NetPilot

Hands-On Network Lab Platform

Describe a lab in plain English — AI designs the topology, configures every device, and deploys an isolated copy per student to the cloud with real CLI access.

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app.netpilot.io

What the AI does for your lab team

~2 min
from an instructor's plain-English prompt to a deployed multi-vendor lab
1 / student
isolated cloud lab from a single template — no shared servers to size
9+
real network OSes the agent configures in one topology, and growing

What makes NetPilot different for training teams

Author labs with AI, isolate every student in the cloud, iterate by chat, and go from prompt to working lab in minutes — built for training providers at scale.

Cloud-native

Browser only. Nothing to install.

The alternative

EVE-NG / NETLAB+ servers to rack, license, and maintain — one stack per cohort.

AI-designed

Describe any topology in plain English — AI designs, configures, and deploys it; SSH in to verify.

The alternative

Build every lab by hand in the GUI, then clone per student — hours per scenario.

Multi-turn iteration

“Add an Arista spine, move OSPF to area 0.0.0.1” → AI updates across all devices.

The alternative

Skillable / Boson courseware edited template-by-template and re-published each revision.

2 minutes vs days/weeks

~2 minutes from prompt to working multi-vendor lab.

The alternative

CloudMyLab / NETLAB+ content build-out measured in days, plus per-seat hosting fees.

See It in Action

Watch NetPilot build a full network lab from a single description in under 5 minutes.

From description to deployed lab

Author a lab from plain English, deploy an isolated copy per student, and let learners SSH into real vendor CLIs to verify it.

Author labs from a description

Instructors type the scenario — "a Cisco MPLS L3VPN lab with PE, P, and CE routers." The AI agent designs the topology, generates working per-vendor configs, and deploys it to a dedicated cloud VM. No lab-engineering team required.

app.netpilot.io

Deploy per-student in the cloud

Every student launches their own isolated copy from a single template — no shared servers, no contention, no per-class capacity planning. Labs spin up in the cloud in about two minutes, so a full cohort starts hands-on at the same time.

app.netpilot.io

Real vendor CLIs over SSH

Students SSH into genuine network-OS CLIs running in the lab — Nokia SR Linux built in, with Cisco, Juniper, and Arista via BYOI — the same commands and output they'll see on the job and on the exam. The agent builds the lab; the CLI is the verification layer where students confirm it works.

app.netpilot.io

What your training team can build

One platform spans the full networking curriculum — per-student labs, routing, switching, data-center fabric, and security — with Nokia SR Linux, FRR, and Linux built in, plus Cisco, Juniper, Arista, and more via BYOI.

Per-student lab catalog

Save any lab as a template, then deploy an isolated copy per student in one click — a full CCNA, CCNP, or vendor-specific curriculum, ready for a whole cohort at once.

OSPF & multi-area routing labs

"4 routers, area 0 plus a stub area" — the agent builds the topology, addresses every interface, and writes the OSPF config so students can practice and break it safely.

BGP & route-policy labs

eBGP peering, route maps, communities, and path selection across vendors — generated from a description so instructors author scenarios instead of hand-configuring peers.

VLANs, trunking & switching

Access and trunk ports, inter-VLAN routing, and L2 topologies on Cisco IOL switches (via BYOI) — the building blocks of every CCNA switching module, deployed per student.

Data-center fabric labs

Leaf-spine Clos fabrics with BGP underlay and EVPN overlay on Nokia SR Linux (built in) and Arista cEOS (via BYOI) — advanced curriculum that's painful to wire by hand, generated in minutes.

Firewall & security labs

Palo Alto and Fortinet (via BYOI) inline with routing and switching, so security and network tracks share one topology instead of separate lab silos.

MPLS L3VPN & service-provider labs

PE, P, and CE routers with VRFs and MP-BGP — "a Cisco MPLS L3VPN lab" becomes a working, deployable scenario without a service-provider lab engineer.

Difficulty variations from one template

Duplicate a template and tell the agent what to change — easy, medium, and hard variants of the same topic, or a curriculum revision, without reconfiguring every device.

NetPilot vs. Self-Hosted vs. CloudMyLab

CloudMyLab solves hosting. NetPilot solves hosting and lab creation.

Lab creation
NetPilot
Describe in plain English, AI builds it
EVE-NG / NETLAB+
Drag-and-drop + CLI config by hand
CloudMyLab
Drag-and-drop + CLI config by hand
Time to create a lab
NetPilot
Minutes
EVE-NG / NETLAB+
Days to weeks
CloudMyLab
Days to weeks
Device configuration
NetPilot
AI-generated, working configs
EVE-NG / NETLAB+
Manual CLI, device by device
CloudMyLab
Manual CLI, device by device
Multi-vendor support
NetPilot
Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Palo Alto, Fortinet (via BYOI)
EVE-NG / NETLAB+
Per-vendor expertise needed
CloudMyLab
Per-vendor expertise needed
Per-student isolation
NetPilot
Dedicated cloud VM per student, one click
EVE-NG / NETLAB+
Size a server per cohort, juggle node limits
CloudMyLab
Per-instance hosting, you size it
Update labs for curriculum change
NetPilot
Tell the agent what to change
EVE-NG / NETLAB+
Reconfigure each device manually
CloudMyLab
Reconfigure each device manually
Infrastructure
NetPilot
None — fully managed cloud
EVE-NG / NETLAB+
Your own servers + licensing
CloudMyLab
Managed cloud ($100–$220/mo per instance)

