SONiC NOS Lab Online
Run real SONiC switches in your browser, with an AI agent that builds the fabric.
Describe a SONiC fabric in plain English and get a working lab with community SONiC in about 2 minutes.
See It in Action
Watch NetPilot deploy a lab from a single plain-English description.
NetPilot is a containerlab contributor and integrator. Every SONiC node runs on the sonic-vs kind from the containerlab project, and the labs from our tutorials are public on GitHub. See our upstream contributions.
What NetPilot Adds to a SONiC NOS Lab
The same community SONiC you can run anywhere, with the host and the first draft of the config handled for you.
No host to run
A managed cloud VM with SONiC preloaded. Open a browser and start.
Running SONiC yourself
A Linux host with Docker, and an image from the SONiC build pipeline.
A switch that is ready
BGP and BFD running, sudo and show version working, ports up when the deploy returns.
Running SONiC yourself
bgpd stopped, no sudo, show version failing until you work around each one.
Both config layers written for you
Describe the fabric. The agent writes the config commands and the FRR config, then checks them.
Running SONiC yourself
You type config on each switch, then vtysh on each switch.
More than SONiC
Put SONiC next to other network OSes from one prompt, 17+ and growing.
Running SONiC yourself
Source and import each vendor image yourself.
SONiC Fabrics You Can Build
Each one runs on community SONiC, built by the agent and checked by you.
BGP with FRR
Leaf-spine eBGP through vtysh, with ECMP across both spines.
VXLAN EVPN
A VLAN mapped to a VNI, stretched across leaves with BGP EVPN.
Failover with BFD
Fail a link and watch BFD move the traffic to the other spine.
Port channels
LACP between SONiC switches, read from teamd.
SONiC internals
Follow a route through CONFIG_DB, APPL_DB and ASIC_DB in Redis.
Multi-vendor interop
SONiC and SR Linux or Arista cEOS in one fabric.
Ways to Run SONiC Without a Switch
Four honest ways to get hands on SONiC. Pick by who runs the host and who writes the config.
Bottom line
Pick NVIDIA Air, GNS3 or containerlab when you need:
- •A free hosted SONiC EVPN lab, ready to open, on NVIDIA Air
- •Labs fully offline on hardware you own
- •Topology files in your own Git repo and CI
Pick NetPilot when you need:
- •A lab in about 2 minutes with nothing to install
- •SONiC and FRR configs written and checked by the agent
- •SONiC next to other vendors in one prompt
Verdict:To explore SONiC, the free options work well. For the fabric you actually need to test, from any browser, NetPilot does the host and the first draft, and you verify on the real CLI.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about running a SONiC NOS lab online
Explore More
SONiC FRR: Configure BGP
A leaf-spine fabric with ECMP, the common traps and BFD failover.
SONiC Architecture on a Running Switch
Trace one route from FRR through Redis to the ASIC database.
Run SONiC in containerlab
Two switches on your own Linux host, step by step.
Learn VXLAN EVPN on SONiC
Two leaves, one spine and a VLAN mapped to a VNI.
Supported Devices
Every network OS you can run next to SONiC.
containerlab in the Cloud
The engine under every lab, hosted for you.
NetPilot is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SONiC project, the SONiC Foundation or the containerlab project. sonic-vs kind documentation
Your Next SONiC Fabric, in the Browser
Describe the fabric. The agent writes the SONiC and FRR configs, deploys real switches, and you verify on the CLI.