IOS images have each been configured (configure each image that will be
used in the emulation), GNS3 is then ready to be used. The next article in this series will
cover how to setup a single Cisco IOS device within GNS3. Hopefully the contents of this
article will enable the reader to get to a point where this is easily completed.

Installing GNS3 Network Simulator

There are two main ways that GNS3 can be installed, either by using the all-in-one installer
or by using one of the standalone packages. The standalone packages are not installers but
simply an archive that can be extracted and run directly; this is a very useful option for those
who do not want to run through the installation process. The option that will be covered in
this article is the installer which includes the installation of Dynamips, Qemu/Pemu, Putty,
VPCS, WinPcap and Wireshark.

GNS3 Installation
The installation of GNS3 is simple and the different options to select are based on the specific
configuration of the target machine. The installation shown in this article will install all
required programs and assumes nothing has been previously installed.
The first thing to do is to obtain the GNS3 installer available at
http://www.gns3.net/download/. Once this file is downloaded, click on the executable file as
shown in Figure 1:

Once the installer has been launched, the screen shown in Figure 2 will be displayed; once at
this screen press the Next button.

The next screen will display the license information to install GNS3 and its associated
programs. If the terms are agreeable press the I Agree button.

The next screen will allow the user to select a Start Menu folder name to insert the associated
GNS3 shortcuts into; most people just leave this at the default of GNS3. Once a name has
been selected you will press the Next button.

The next screen will allow the user to customize the installation by selecting which
components will be installed; select the components that are required for the specific
installation and press the Next button.

The next screen will allow the user to select where the GNS3 programs and most of its
components will be installed. Select the appropriate path and press the Install button.

If WinPcap was selected to be installed, the next few screens will be shown as the WinPcap
installer is completed. Once this screen is shown, press the Next button. If WinPcap was not
selected move to Figure 11.

Read the next screen and press the Next button.

The next screen will display the license information to install WinPcap. If the terms are
agreeable press the I Agree button.

On the next screen select whether the WinPcap driver will be automatically started at boot.
This is typical.

Once the installer has finished it will display the final screen shown in Figure 11, press the
Finish button.

If Wireshark was selected to be installed, the next few screens will be shown as the Wireshark
installer is completed; once this screen is shown press the Next button. If Wireshark was not
selected move to Figure 21.

The next screen will display the license information to install Wireshark. If the terms are
agreeable press the I Agree button.

The next screen will allow the user to customize the installation by selecting which
components will be installed; select the components that are required for the specific
installation and press the Next button.

The next screen will ask which shortcuts to install as part of the Wireshark installation and
ask if a number of different file associations should be associated to Wireshark. Select the
wanted options and press the Next button.

The next screen will allow the user to select where Wireshark will be installed. Select the
appropriate path and press the Next button.

The next screen will ask if WinPcap should be installed as well. Since WinPcap was
probably already installed first by the GNS3 installer, this option will probably not be
selected; once done press the Install button.

At this point the Wireshark installer will start as shown in Figure 17.

Once the Wireshark installation is complete the screen shown in Figure 18 will be displayed;
once done press the Next button.

At the next screen don't select the Run Wireshark option (this is because the GNS3 installer
is still running) and press the Finish button.

The next screen will show that the installation of GNS3 is proceeding.

Once the GNS3 installation is complete the screen shown in Figure 21 will be displayed;
once done press the Next button.

The last screen in the installation process is shown in Figure 22; at this screen it is possible to
run GNS3 for the first time.

Summary
Once the installation is complete, the user has the ability to use all of the GNS3 capabilities.
A couple of other articles will be written as a follow-up to display the way that these different
capabilities can be used to help in studying for Cisco based courses.

Basic Configuration for GNS3 Labs

Now that the process of configuring the device has been covered in the previous article,
GNS3 Initial Configuration , this article will take a look at how to setup GNS3 with two
devices and then connect them together with a serial cable (virtually of course). This article
will also go over the process of establishing the IDLE PC value.

GNS3 Basic Lab Configuration

For those just learning GNS3 it can be take a little time to figure out exactly how it works.
Since many people just learning GNS3 are also just learning networking, it can be even
harder. GNS3 was designed to take some of the complexity out of emulating Cisco IOS
environments (among others). The other tools that are available (dynamips/dynagen) are still
used by GNS3, but are just configured and operated in the background. The configuration of
labs within GNS3 requires some basic level GUI OS proficiency which most people already
have.
To begin with, it is best to first have an idea of what the topology is going to look like. For
this article the topology is going to connect two 7206 routers together with a single serial

link. The first step to set this up is to drag the two 7200s from the nodes types pane to the
map pane. This process is shown in Figures 1-4 below:

Figure 1 - Select the 7200 Series Router

Figure 2 - Drag the First Router to the Map pane

Figure 3 - Select the 7200 Series Router Again

Figure 4 - Drag the Second Router to the Map pane

Now that the two routers have been placed on the map pane, the two need to be connected
together with a serial link. The Add a Link tool is in the top navigation bar and resembles a
cable connector, once it is clicked the different types of link available are shown for selection.
In this case a serial link is going to be used to connect the two devices. The selection of a
Serial link is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 - Add a Link Tool - Selecting Serial Link Type

Once the link type has been selected, connecting together devices is as simple as clicking the
first device and then clicking the second device; this process is shown in Figure 6-8. Once the
link has been successfully created, the map pane will reflect the link between them with red
dots, these dots indicate that the interface is not enabled (in this case the router has not been
started yet.).