The best network training lab platform: how to choose

Pick an incumbent when you need:

  • •Skillable / Practice Labs: broader non-networking IT-course coverage (cloud, security, productivity)
  • •NETLAB+ / NDG: deep Cisco NetAcad curriculum integration for institutional, per-seat programs
  • •Self-hosted EVE-NG: total infra control if you already own the servers and a team to run them
  • •CloudMyLab: managed hosting for labs you build and configure yourself

Pick NetPilot when you need:

  • •AI lab authoring — generate a topology and working configs from an instructor's plain-English description
  • •Multi-vendor in one topology: Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Palo Alto, Fortinet via BYOI (9+ network OSes and growing)
  • •Per-student cloud isolation with zero infrastructure to size or maintain
  • •REST API to provision and tear down labs straight from your LMS

Verdict:Skillable and Practice Labs stay the right pick when your curriculum reaches well beyond networking; NETLAB+ / NDG is the choice for Cisco-only NetAcad institutional programs; self-hosted EVE-NG fits if you own the infrastructure. As of 2026, NetPilot is the AI-native cloud option built for network training — the only one in this set that generates the lab from a plain-English description and deploys multi-vendor topologies per student with no servers to manage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions from training providers evaluating NetPilot.

A hands-on lab platform gives learners a real, interactive network environment to practice in — not slides or a simulator. For network training providers, it means each student can SSH into working routers, switches, and firewalls and run real commands. NetPilot is the AI-native version: instructors describe a lab in plain English, the AI agent designs the topology and writes every per-vendor config, and an isolated copy deploys per student to a dedicated cloud VM in about two minutes — no servers to rack, no EVE-NG to maintain.
You describe your lab scenario in plain English — for example, "Create an OSPF lab with 4 routers in area 0 and a stub area." NetPilot's AI agent generates the full ContainerLab topology, device startup configs, IP addressing, and routing configuration, then deploys it to a dedicated cloud VM in about two minutes. Students SSH into real CLIs to verify — the agent builds, the CLI is the trust layer.
Yes. Every lab you create can be saved as a template in your library. You can duplicate templates, modify them to create difficulty variations (beginner/intermediate/advanced), and deploy isolated copies per student. Each student gets their own dedicated environment — no shared servers, no contention, no per-class capacity math.
Nokia SR Linux, FRR, and Linux are built in. Commercial network OSes — Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Palo Alto, and Fortinet — run via bring-your-own-image (BYOI); you upload images you're licensed for and the AI configures them in your topology. NetPilot supports 9+ network OSes and growing, and the AI handles each vendor's configuration syntax automatically, so your lab engineers don't need to be experts in every platform.
Yes. You upload your own vendor device images for specialized training requirements — the same way you'd license and image Cisco, Juniper, or Arista. NetPilot's AI agent configures them within your topologies just like the built-in images. We do not distribute commercial images; you bring images you're licensed for.
NetPilot provides a REST API for programmatic lab provisioning. You can trigger lab creation, deployment, and teardown from your LMS, content pipeline, or any system that can make HTTP requests. We also offer guidance on integration patterns for common platforms.
We deploy a custom environment tailored to your lab engineering workflow. Each user gets a dedicated cloud VM where the AI agent builds and deploys labs directly — no conflicts, no shared resources. Build as many labs as you need. The 14-day pilot includes dedicated onboarding assistance and a shared Slack channel with our engineering team. Extensions are available if you need more time to evaluate.
The training-provider category has distinct options. Skillable and Practice Labs are strong for general IT labs but not network-topology-native. NETLAB+ / NDG is the NetAcad-integrated institutional choice — deep Cisco curriculum integration, traditional per-seat pricing. Self-hosted EVE-NG scales if you already own the infrastructure and a team to run it. CloudMyLab manages hosting for labs you build and configure yourself. As of 2026, NetPilot is the productized AI-native multi-vendor option for training providers — the AI agent generates topic-scoped labs instantly from instructor descriptions, scales per-student with no server sizing, integrates with any LMS via REST API, and supports Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Palo Alto, and Fortinet (via BYOI) in one topology for multi-vendor curriculum.
Skillable and Practice Labs have broader IT-course coverage and stay the right pick for training providers whose curriculum goes beyond networking. NETLAB+ / NDG is the NetAcad-integration choice — deep Cisco curriculum, institutional lease model. Self-hosted EVE-NG scales if you already own the infrastructure and have the engineering team to run it. As of 2026, NetPilot is the productized AI-native cloud option in this category — zero infrastructure, the AI agent generates topic-scoped labs from instructor descriptions, multi-vendor out of the box, usage-based pricing that scales per-student rather than per-seat. Complementary to NETLAB+ for Cisco-only institutional programs; differentiated for multi-vendor / cloud-native curricula.

Explore NetPilot

Network Engineering Agent

The agent your team runs — it designs, builds, and validates the lab from a prompt.

Online Network Lab

Run the AI-built lab in the browser — no install, no server.

AI Network Emulator

Real network OSes, generated and configured by an AI agent.

Network Digital Twin

Validate changes in a production-mirror sandbox before prod.

GNS3 Alternative

AI-built topologies — no VM, no install.

EVE-NG Alternative

Per-student cloud labs with no server to size or maintain.

Start a Free Pilot

14 days. Unlimited labs. A dedicated environment for your team. No credit card required. Dedicated onboarding support included.

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