(Written by Joel Obstfeld, Distinguished Engineer on the VIRL Team)
In November we released the 1.0 version of the VIRL tool. The Virtual Internet Router Lab is Cisco's networking simulator, allowing you to design, model and test networks across simulated loads and failure situations. It allows you to create a network environment and then test it against different load and problem scenarios and visualize how the network responds to and manages the traffic, all without having to buy, install or manage test hardware in a lab.
In the last year, we've been honored by your reaction to VIRL and how well it's been received. Our YouTube Channel has well over 50,000 views, our use base has grown to over 10,000 users and VIRL has been used for over 160,000 simulations using almost a million VM instances.
Over the last year we've added many features and capabilities, including latency and packet loss simulation, data-plane traffic generation and a unique control-plane traffic injector.
We've been amazed at some of the uses people have found for VIRL beyond the obvious: studying for their CCIE exam, for instance (passed first time!) or using it in their university studies. Seeing VIRL create these kind of opportunities for users gives us motivation to keep working on and improving VIRL for you.
We've accomplished a lot in the last year on the VIRL team, but we're just getting started.
Interested in learning more about VIRL and see what we're up to? Come join us in the DevNet Zone in Berlin and find out all about this important network tool.
You can meet the VIRL development team at our VIRL meetup on Wednesday Feb. 17th, 18:00 to 19:30 in the DevNet Zone Theater. Snacks and drinks will be provided! Please RSVP if you are interested in attending.
VIRL in the DevNet Zone
We have a VIRL Learning Lab in the DevNet Zone, so you can sit down at a Learning Lab terminal any time the show is open and get hands on with and start learning how to use the system. There is also a VIRL booth where you can stop by and talk to some of our team to get your questions answered.
We're holding two sessions in the DevNet Zone:
- VIRL - Your network simulation swiss-army knife is in the main theater on Tuesday February 16 at 3:00, and will give those of you new to VIRL an introduction to the system and basic information on its capabilities and usage.
- The DevNet Zone VIRL workshop is Wednesday at 10:00 in the workshop booth and is an intermediate-level discussion of the VIRL system.
There are also two other VIRL activities elsewhere at Cisco Live:
- You can register for our Breakout Session Three Secrets of VIRL Networking - BRKRST-3003, to be held on the 16th at 11:15 in Hall 7, room New York 3 on Level 1. This is an intermediate to advanced session.
- There's also a leader-led lab: Dr. Evil's secret VIRL hands-on Lab - LTRRST-3003 which is in Hall 2, Level 2, Lab 6 on the 18th at 9AM. This is an intermediate to advanced hands-on session.
There's a lot to learn about VIRL in Berlin, and we're looking forward to having you join us to dig into this useful and capable network tool. See you in the DevNet Zone!
