This article shows you how to set up and use GNS3 VM 2.2 (2.2.33) using VMware Workstation 16 Pro on Debian 11 Bullseye.
GNS3 VM (Virtual Machine) is a Linux-based system integrated with graphical GNS3 software and released as a virtual machine file.
Using one of the VMware Workstation or VirtualBox programs, you can use the GNS3 VM as a virtual machine on your computer.
The logic of using a GNS3 VM is to get more performance on the virtual machine without reducing the performance of the host computer by running Cisco or other brands’ IOS images or devices on the server-based system.
You can also use the GNS3 virtual machine on Windows or other platforms. Follow this video tutorial or the steps below to install and configure GNS3 VM using VMware Pro virtualization software on Debian 11 Bullseye distribution.
Step 1: Install GNS3 and VMware Workstation Pro software on your Linux system by browsing the texts below.
Step 2: Before configuring the GNS3 VM, after installing the necessary software on your computer, visit the link below.
⇒ https://www.gns3.com/software/download-vm
Step 3: After viewing the Download GNS3 VM official web page, download the virtual machine from the VMware Workstation and Fusion section.
Step 4: To extract the zip file you downloaded, go to Downloads and execute the unzip filename.zip command in the terminal.
Step 5: After ensuring you have extracted the GNS3 virtual machine file with the OVA extension to the folder, open the Workstation software.
Step 6: Click File / Open from the tool menu and specify the location of the GNS3 VM.ova file.
Step 7: When the “Store the new Virtual Machine” window opens, configure the location where you want to install the virtual machine, and click Import.
Step 8: After importing the GNS3 virtual server, run it and check the IP address it receives. To test the connection, ping the virtual server from the terminal.
Step 9: After installing the GNS3 VM, run the GNS3 software and select Run appliances in a virtual machine on the open Setup Wizard screen.
Step 10: Select the IP block of the GNS3 VM from the IP addresses in the Host Binding section.
Step 11: After successfully connecting to the GNS3 server, select VMware on the VM screen and configure the number of virtual processor cores to 2 or higher.
Step 12: After configuring the server type, check the settings in the summary window and close the wizard.
Step 13: You can check that the connection is established from the Servers Summary section on the right panel of GNS3.
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