Comparison to other similar projects¶
The Lab Topology Builder is just one among many open source projects available for building emulated network topologies. The aim of this project comparison is to provide a concise overview of the key features offered by some of the most well-known projects, assisting users in selecting the best suited solution for their use case.
vrnetlab - VR Network Lab¶
vrnetlab is a network emulator that runs virtual routers using KVM and Docker. It is similar to the KVM/Docker-based LTB, but is more simple and only provides the deployment functionality.
Containerlab¶
Containerlab is a tool to deploy network labs with virtual routers, firewalls, load balancers, and more, using Docker containers. It is based on vrnetlab and provides a declarative way to define the lab topology using a YAML file. Containerlab is not capable of deploying lab topologies over multiple host nodes, which is a key feature that the K8s-based LTB aims to provide in the future.
Netlab¶
Netlab is an abstraction layer to deploy network topologies based on containerlab or Vagrant. It provides a declarative way to define the lab topology using a YAML file. It mainly provides an abstracted way to define lab topologies with preconfigured lab nodes.
Kubernetes Network Emulator¶
Kubernetes Network Emulator is a network emulator that aims to provide a standard interface so that vendors can produce a standard container implementation of their network operating system that can be used in a network emulation environment. Currently, it does not seem to support many network operating systems and additional operators are required to support different vendors.
Mininet¶
Mininet is a network emulator that runs a collection of end-hosts, switches, routers, and links on a single Linux kernel. It is mainly used for testing SDN controllers and can not deploy a lab with a specific vendor image.
GNS3¶
GNS3 is a network emulator that can run network devices as virtual machines or Docker containers. It primarily focuses on providing an emulated network environment for a single user and its deployment and usage can be quite complex. Additionally, it does not provide a way to scale labs over multiple host nodes.