VirtualPod.org

Copy of www.VirtualPod.org





The Virtual Pod package is a collection of software that runs under Linux that allows you to emulate a multi-router network.  If you do not have a suitable Linux distribution, no worries.  You may download the Virtual Pod Live CD, where you can boot the complete virtual pod system from CD.  

Software in the Virtual Pod system
The virtual pod system is a collection of three basic pieces of software. The brains of the system is the program dynamips, created by Christophe Fillot. Dynamips is an incredible piece of software that emulates the Cisco 7200, 3620, 3640, 3660 hardware.

The actual pod assembly is managed by dynagen, written by Greg Anuzelli.

The third piece of software, vpod, was written by Paul Borghese to manage IOS images and labs.  

The Live CD is a modified version of Ubuntu.  The Virtual Pod version of Ubuntu besides having the virtual pod software fully installed and configured, automatically  saves changes to a specially formatted pen drive (or any other USB/Memory storage device).

History
The virtual pod system was originally developed by me,Paul Borghese, as an easy and fullproof way to distribute practice labs to my CCIE student.  Students are able to continue studying for the CCIE after class ends without the heavy investment in hardware.  With a complete virtual pod distribution, I am able to quickly and efficiently push practice labs to my students.  So for example, a former student contacts me asking for more help with Multicast.  In the past the information I provided the student would only benefit that individual student.  Now, I can take the newly created lab materials and upload it on a virtual pod lab repository, where it is automatically distributed to every student using the software.   Plus we are all still working on a common platform so if the student has any additional questions I can boot up the virtual pod system and see the exact same output the student.

I have found a number of students prefer the Virtual Pod software  over the physical hardware, even if the physical hardware is readily available.  The virtual pod software eliminates the tedious task of cabling and re-cabling for every lab, and allows you to quickly jump between labs and IOS images.

I have decided to release the software as a platform the GroupStudy.com community (the largest and most active Cisco certification discussion group on the internet)  can use to create and distribute high quality practice labs.  My hope is the community will come together and use this sofware in a collaborative fashion to make some incredible practice scenarios.

Beta Testers/Programmers
I am looking for beta testers.  If you are interested in beta testing the software, please watch the following videos detailing how to install/use the virtual pod software.  If you are a programmer and interested in helping with the development, please send me an e-mail (pborghese -at - groupstudy  -dot- com).

Videos:

How to install using APT-GET (on an existing Debian/Ubuntu system):
  APT-GET Installation

How to load an IOS image:
  IOS Image Installation

How to  run a virtual pod:
  Running VirtualPod

Downloads:

Debian Packages: HERE

Live CD:  Instructions Downloads