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* GNS3 WorkBench - a VMware image of Ubuntu with GNS3 and VPCS installed *
* and a collection of exercises/labs *
* Just add VMware and a Cisco IOS for an instant GNS3 WorkBench environment *
* *
* Lean more about GNS3 at http://www.gn3.net *
* Lean more about GNS3 WorkBench at http://rednectar.net/gns3-workbench *
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HOW TO INSTALL
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Part 1: Before you use this disk...
* This program requires VMware to be installed on your host computer
Go to www.vmware.com and get a copy of Vmware Player for Windows (free)
or Vmware Fusion for Macintosh (not free)
* This program requires a copy of a Cisco IOS image - preferably
c3725-adventerprisek9-mz.124-15.T10.bin
Part 2: Now that you have VMware installed and an IOS image ready...
* Copy the "GNS3 WorkBench 5.x" folder to your hard drive - into a folder
called "Virtual Machines" is a good place. There would have been such a
folder created when you installed VMware Player/Fusion:
Windows XP - My documents/Virtual Machines/
Windows 7/Vista <username>/Documents/Virtual Machines/
Macintosh OS X ~/Documents/Virtual Machines/
Part 3: First run...
* From that folder, open the .vmx file (double click - or open from VMWare)
* When asked "Did you move this virtual machine...", answer "I copied it"
* When the VM opens - maximise the VM to the full screen (you may have to
maximise/shrink/maximise to get it to work)
Part 4: My VM is running, now what????
Before you can enjoy using GNS3, you have to get your IOS image copied to the
virtual machine, and uncompress it.
* Note the directory on your host machine where you have stored the IOS image
* With your Virtual Machine running, choose the appropriate steps below
according to the version of VMware you are running:
- VMWare Player: (Note, you may have to move your mouse to the very top
and centre or your screen to see the menu)
. click VMware Player->Shared Folders
. enable shared folders and
. share the folder where you have stored the IOS image
- VM Fusion (Mac): (Note, you may have to move your mouse to the very top
and centre or your screen to see the menu)
. click Virtual Machine->Shared Folders->Turn Shared Folders On
. click Virtual Machine->Shared Folders->Add Shared Folder
. share the folder where you have stored the IOS image
* Now from within the Ubuntu environment on the Virtual Machine:
* Open the desktop folder "READMEs and scripts" to open a browser window.
- Click on the "Network" Icon in the "Places" list (on the
left panel)
. you should be able to find & navigate to your host machine's
shared folder
. copy the IOS image to Ubuntu's /opt/GNS3/IOS directory
* Bring up a command window - Click Applications->Konsole should do it
- enter the following commands
cd /opt/GNS3/IOS
ls -lh ;#to check your IOS image is indeed there
unzip -p NAME_OF_YOUR_IOS_IMAGE.bin > NAME_OF_YOUR_IOS_IMAGE.image
ls -lh ;#to check your uncompressed IOS image was created
rm NAME_OF_YOUR_IOS_IMAGE.bin ;#to remove the original
If your IOS image is the recommended c3725-adventerprisek9-mz.124-15.T10.bin
image for a C3725, then you are ready to:
* Explore the pre-configured exercises from the desktop or open the folder
"GNS Files - More exercises here" to explore
* Read the Readme files within the GNS3 WorkBench environment
* If your PC seems to be running at a high CPU rate, read Part 5.
* Enjoy
Part 5: I don't have the recommended C3725 image, but have another c3725 image
or and image for a 2600 or 2691
* THIS IS VERY EXPERIMENTAL
* Copy the image to the /opt/GNS3/IOS directory and uncompress it as
described above in Part 4
* Configure GNS3 to use this image for this model router
(Click Edit->IOS images and hypervisors: add the Image file & Model)
* Find a good idlepc value for this router/image. Read The document:
/opt/GNS3/READMEs & Scripts/GNS3-0.5-tutorial.pdf to find how to
get a good idlepc value
* Write down the good idlepc value you found
* make a backup copy of the /opt/GNS3/Project directory
* run the script /opt/GNS3/IOS/script to change firmware image
Chris Welsh
rednectar.chris@gmail.com
http://rednectar.net
@rednectarchris
