5 Best Network Simulators for Cisco Certification Exams: Pros & Cons

December 5, 2019, If you’re going to take the CCNA or CCNP certification exams, it is important that you are prepared. You should use networksimulators to study for these exams and ensure that you choose the best ones. You cannot test every simulator so you will need to rely on the recommendations of others.
Before you can move on, you need to understand the meaning of a network simulator. A simulator simulates network topology, as the name suggests. These network devices are not real and are intended to help students understand the workings of networks. You will need the right network simulator if you want to pursue the CCNA or CCNP certifications. Here are 5 top network preparation tools.
1. EVE-NG
EVE-NG (Emulated Virtual EnvironmentNext Gen) is a virtual network simulation that is available in two versions. The community edition is free. However, if you want more features, you can purchase the Professional Edition at $110 per annum.
Advantages: If you don’t have the budget for a lot of money, you can get the EVE-NGfree version. This network simulator comes with a 63-node limitper lab. This is enough for CCIE certification exams.
EVE-NG’s main drawback is its documentation. This is because the documentation can be difficult to understand and navigate through, especially if you’re a beginner.
2. VIRL
VIRL stands for Virtual InternetRouting Lab and is a virtual network simulator intended for both individuals and organizations. VIRL is very similar in design to CiscoModeling Labs. It also operates in the same way as GNS3 with respect to theclient/server model.
Advantages: When you install VIRL, you have legal access to a variety of licensed Ciscosoftware images. This is why so many people around the world use VIRL to update their software images.
Disadvantages The Personal Edition license allows you to run only 20 nodes at a time.
3. GNS3
Graphical Network Simulator-3 (orGNS3) is a free and open source network simulator. It is based upon Python and mainly uses software called Dynamips to emulate Cisco technologies.
Advantages: GNS3 is a free network emulator, just like Cisco Packet Tracer. GNS3 is open-source and you can view and modify its source code from GitHub. This is a feature that is rare in other network emulators.
T has disadvantages