This Git repo guides you through building a 3-node network topology using containerlab. It covers initial configuration, interface setup, and routing fundamentals. You'll learn how to enable and verify IGP protocols like OSPF or IS-IS. Ideal for hands-on practice with foundational service routing concepts.
Author: Mohammad Zaman (github: mfzhsn)
The Lab is build using containerlab and Nokia SROS.
Build the topology, This includes nodes and links. example given sros_lab_deploy.clab.yml. Here, the topology is already provided as shown in the topology diagram.
nodes:
pe1:
kind: vr-sros
image: vr-sros:24.10.R3
type: sr-1
license: sros_license.txt
mgmt-ipv4: 172.20.20.2
# startup-config: ./configs/sros1.txt
ports:
- 50001:22
- 50301:57400
- 50401:830
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
pe1 |
Node name; identifies this router in the topology. |
kind: vr-sros |
Specifies the node is a virtual SR OS router using vrnetlab integration. |
image: vr-sros:24.10.R3 |
Docker image to be used; version 24.10.R3 of SR OS in this case. |
type: sr-1 |
Platform type; emulates Nokia's SR-1 chassis. |
license: sros_license.txt |
Path to the license file enabling full router functionality. |
mgmt-ipv4: 172.20.20.2 |
Static management IP address for accessing the node. |
startup-config |
(Optional – currently commented out): Specifies initial config to load. |
ports |
Host-to-container port mappings: |
50001:22 |
Host port 50001 maps to SR OS SSH port (22). |
50301:57400 |
Maps to gNMI port for telemetry and automation. |
50401:830 |
Maps to NETCONF port for model-driven configuration. |
The links section in the topology.clab.yaml defines how interfaces of different nodes are connected, simulating physical or logical links between them.
links:
- endpoints: [pe1:eth1, core:eth1]
- endpoints: [pe2:eth2, core:eth2]containerlab deploy -t sros_lab_deploy.clab.yml
Example:
❯ containerlab deploy -t sros_lab_deploy.clab.yml
14:13:57 INFO Containerlab started version=0.65.0
14:13:57 INFO Parsing & checking topology file=sros_lab_deploy.clab.yml
14:13:57 INFO Creating docker network name=clab IPv4 subnet=172.20.20.0/24 IPv6 subnet=3fff:172:20:20::/64 MTU=1500
14:13:57 INFO Creating lab directory path=/home/sros_services/clab-sros-services
14:13:57 INFO Creating container name=ce2
14:13:57 INFO Using existing config file (/home/sros_services/clab-sros-services/pe2/tftpboot/config.txt) instead of applying a new one
14:13:57 INFO Creating container name=ce1
14:13:57 INFO Using existing config file (/home/sros_services/clab-sros-services/core/tftpboot/config.txt) instead of applying a new one
14:13:57 INFO Using existing config file (/home/sros_services/clab-sros-services/pe1/tftpboot/config.txt) instead of applying a new one
14:13:57 INFO Creating container name=pe2
14:13:57 INFO Creating container name=core
14:13:57 INFO Creating container name=pe1
14:13:58 INFO Created link: pe1:eth1 <--> core:eth1
14:13:58 INFO Created link: pe2:eth2 <--> core:eth2
14:13:58 INFO Created link: pe2:eth10 <--> ce2:eth1
14:13:58 INFO Created link: pe1:eth10 <--> ce1:eth1
14:13:58 INFO Executed command command="ip addr add 192.168.1.2/24 dev eth1" node=ce2 stdout=""
14:13:58 INFO Executed command command="ip link set eth1 up" node=ce2 stdout=""
14:13:58 INFO Executed command command="ip addr add 192.168.1.1/24 dev eth1" node=ce1 stdout=""
14:13:58 INFO Executed command command="ip link set eth1 up" node=ce1 stdout=""
14:13:58 INFO Adding host entries path=/etc/hosts
14:13:58 INFO Adding SSH config for nodes path=/etc/ssh/ssh_config.d/clab-sros-services.conf
🎉 A newer containerlab version (0.68.0) is available!
