GNS3 WorkBench Files

GNS3 WorkBench 12.3a Linux Appliance Installation Instructions


Download Instructions
=====================

1. Create a directory on your computer where you keep your VMware virtual machines (VMware is a prerequisite - see below). A good name would be GNS3WB123 (or on OS_X GNS3WB123.vmwarevm)

2. Download the three files:
	Archive1.zip
	Archive2.zip
	Archive3.zip
and extract them to the directory you just created.

You may wish to check the MD5 hash of your downloaded files to see that the hashes match the numbers below:
MD5 (Archive1.zip) = a201c3fa6b8da049a32e3d12de754aad
MD5 (Archive2.zip) = 8a591e532cf16ed6bc9b27ceba026983
MD5 (Archive3.zip) = 8dc864df7f702a4a11d7ed861ee2e6eb

Inside the folder, find the GNS3WB123.vmx file. Double-clicking this file should open the GNS3 WorkBench appliance.


Prerequisites:
==============

Before you can even begin to get GNS3 WorkBench (Linux Appliance) installed you will need two elements:

1. A copy of a VMware hypervisor in which you run this VM image.
2. Images for Cisco IOS routers, ASA and Juniper routers.

If you don't have a copy of a Cisco IOS, you will still be able to use GNS3 WorkBench, but you will be restricted to the ONE routing lab that you could run using a Vyetta image - which you can then use as a model to create more labs of your own.

But ideally, before you start you will have copies of:

c3725-adventerprisek9-mz.124-15.T10.bin [to run Cisco routers - this is the only image you need for MOST labs and exercises]
c3640-ik9o3s-mz.124-25a.bin [to run GNS3 Vault exercises]
c7200-adventerprisek9-mz.150-1.M.bin [to run some GNS3 Vault exercises]
asa842-k8.bin [to run Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances]
jinstall-9.6R1.13-domestic-signed.tgz [to run Juniper Junos]

You will also need to have a VMware Hypervisor.  I have VMware Fusion v6.0, but the steps will be similar for other versions.

Task 1 - Install VMware Player/Fusion/Workstation...
----------------------------------------------------

Use the VMware supplied instructions to get started

Task 2 - Download this Appliance
---------------------------------

As explained above

Save the files in the place where you normally store VMs.  Typically:
		Windows Users\<username>\Documents\Virtual Machines\
		Macintosh OS X ~/Documents/Virtual Machines/
...and decompress them so that all files exist in one folder


Task 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)

Your VM will open a page headed "CONGRATULATIONS: You have GNS3 WorkBench running but.."
This page will take you through the steps to get GNS3 working.  A summary of these steps are shown in the following task.

Task 4 -  Prepare Linux image with OS files
-------------------------------------------

Make sure you have the firmware images that will make GNS3 WorkBench run - in other words you need the following files copied to your VM:

* At least one IOS image.  Ideally, this will be c3725-adventerprisek9-mz.124-15.T10.image in the /home/user/GNS3/images/IOS directory.  
* If you intend to run the GNS3 Vault exercises, make sure you also have copies of c3640-ik9o3s-mz.124-25a.image and c7200-adventerprisek9-mz.150-1.M.image in the /home/user/GNS3/Images directory.
* If you intend to run ASA labs, make sure you also have a copy of asa842-k8.bin in the /home/user/GNS3/images/QEMU/ASA directory.  
* If you intend to run Juniper Junos, make sure you have a Junos image.  This install has been tested with jinstall-9.6R1.13-domestic-signed.tgz.  Make sure you have this file or another Juniper Junos image in the same format.
	o This image needs to be placed in the /home/user/GNS3/images/QEMU/Junos directory. 


Walkthrough of Task 4
.....................

To download the Cisco IOS images, do a Google search for the image name - such as c3725-adventerprisek9-mz.124-15.T10.bin.  You should see a link to the Cisco website where you can download the image (provided you have a valid maintenance contract for a Cisco c3725).

Once downloaded, move the image to /home/user/GNS3/images/IOS.  Next decompress the image, giving it a .image extension.  The commands to do this are:

cd /home/user/GNS3/images/IOS
unzip -p c3725-adventerprisek9-mz.124-15.T10.bin > c3725-adventerprisek9-mz.124-15.T10.image

Similarly, download and decompress c3640-ik9o3s-mz.124-25a.bin and c7200-adventerprisek9-mz.150-1.M.bin to c3640-ik9o3s-mz.124-25a.image and c7200-adventerprisek9-mz.150-1.M.image.

The ASA image MUST NOT be decompressed.  Find asa842-k8.bin and move it to the /home/user/GNS3/images/QEMU/ASA directory, then run the "repack" script found there from a command line.

A Google search for jinstall-9.6R1.13-domestic-signed.tgz may not give you a link to the Juniper website where you can download the image.  Instead, you may have to visit http://www.juniper.net/support/downloads/junos.html - but you may find that you'll have to get a later version than 9.6R1.13 - which may or may not work.

Once you have downloaded jinstall-9.6R1.13-domestic-signed.tgz, move it to the /home/user/GNS3/images/QEMU/Junos directory.  In that directory you will find a base Qemu VM (freebsd-4.11) and a "junos-auto-fix-checkpic.sh" script that will need to run from a command line to prepare your image ready for use.

Task 5 -  Enjoy your GNS3 WorkBench Labs
----------------------------------------

You can launch your labs in one of three ways:

1. Double-click on one of the desktop "shortcuts" folders to launch one of the GNS3 Exercises.  This will always load Snapshot 0... for the particular exercise.

2. In the file browser, browse to a ~/GNS3/WorkBench/projects/<Exercise_Type_Name>/<Exercise_Name> folder.  In this folder you will see some (at least one) script files called runSnapshot.x (Description).  Launching this script will launch GNS3 and load Snapshot.x (where x is a digit) ready for you to complete.

3. 
3a.  Open GNS3. 
3b.  Choose File | Open Project: browse to a ~/GNS3/WorkBench/projects/<Exercise_Type_Name>/<Exercise_Name> folder.  In this folder you will see a topology called <Exercise_name>.gns3.  Opening this topology orients GNS3 to the correct folder, and loads the topology in the state it was when you last saved it.  This is useful if you have started an exercise, saved it and wish to return to it to continue. 
3c.  Choose File | Manage snapshots.  Select the snapshot you wish to run and restore it.

Enjoy
RedNectar