Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) has lengthy been the go-to platform for community engineers, college students, and builders to design, simulate, and check community topologies in a digital setting. With the discharge of Cisco Modeling Labs model 2.9, we’re excited to introduce some new options that improve its capabilities, providing flexibility, scalability, and ease of use.
Containers: A game-changer for community simulation
Probably the most compelling new options in CML 2.9 is the power to combine Docker containers. Beforehand, CML was restricted to digital machines (VMs), equivalent to IOS-XE and Catalyst 9000. Now you possibly can add light-weight, optimized node sorts that eat fewer sources, so you possibly can construct bigger and extra various labs.
CML 2.9 ships with 10 pre-built container pictures, together with:
- Browsers: Chrome and Firefox for in-lab internet entry.
- Routing: Free-Vary Routing (FRR), a light-weight, open-source routing system supporting OSPF and different protocols.
- Community Companies: Dnsmasq, Syslog, Netflow, Nginx, Radius, and TACACS+ for important community features.
- Utilities: Web-tools (full of 20+ community instruments like T-shark and Nmap) and a ThousandEyes agent for monitoring.
This opens up an entire new world of prospects, permitting you to simulate advanced eventualities with specialised instruments and providers immediately inside your CML topology. As a result of containers are light-weight and resource-efficient, you possibly can run extra providers and not using a heavy impression on system efficiency. Plus, you will have the flexibleness to create and combine your personal customized container pictures from DockerHub or different sources.
Containers in CML combine seamlessly with VM nodes, permitting you to attach them inside the identical community topology and allow full bidirectional communication. As a result of containers use considerably much less CPU, reminiscence, and disk than VMs, they begin quicker and allow you to run extra nodes on the identical {hardware}. For giant CML labs, use containers and clustering for optimum efficiency. Containers are light-weight, making it potential to scale labs effectively by working providers or routing features that don’t require a full VM.
How can I share labs with different customers?
For groups and academic environments, CML 2.9 introduces a extra fine-grained permission system. As a lab proprietor or system admin, now you can share labs with different customers, giving collaborators entry to work on shared tasks or studying actions. This function allows you to transfer past the fundamental learn/write entry out there in earlier variations. The brand new permission ranges embody:
- View: Permits customers to see the lab however prevents any state modifications or edits
- Exec: Grants permission to view and work together with the lab; for example, you can begin and cease nodes
- Edit: Allows customers to change the lab, equivalent to transferring, including, or deleting nodes and altering configurations
- Admin: Offers you full entry to the lab, in addition to lets you share the lab with different customers
This enhanced management streamlines collaboration, making certain customers have precisely the precise stage of entry for his or her duties.
→ See product documentation for particulars on setup and use.
How does node disk picture cloning work?
Bored with repeatedly configuring customized nodes in your labs? Node disk picture cloning in CML 2.9 resolves this subject. In case you’ve custom-made a node’s configuration or made particular edits, now you can clone that node’s disk picture and put it aside as a brand new picture kind. This implies quicker lab setup for ceaselessly used units and configurations, saving you priceless time.
Node disk picture cloning is superb for saving time in lab setup whenever you’ve modified a node, equivalent to Ubuntu, so as to add extra instruments and need to create a brand new node kind that has those self same instruments put in.
How do I handle labs utilizing the exterior labs repository and Git integration?
CML 2.9 introduces Git integration, permitting you to immediately tie your CML occasion to an exterior Git repository. This function modifications the way you entry and handle pattern labs. As an alternative of manually downloading and importing particular person lab recordsdata, now you can present a repository URL, and CML will sync the content material, making it out there underneath the Pattern Labs menu.
Cisco offers a set of pattern labs on the CML Group GitHub on the Cisco DevNet web site, together with certification-aligned labs (equivalent to CCNA), which may be imported with a single click on.
This function additionally lets you add Git repositories (equivalent to GitLab and Bitbucket), empowering you to handle your personal lab content material seamlessly.
CML helps any Git-based repo, however authentication for personal repos just isn’t supported. We’ve added some CCNA labs, and we’re working to combine extra superior certification content material, equivalent to CCNP, into the pattern labs repositories. Offline customers will get a pre-synced snapshot at set up.
What are different new CML 2.9 enhancements?
Past the numerous new options, CML 2.9 consists of these enhancements:
- Elevated scalability: The restrict of concurrently working nodes has risen from 320 to 520.
- Internet framework substitute (FastAPI): The product now makes use of FastAPI as its new API internet framework, leading to improved supportability, quicker API efficiency, enhanced documentation, and improved validation.
- API help for bulk operations: Simplify your automation efforts with new API capabilities that permit for bulk operations, equivalent to fence-selecting and deleting teams of nodes with a single API name.
- Allow all node definitions by default: This quality-of-life enchancment lets you import all labs by default, no matter whether or not a specific node and picture definition can be found in your system.
- Customized font for terminal home windows: Now you can configure customized fonts in your console terminal home windows to match your most well-liked CLI expertise.
- IP deal with visibility: Now you can view the assigned IP addresses for interfaces related to an exterior NAT connector.
Discover the ability of CML 2.9
CML 2.9 underscores our dedication to delivering a state-of-the-art community simulation platform. As we develop its capabilities and discover additional container orchestration, superior lab automation, and new API developments, we encourage our group to contribute to the rising library of pattern labs on our DevNet GitHub repository. And we’re working to make including new node sorts even simpler sooner or later.
Able to discover the ability of CML 2.9? Obtain it now to check out these new options at the moment.
Go away a remark under and tell us what you assume!
📣 Cisco Modeling Labs 2.9 is now out there!
Rise up to hurry on the newest modifications: https://t.co/kW2gpvVmaP#CML
— Cisco Modeling Labs (@CiscoVIRL) July 21, 2025
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