Release notes: https://containerlab.dev/rn/0.68/
Run 'sudo clab version upgrade' or see https://containerlab.dev/install/ for installation options.
╭──────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────┬───────────────────╮
│ Name │ Kind/Image │ State │ IPv4/6 Address │
├──────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────┼───────────────────┤
│ ce1 │ linux │ running │ 172.20.20.10 │
│ │ ghcr.io/mfzhsn/network-multitool-sshd:0.0.2 │ │ 3fff:172:20:20::3 │
├──────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────┼───────────────────┤
│ ce2 │ linux │ running │ 172.20.20.11 │
│ │ ghcr.io/mfzhsn/network-multitool-sshd:0.0.2 │ │ 3fff:172:20:20::2 │
├──────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────┼───────────────────┤
│ core │ vr-sros │ running │ 172.20.20.3 │
│ │ vr-sros:24.10.R3 │ │ 3fff:172:20:20::6 │
├──────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────┼───────────────────┤
│ pe1 │ vr-sros │ running │ 172.20.20.2 │
│ │ vr-sros:24.10.R3 │ │ 3fff:172:20:20::4 │
├──────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────┼───────────────────┤
│ pe2 │ vr-sros │ running │ 172.20.20.4 │
│ │ vr-sros:24.10.R3 │ │ 3fff:172:20:20::5 │
╰──────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────┴─────────┴───────────────────╯
You can ssh using the IP provided in the above table or also use the name with default using username and password.
ssh admin@pe1
Using containerlab to verify all the nodes are deployed
containerlab inspect --all
OR docker command
docker ps
A:admin@pe1# show router interface
===============================================================================
Interface Table (Router: Base)
===============================================================================
Interface-Name Adm Opr(v4/v6) Mode Port/SapId
IP-Address PfxState
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
system Up Up/Down Network system
1.1.1.1/32 n/a
to-core Up Up/Down Network 1/1/c1/1
10.1.1.1/31 n/a
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interfaces : 2
===============================================================================
A:admin@pe1# show router isis adjacency
===============================================================================
Rtr Base ISIS Instance 0 Adjacency
===============================================================================
System ID Usage State Hold Interface MT-ID
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
core L1L2 Up 27 to-core 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjacencies : 1
===============================================================================
SDP:
A:admin@pe1# show service sdp 1
============================================================================
Service Destination Point (Sdp Id : 1)
============================================================================
SdpId AdmMTU OprMTU Far End Adm Opr Del LSP Sig
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 0 9190 3.3.3.3 Up Up MPLS L TLDP
============================================================================
EPIPE Service
A:admin@pe1# show service id 1 base
===============================================================================
Service Basic Information
===============================================================================
Service Id : 1 Vpn Id : 0
Service Type : Epipe
MACSec enabled : no
Name : 1
Description : (Not Specified)
Customer Id : 1 Creation Origin : manual
Last Status Change: 05/05/2025 19:15:41
Last Mgmt Change : 05/05/2025 19:14:59
Test Service : No
Admin State : Up Oper State : Up
MTU : 1514
Vc Switching : False
SAP Count : 1 SDP Bind Count : 1
Per Svc Hashing : Disabled Lbl Eth/IP L4 TEID: Disabled
Ignore MTU Mismat*: Disabled
Vxlan Src Tep Ip : N/A
Force QTag Fwd : Disabled
Lcl Switch Svc St : sap
Oper Group : <none>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Service Access & Destination Points
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Identifier Type AdmMTU OprMTU Adm Opr
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sap:1/1/c10/1 null 1514 1514 Up Up
sdp:1:101 S(3.3.3.3) Spok 0 9190 Up Up
===============================================================================
* indicates that the corresponding row element may have been truncated.
In this provided topology, Epipe service is running from PE1 through PE2 and there are hosts connected.
Ping traffic from Host-1 to Host-2
You can login to Host-1 using docker exec command or ssh
docker exec -ti host1 bash
OR
ssh root@host1
password: password
bash-5.0# ping 192.168.1.2
PING 192.168.1.2 (192.168.1.2) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.1.2: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=12.0 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.2: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=4.83 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.2: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=3.46 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.2: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=3.02 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.2: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=2.87 ms