Network software/Tools to help me learn networks better?

Mikoyan

Mikoyan

Mikoyan

Soldato
Joined
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Hey people im wondering if there is such a thing..I would love if there was software that can emulate networks so I can put my own servers, routers, firewalls and add my rules and test my dummy network..

We had software like this at my university but I am taking an interest in networks and rather that destroying my companies network I would like it if there was such software that emulates it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Herman
 
Get a copy of VMware and trials of Windows Servere 2003/2008 and XP,Vista, 7 and mess about creating a virtual domain. Worth it and won't necessarily cost you a penny. But seriously virtualization is how I learnt a fair amount of Active Directory, Group Policy etc.
 
If it is the network infrastructure you want you can simulate that sort of thing with packet Tracer or NetSim, 2 Cisco applications. If you actually want to create the machines you will have to visualise them, but you wont be able to visualise routers/switches

- Pea0n
 
If your looking to virtualise Cisco routers / PIX firewalls then check out Dynamips/GNS3. You will need to source your own copies of Cisco IOS software (legally obviously!) but it will then allow you to run and configure fully functional virtual routers and PIX firewalls. Don't have great experience with it yet as my laptop doesn't cope very well but should have it up and running soon on a new rig :)
 
trials copies of software and vmware, ios and gns3 are the tools you want. you can even link the two together. hell, you can link gns3 to your 'live' home network too if you wanted to. you won't get good performance across gns3 environments though because that's not what it is designed for. additionally vmware has some pretty cool networking features (virtual switches and the like), and you can always twin these with the many many linux distro's out there that perform router/firewall/utm type functionality out of the box. also, if you wan't 'proper' router type stuff to run within vmware, check out things like vyatta. obviously all of the vmware environment can be linked into your home network too. a mix of physical and virtual stuff is always nice! hope this helps! :)
 
i'm looking into the same kind of thing, what version of vmware would be best to set up a virtual test network, will just the free vmware server be ok? Also whats the best way of installing it, would you install it onto a 2003box? sorry for the "basic" questions but not really played around with vmware yet
cheers
 
would this help?
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/bb738372.aspx

edit: I've just persuaded my boss to let me subscribe to MS Technet. The price is less than a retail copy of office 2007. You have full unlimited access to ALL MS software, so you can test and evaulate all their stuff to your hearts content.
MS Virtual Server 2005 R2 is a free download regardless of subscription.
 
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the 'server' i use i put together for a couple of hundred quid...cheap c2d, m-atx board with on-board graphics, 8 gigs of memory, and a couple of hard drives. i re-used an old case by updating the power supply, and away we go. since then i have actually whacked a freebie ati hd2400 graphics card and connected it up to my 42" plasma in the lounge, so it doubles as htpc as well as test environment. my media is stored on a seperate terrabyte drive so as not to interfere with server duties. i'm running windows 7 64-bit release candidate and the latest version of vmware server 2.0. previous to this i had it dual-boot between xp for htpc duties and 2003 server x64 bit for vmware duties. my graphics card is 'properly' supported in 7 64-bit though so i have combined the two roles 'properly'. i dont run gns on that setup however, as thats a 'runtime' application, whereas vmware is accessible remotely via a browser interface. so, for vmware + gns3 i just use my laptop, which is still a c2d with 4 gigs of ram. hope this helps! :)
 
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