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
Some of the compelling new options in CML 2.9 is the power to combine Docker containers. Beforehand, CML was restricted to digital machines (VMs), reminiscent of IOS-XE and Catalyst 9000. Now you’ll be able to add light-weight, optimized node varieties that eat fewer sources, so you’ll be able to construct bigger and extra various labs.
CML 2.9 ships with 10 pre-built container photos, together with:
- Browsers: Chrome and Firefox for in-lab internet entry.
- Routing: Free-Vary Routing (FRR), a light-weight, open-source routing gadget supporting OSPF and different protocols.
- Community Providers: Dnsmasq, Syslog, Netflow, Nginx, Radius, and TACACS+ for important community capabilities.
- Utilities: Web-tools (filled with 20+ community instruments like T-shark and Nmap) and a ThousandEyes agent for monitoring.
This opens up an entire new world of potentialities, permitting you to simulate advanced eventualities with specialised instruments and companies instantly inside your CML topology. As a result of containers are light-weight and resource-efficient, you’ll be able to run extra companies with no heavy impression on system efficiency. Plus, you’ve got the flexibleness to create and combine your individual customized container photos from DockerHub or different sources.
Containers in CML combine seamlessly with VM nodes, permitting you to attach them throughout 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 doable to scale labs effectively by working companies or routing capabilities 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 initiatives or studying actions. This characteristic helps you to transfer past the fundamental learn/write entry obtainable 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; as an example, you can begin and cease nodes
- Edit: Permits customers to change the lab, reminiscent of shifting, 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, guaranteeing customers have precisely the best 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 difficulty. In the event 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 regularly used gadgets and configurations, saving you helpful time.
Node disk picture cloning is great for saving time in lab setup if you’ve modified a node, reminiscent of Ubuntu, so as to add further 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 instantly tie your CML occasion to an exterior Git repository. This characteristic modifications the way you entry and handle pattern labs. As an alternative of manually downloading and importing particular person lab information, now you can present a repository URL, and CML will sync the content material, making it obtainable below the Pattern Labs menu.
Cisco supplies a set of pattern labs on the CML Neighborhood GitHub on the Cisco DevNet website, together with certification-aligned labs (reminiscent of CCNA), which will be imported with a single click on.
This characteristic additionally lets you add Git repositories (reminiscent of GitLab and Bitbucket), empowering you to handle your individual lab content material seamlessly.
CML helps any Git-based repo, however authentication for personal repos isn’t supported. We’ve added some CCNA labs, and we’re working to combine extra superior certification content material, reminiscent of 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 contains these enhancements:
- Elevated scalability: The restrict of concurrently working nodes has risen from 320 to 520.
- Net 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 assist for bulk operations: Simplify your automation efforts with new API capabilities that enable for bulk operations, reminiscent of 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 selected 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 increase its capabilities and discover additional container orchestration, superior lab automation, and new API developments, we encourage our neighborhood to contribute to the rising library of pattern labs on our DevNet GitHub repository. And we’re working to make including new node varieties even simpler sooner or later.
Able to discover the ability of CML 2.9? Obtain it now to check out these new options immediately.
Depart a remark beneath and tell us what you suppose!
📣 Cisco Modeling Labs 2.9 is now obtainable!
Rise up to hurry on the newest modifications: https://t.co/kW2gpvVmaP#CML
— Cisco Modeling Labs (@CiscoVIRL) July 21, 2025
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