CCNA Lab in the Azure Cloud for FREE! - GNS3 Setup in Microsoft Azure

About this video

NetworkChuck shows how to run a GNS3 network lab in Microsoft Azure instead of on a powerful local PC or home server, aimed at CCNA, CCNP and higher lab work (he recommends Packet Tracer over GNS3 for complete beginners). He says Azure’s free trial gives $200 of credit for 30 days — he claims he used only about $5 in 20 days of testing — and that after the trial a pay-as-you-go account only charges while the VM runs, so stopping and deallocating the server stops the cost. The walkthrough: create the free Azure account (phone and credit card for verification), open Cloud Shell, edit a provided PowerShell script for location, username/password and a unique domain name, and paste it to deploy an Ubuntu VM sized for nested virtualisation. He then SSHs in with PuTTY, pastes a second script section to install GNS3, installs the local GNS3 client, and connects it to the remote server. He imports a portable project with Cisco VIRL images, starts a router and switch, configures interfaces and verifies connectivity with a successful ping. He closes by showing how to stop/deallocate and restart the VM in the portal, scale it up if needed, and optionally use auto-shutdown.

Key takeaways

• Hosting GNS3 in Azure removes the need for a beefy local machine; even a weak laptop can act as the client.
• Nested virtualisation on the Azure VM is what lets Cisco VIRL router and switch images run in the cloud.
• Deployment is largely copy-and-paste: a PowerShell script in Cloud Shell creates the VM, then a script section installed over SSH adds GNS3.
• Cost control depends on stopping and fully deallocating the VM when not labbing, because pay-as-you-go charges only for provisioned resources.
• After connecting the local GNS3 client to the cloud server, he verifies the lab by booting a router and switch and pinging between configured interfaces.

Episode details: published March 2, 2019 · 24:47 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are NetworkChuck’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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