Ready to give EVE-NG a try? Here's a step-by-step guide to get you started:
This is the open-source, free version. It is perfect for individual study and smaller labs. Free, full emulation capabilities.
EVE-NG can run inside a VM, and those VMs can run further nested virtualization for specialized labs [11]. EVE-NG Community vs. Professional (Pro) EVE-NG is available in two main versions: 1. EVE-NG Community Edition (Free) eve-ng
Why? • Spin up 50 routers in 2 minutes • Zero cable spaghetti • Costs $0 (Community edition)
✅ True emulation – It runs the actual OS, not a fake CLI. ✅ Topology flexibility – Build complex multi-vendor labs in minutes. ✅ Integration – Connects to physical networks and VMware/Proxmox. ✅ Two flavors – Free Community Edition (powerful) or Pro (multi-user, Native client). Ready to give EVE-NG a try
Ideal for CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, JNCIA, JNCIE, and other vendor certifications [3, 4].
The "Next Generation" in its name signifies its evolution from its predecessor, UNetLab, offering a more stable, user-friendly, and capable environment. It is designed to emulate multi-vendor environments seamlessly [3]. Core Features of EVE-NG Free, full emulation capabilities
EVE-NG is managed entirely through a web browser (HTML5) [14]. No native client software is required to start nodes, making it easily accessible from any OS (Windows, Linux, macOS) [1, 4].