Figure 6 - Select the First Device

Figure 7 - Select the Second Device

Figure 8 - A Completed Serial Link

Once all of the Serial links have been completed, the Add a Link tool needs to be disabled;
this is done by clicking on the Add a Link tool again. When it is active, the thumbnail will
change to a red X. Figure 9 shows the thumbnail that will need to be selected.

Figure 9 - Disabling the Add a Link Tool

Once you have disabled the Add a Link tool, the lab and the two devices is complete. These
following parts cover the steps required to configure the IDLE PC value; the IDLE PC value
is important as it enables GNS3/dynamips to more efficiently use the host processor. Without
it, the process utilization of the host machine will often be at 100%. To begin, a single device
needs to be started and allowed to completely boot up. Figures 10-12 show the process of
starting R1 and displaying the console. Watch the console until the device has been
completely booted up and no additional messages are being displayed.

Figure 10 - Starting R1

Figure 11 - Displaying R1's Console

Figure 12 - Watch the Console

Once the device has booted up and is idle, the IDLE PC value can be calculated. Figures 13
and 14 show the process of calculating the IDLE PC value and selecting the best value. The
best values that GNS3 believes will provide the least processor utilization are shown with a
*', so select the one that provides the least processor utilization.

Figure 13 - Calculating the IDLE PC Value

Figure 14 - Select a Value with a '*'

Summary
The process of calculating the IDLE PC only needs to be done once for each router model
type, once it is calculated it will automatically be added to the configuration of all other
similar models. Hopefully the content of this article enables the reader to set up a simple lab
and become familiar with the process of using GNS3 and will help in future studies.

Pre P2V Conversion Checklist

This is a checklist to aid in the initial stages of planning a server consolidation. It
can be used to assess the current physical server for compatability as a virtual
machine. In some cases it may not be possible to convert the physical server due
to certain conditions that exist, or the virtual environment may not be able to
provide everthing the application requires (possibly USB device access).

1. Check VMware vCenter Converter documentation and release notes for any
related known issues to the hardware/software being converted.
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/converter_pubs.html
2. Decide on the clone method (Hot or Cold).
Note: If the source machine is a domain controller, database server, email server,or any
other service with frequently changing data, a cold conversion must be performed.
Tip: For a domain controller the best way is to create a new virtual machine and promote
it to a DC then decommission the old DC.
3. Does the physical machine use serial ports?
If yes, it is still possible to P2V, however that VM will need to be resticted to an individual
ESX server with the physical serial device attached.
4. Does the physical machine use parallel ports?
If yes, it is still possible to P2V, however that VM will need to be resticted to an individual
ESX server with the physical parallel device attached.

5. Does the physical machine use and USB devices?

If yes, you will need to look into using USBanywhere, which allows to use USB over the
network.

6. Check there is enough storage space for the new VM. Take into account the
current data size plus growth.
Note: Disks can be resized upon conversion so if there is a large quantity of unused
space on the physical this can be removed to save space.
7. Check there is enough RAM available in the virtual environment to
accomodate the new VMs needs.
8. Check there is enough CPU available in the virtual environment to
accomodate the new VMs needs.
Note: Physical machines with multiple CPUs but only using single threaded applications
should be set to 1vCPU. Adding extra CPUs would waste CPU time / cycles because the

applications would not make use of it.

9. Check the network the physical machine is connected to, is available in the
virtual environment.
10. Monitor the physical machine for the following utilization metrics:
Avg CPU usage (Mhz)
Max CPU usage (Mhz)
Avg RAM usage (Mb)
Max RAM usage (Mb)

Avg Disk IO Reads

Max Disk IO Reads
Avg Disk IO Writes
Max Disk IO Writes
Note: This performance information can be used to better specify the virtual machine
reservations and limits. The longer this is monitored, the better the idea of its resource
usage.

Tools such as Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit and Novel PlateSpin Recon can be used for gathering
all resource utilization metrics. Perfmon can also be used or any other 3rd party monitoring solution including
the use of WMI to gather various metrics.

Using this information the P2V conversion can be planned and performed.

Share this blog post on social media: