VIRL - A slow greatness

I had a migration project from 6500 to ASRs. I have decided to check out VIRL.

My migration setup requires 14 routers and a test server. Reading the system requirements for such a setup made me decide not to install on my laptop.

I went ahead and installed it on a not so small ESX server: A new UCS machine (24 cores, 380G memory, running 4 VMs, including VIRL), ESX 5.1.

I have allocated VIRL 4vCPU, 16GB memory.

The installation was not that short, but not that hard either. After the installation was over, I installed VM Maestro and started building my lab. Working with VM Maestro, which is VIRL's GUI, was really easy. The only annoying thing was my inability to set the interface numbers for the connections between routers.

Here is how my final setup looks like:

The setup is running 12 vIOS, 2 CSR1K, and one Ubuntu server, from where I ran my automated tests.

I pressed on "Start simulation" and then when trouble started. It took about 40 minutes for all the routers to load. Then the CLI felt like 2400 baud. It was crawling!

Notice that each time you start the simulation, for example after adding or removing a link, all the routers are rebuild from scratch. They are not just powered on. They are cloned from a template and go through lengthy installation process. Especially the ASRs which take forever to install themselves.

So I tried to run just 4 routers. That was working well and everything was snappy.

Then I tried to upgrade the VM to 6 vCPUs. Now it took just 3 minutes to load all the routers. The CLI felt much better at 9600 baud.

Then I tried to upgrade the VM to 8 vCPUs. Now everything works almost as fast as GNS3 with IOU!

After setting up the lab foundation, it was time actually to start configuring the lab. I have configured OSPF and BGP. Everything worked, but the response time was slower. Although the response time was slower, the lab was very usable.

To run the test, I am using some VRF magic and bash scripting on the Linux machine. I think it worth a blog entry on its own. Then after 30 minute of stepping away from the lab, I noticed that most OSPF and BGP sessions were lost. I had to press "enter" several times on each router's prompt to wake everything up:

Just when I wake the routers:

16:54:20 +++++-+---+-+---+--++++--++--+-+++++++++
16:54:33 +++++++++++++++++++++++--+++++++++++++++
16:54:36 +++++++++++++++++++++++--+++++++++++++++
16:54:40 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
16:54:42 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
16:54:43 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
16:54:45 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After 30 minutes:

17:21:53 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
17:21:55 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
17:21:56 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
17:21:58 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
17:22:00 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
17:22:01 ++++++++++++++--+------++++--+--+-++++++
time     111112222222333333444445555666677788899B
%H:%M:%S 589BC34679BC4679BC679BC89BC79BC9BC9BCBCC
17:22:17 +++++-----+-----+------++++--+--+-++++++
17:22:40 +++++-----+-----+------++++--+--+-++++++
17:23:02 +++++-----+-----+------++++--+--+-++++++
17:23:24 +++++-----+-----+------++++--+--+-++++++

In the beginning, I was very annoyed by this, but then I realized that it is just another test case "everything is broken. Can my network recover?".

To sum up my experience:

 

VIRL is a splendid product. Very polished for early release. It takes too much resources to get the job done. I prefer GNS3 with IOU as I can run in on my laptop. No need for a monster server.

GNS3 - ASAv and XRv and IOU and XEv

I am able to run ASAv and XRv and IOU and XEv on my la;ptop, forming OSPF neighbor relationship between them.

I then pinged each loopback from the ASA and also pinged each loopback from IOU. This test shows:

• One way broadcast and one way unicast are working - ARP
• Unicast is working - ICMP
• Multicast is working - OSPF

All thanks for GNS3 v1.1. Isn't it great?

Here is the topology:

And here is some show commands from the ASA:

GNS3 integration with Virtual box is very useful. Whatever you can run inside Virtualbox, you can connect to each other with endless possibilities.

My system76 laptop is running Ubuntu 14.04, 16GB, i7 and SSDs.

I was using the following resources:

• Install these items from https://github.com/GNS3/
• gns3-gui
• gns3-server
• iouyap
• dynamips (this is needed even if not using dynamips for IOS)
• vboxwrapper
• vpcs (optional, but very handy to test connectivity)
• Virtualbox integration with GNS3 won't work without virtualbox SDK: http://forum.gns3.net/topic6145.html
• Set permissions for dynamips and iouap:
  cd /usr/local/bin
  sudo setcap cap_dac_override,cap_net_admin,cap_net_raw+eip dynamips
  sudo setcap cap_net_raw,cap_net_admin+eip iouap
• CSR1K install: http://herdingpackets.net/2014/02/06/using-the-cisco-csr1000v-in-gns3-with-virtualbox/
• XRv install: http://www.noshutdown.ma/ios-xrv-step-step-install-gns3-integration/
  Notice the NIC type. It should be MT server.
  Notice to set the NIC type in GNS3. GNS3 will override vbox configuration.
• XR tutorial for IOS users: http://networkgeekstuff.com/networking/cisco-ios-xr-complete-getting-started-examples-guide/
• How to install ASAv on VMWare workstation: http://brezular.com/2014/07/04/cisco-asav-virtual-appliance-on-vmware-workstation/
• I encounter the following issues:
• IOU console connection get lost: https://community.gns3.com/message/4635?sr=search&searchId=4578100e-e5c1-4653-8be8-83f6c7dcc7b9&searchIndex=1#4635
  Should be fixed next version
• GNS telnet server and XRv not working. Don't enable "remote console": http://forum.gns3.net/post38696.html#p38696
  Should be fixed next version
• Sometime I need to disconnect and reconnect the XRv from the switch: http://www.noshutdown.ma/ios-xrv-step-step-install-gns3-integration/
  Search for "know issue" in that link.