CML Quick Start Guide
This page is for users who are already familiar with Cisco Modeling Labs and who want to get the new release installed and working as quickly as possible.
What is Cisco Modeling Labs?
Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) is a network simulation platform. For an overview of the main features in CML 2.x releases, see the Overview of CML 2.x. See the current Release Notes for information about changes in this release. If you formerly used CML 1.x or VIRL Personal Edition 1.x, you may also want to read the CML 2.0 Release Notes for a summary of CML 2.x changes or more details on CML 2.x changes since the 1.6 release.
Installing CML
Be sure to check the minimum system requirements for running CML. If you plan to simulate larger topologies or use any but the "lightest" node types, see the CML FAQ's "What resources are required by each node type?" Note that the resources requirements listed there are the resources used by each node of a given node type. Running a simulation with eight NX-OS 9000 nodes, for example, requires 16 vCPUs and 64 GB of memory.
Once you purchase one of the CML product offerings, follow the instructions in the CML Installation Guide to deploy CML as a virtual machine or on a bare metal server. When you're done, you will have a licensed CML server running on your own system.
If you want to try CML before buying it, you can sign up for a free, 4-hour session with Cisco Modeling Labs in the Cisco DevNet Sandbox. See the CML Sandbox page for more details.
Creating and Simulating a Virtual Lab
There is now a free learning path on Cisco U for CML: Introduction to Network Simulations with Cisco Modeling Labs. If you are new to using CML, this free virtual training will take you step-by-step through the core CML functionality.
If you'd just like to jump right into CML on your own, open a web browser and navigate to the URL shown for your CML instance in the CML server's console. To get started with simulating a lab right away, see the following topics from the CML User Guide: