Lab 1.1 Installing GNS3 - the virtual network simulator.

Last updated on 

(Updated for RouterOS 7.0 / VirtualBox 7.x)

💡
This is a non-recommended installation. The recommended method of installation would be to install GNS3 with VMWare Workstation Pro 17.x Free Edition. We have created a guide to install with VMWare Workstation Pro, but have left this guide here for people more comfortable with VirtualBox. We have, however, experienced issues with the VirtualBox install with the GNS3 Mikrotik devices not properly booting with RouterOS 7.10+ and GNS3 with VirtualBox that appears to work fine with VMWare Workstation Pro. 
Take me to the VMWare Workstation Pro Setup
⚠️
While we have tried our best to cover the installation scenario completely, there may be some factors of the install that may fall outside the scope of this document (e.g. enabling virtualization mode for your PC) and require you to perform additional steps in order to complete the install. If upon your installation you discover a newer version of the software listed, you should be safe to install the newest version. 

In this exercise, we are going to create a virtual network lab. In order to install the software and complete this lab, you'll need a Windows PC that meets the following minimum system requirements.

Why are we doing this? This software will allow you to simulate having an actual device and actual network setup as opposed to setting up a real test network with actual hardware. We wanted to give you the ability to see how the hardware operates without first having to make the investment in actual hardware. Also, this will give you the ability to perform some tasks that might be difficult to initially setup. We recommend performing these labs using a Microsoft Windows-based PC, but there are builds of the software for Mac-OS and Linux-based workstations, although the setup and configuration of those devices may differ from the step-by step instructions provided here.

OS: It should be at least Windows 7 64-bit.
Processor: You must have at least a dual-core processor.
RAM (Memory): 4 GB minimum
Disk Space: A minimum of 2GB of free disk space required.

Recommended:
OS: Windows 8, 10 or Windows 11 64-bit.
Processor: 4 or more logical processors. Core i7, i9, Ryzen 5 or 7 recommended.
RAM (Memory): 8GB is sufficient, but 16GB is recommended.
Disk Space: Minimum 2GB free disk space, SSD is recommended but not required.

⚠️
This tutorial will require that the virtualization options for your system (e.g. AMD-V or Intel Hyper-V) be enabled for your system prior to completing the installation procedures listed here. Please consult your system manual or manufacturer's website for information on enabling virtualization for your system. Another option we find helpful is to look up virtualization for your system or motherboard/CPU on YouTube.

The first piece of software we are going to install is GNS3, which is a graphical network simulator program that will allow us to simulate physical MikroTik device(s). Follow the steps below to install GNS3.