Planning

This guide provides specific information pertinent to delivering the NETLAB+ Multi-Device Pod (MDP) pod.


Lab Device Overview

Lab devices are part of the topology, and users can interact with them either directly or indirectly. The lab device requirements vary for the NETLAB+ Multi-Device Pod (MDP), depending on the Cisco equipment you plan to use.

If you plan to use your NETLAB+ Multi-Device Pod (MDP) for the CCNA1: Introduction to Networks v7, CCNA2: Switching, Routing, and Wireless Essentials v7, and CCNA3: Enterprise Networking, Security, and Automation v7 , please refer to the lab device requirements in Lab Device Requirements for Supported Courses.

Other equipment may work if it is supported by NETLAB+ and can meet the minimum requirements for feature sets, interfaces, IOS, RAM, and Flash. A list of NETLAB+ supported lab equipment can be found on the NDG website. Please note, compatibility with NETLAB+ does not guarantee compatibility with the Academy labs.


Lab Device Requirements for Supported Courses

Note

Details on requirements are provided on the lab pages for each course:

Device Requirements

Device

Recommended Model(s)

Required License

R1

C8200L-1N-4T

Cisco DNA Essentials On-Prem Lic

R2

C8200L-1N-4T

Cisco DNA Essentials On-Prem Lic

S1

C9200L-24T-4G-E

C9200L-DNA-E-24-3Y

S2

C9200L-24T-4G-E

C9200L-DNA-E-24-3Y

Warning

The global command boot enable-break must be enabled on all switches for proper operation. Please refer to Switch Configuration Tasks.


Pod Resource Requirements

The NETLAB+ Multi-Device Pod (MDP) pod will consume 48.2 GB of storage per template pod instance.

The following table provides details of the storage requirements for each of the virtual machines in the pod.

Pod Resources

Virtual Machine

Deployed VM (GB)

Maximum Memory (GB)

PC-A

24.1

6

PC-B

24.1

6

Total

48.2

12


Proxmox VE Host Requirements

Please refer to the NDG website for specific Proxmox VE host requirements to support virtual machine delivery: https://www.netdevgroup.com/products/requirements/

The deployment of the NETLAB+ Multi-Device Pod (MDP) requires Proxmox VE version of 8.4 or greater.

Note

The number of active pods that can be used simultaneously depends on the NETLAB+ product license and the number of Proxmox VE host servers meeting the hardware requirements specifications.


NETLAB+ Requirements

Installation of NETLAB+ Multi-Device Pod (MDP) pods, as described in this guide, requires that you are running NETLAB+ VE 25.0.0 or greater. Previous versions of NETLAB+ do not support requirements for the NETLAB+ Multi-Device Pod (MDP) pod on the Proxmox VE physical host servers. Please refer to the NETLAB+ Virtual Machine Infrastructure.


NETLAB+ Virtual Machine Infrastructure Setup

The NETLAB+ Virtual Machine Infrastructure setup is described in the following sections of the NETLAB+ Virtual Machine Infrastructure:

  • Registering a Virtual Datacenter in NETLAB+

  • Adding hosts in NETLAB+


Networking Requirements

To accommodate the movement of large VMs and ISO disk images from one host to another, gigabit Ethernet or better connectivity is recommended to interconnect your NETLAB+ and Proxmox VE host systems.

It is recommended to interconnect your servers are described in detail in the Networking section of the NETLAB+ Designated Operating Environment.