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The design phase is the initial step in creating a network topology. During the design phase, you will perform the tasks described in the following sections.
The topology you design consists of nodes and connection functions. See Navigating Within the Cisco Modeling Labs Client for additional information about how to select and edit nodes and connection functions.
Node Name |
Node Type |
---|---|
Cisco IOSv |
Router node. Runs a Cisco IOS operating system. |
Cisco IOSvL2 |
Router node. Runs a Cisco IOS Layer 2 operating system. |
Server |
Server node. Runs a Linux operating system. |
Cisco IOS XRv |
Router node. Runs a Cisco IOS XR operating system. |
Cisco CSR1000v |
Router node. Runs a Cisco CSR 1000 operating system. |
Cisco NX-OSv |
Router node. Runs a Cisco NX-OS operating system. (Available separately.) |
A node subtype is a virtual machine that runs on top of OpenStack, which itself is running in a Linux virtual machine that is running on top of VMware software. Because the node is virtual, specific hardware is not emulated. For example, there are no power supplies, no fans, no ASICs, and no physical interfaces. For all router nodes, the interface type is a Gigabit Ethernet network interface. A server node has an Ethernet network interface.
You can choose an image and image flavor for each node type. See the User Workspace Management chapter in the Cisco Modeling Labs Corporate Edition System Administrator Installation Guide, Release 1.1 for information on how to access the VM Image and the VM Flavor choices. In most cases, you need not select an image and flavor. By default, the node subtype is associated with an image and flavor that runs with the topology.
VM Image Name |
Used For |
---|---|
server |
Server node |
CSR1000v |
Cisco CSR1000 node |
IOSv |
Cisco IOS node |
IOSvL2 |
Cisco IOS Layer 2 node |
IOS XRv |
Cisco IOS XR node |
NX-OSv |
Cisco NX-OS node |
VM Flavor Name |
Used For |
---|---|
m1_tiny |
Linux server |
m1_small |
Linux server |
m1_medium |
Linux server |
m1_large |
Linux server |
m1_xlarge |
Linux server |
server |
Linux server |
CSR1000v |
Cisco CSR 1000 node |
IOS XRv |
Cisco IOS XR node |
IOSv |
Cisco IOS node |
IOSvL2 |
Cisco IOS Layer 2 node |
NX-OSv |
Cisco NX-OS node |
Each Linux flavor provides a different amount of memory and CPU allocated to the server.
Cisco Modeling Labs provides the connection functions shown in the following table.
Connection Type | Description |
---|---|
Connection | Creates a connection between two interfaces. Interfaces are created in the node to support a connection. Any unused interfaces present are automatically assigned. All the interfaces in router nodes are represented as Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. Multiple parallel connections are supported. |
External Router | Creates an
external router connection point.
When the external router is used in conjunction with a Layer 2 External (Flat) network and IOSv instances, AutoNetkit is able to configure an L2TPv3 tunnel to connect simulations to remote devices in a transparent manner. |
Layer 3 External (SNAT) | Creates a Layer 3 external connection point using static network address translation (SNAT). This external connection point allows connections outside of Cisco Modeling Labs to connect to the topology. |
Layer 2 External (Flat) | Creates a Layer 2 external connection point using FLAT. This external connection point allows connections outside of Cisco Modeling Labs to connect to the topology. |
Layer 2 External (Flat1) | Creates a Layer 2 external connection point using FLAT1. This second external connection point allows connections outside of Cisco Modeling Labs to connect to the topology. |
Type | Description |
---|---|
Site | Creates a site that uses levels of hierarchy in a Cisco Modeling Labs topology. Sites can be added to a topology, objects can be created within a site, and objects can be linked between sites and parent sites. |
A topology project folder must exist.
There are several methods for creating a topology. These are discussed in the following sections.
Place the nodes.
Step 1 | Click a node type, which is under the Nodes heading in the Palette view. | ||||
Step 2 | Click the canvas
at each point where you want to place a node. You can also drag the nodes on
the canvas to position them. You can then arrange the nodes using several
methods:
|
Create connections and interfaces.
Nodes must be in place on the canvas of the Topology Editor.
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A topology file with the extension .virl must exist. Router nodes or server nodes are placed on the canvas. Optionally, connections may exist between nodes.
Step 1 | In the Nodes view, click Unmanaged Switch. |
Step 2 | Click the area on the canvas where you want the unmanaged switch to appear. |
Step 3 | In the Tool view, click Connect. |
Step 4 | On the canvas,
click the unmanaged switch node then click an end node. A connection appears.
Continue
clicking unmanaged switch-node combinations until all connections are made.
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Note | All Cisco IOSvL2 switch images in a topology are counted against the node limit. |
A Cisco IOSvL2 switch image provides sixteen Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, reserving Gi0/0 for OOB management. It can be configured manually or using AutoNetkit.
Any routers set up to connect to the Cisco IOSvL2 switch will be in switchport access mode. By default, all routers are placed in VLAN 2. You can specify which VLAN to place a port in by setting a VLAN attribute on the router interface. See Assign VLANs for details on how to do this.
When using a switch to switch connection, it defaults to a 802.1q trunk port between the switches when configured using AutoNetkit.
Step 1 | In the Nodes view, click IOSvL2. |
Step 2 | Click the canvas at each point where you want to place an IOSvL2 node. You can also drag the nodes on the canvas to position them. |
Step 3 | Add additional node types as required. |
Step 4 | Use the Connect tool to create connections between the nodes. |
Step 5 | To specify which VLAN to place a port in, select the interface for the host or router in the Node Editor. |
Step 6 | Under
, enter a value for the
VLAN
field, as shown.
|
Step 7 | From the
toolbar, click
Build Initial
Configurations to generate a configuration for the topology using
AutoNetkit. When prompted to open AutoNetkit visualization, click
Yes.
AutoNetkit visualization for the topology opens in a browser
window.
|
Step 8 | To view all
broadcast domains that are enabled, select
layer2_conn from the
phy
drop-down list. For example, hovering over server-2 in this example shows the
routers and servers that are in the same VLAN. All other devices are greyed
out.
|
Step 9 | In the Cisco
Modeling Labs client, click
Launch
Simulation to start the simulation.
The
simulation starts and is visible in the
Simulations view.
|
A site is a container that can hold one or more nodes. It is used to group multiple nodes within the same site, which provides a degree of hierarchy and simplifies the topology view.
A node interface within a site can connect to another node interface in the same site or to a node interface located in a different site. A connection cannot start on a node and terminate on a site. Sites can be nested, forming a hierarchical structure.
One or more nodes should be on the canvas.
Step 1 | In the General view, click Site. |
Step 2 | Click an area on the canvas to place the site. |
Step 3 | Shift-Click the nodes that you want in the site, or click and drag a selection window around the nodes. |
Step 4 | To view the site,
select the site name from the drop-down list under the
Topology tab.
A topology site tab opens and displays the site view. The drop-down list under the Topology tab displays the site hierarchy as a navigation trail. To open a site view, double-click on the site. The following figure shows the navigation trail selections for Site 1 and Site 2. |
Step 5 | To ungroup the site, click the site icon and choose . |
Step 6 | To connect node
interfaces between Site 1 and Site 2:
|
Step 7 | To delete a node
from a site:
|
Step 8 | To delete a site
from a topology:
|