EVE-NG setup, made easy.

EVE-NG runs router, switch, and firewall images inside virtual machines on your laptop. Network images are RAM-hungry. Before installing anything, verify:

• At least 16 GB RAM — 32 GB is much smoother.
• Around 1 TB of free disk space for images and lab snapshots.
• An Intel or AMD CPU with virtualization extensions enabled in BIOS (look for "VT-x", "Intel Virtualization", or "SVM Mode").

You have two clean paths. Pick one:

On Windows 11, disable Hyper-V and Memory Integrity before installing VMware — they conflict with nested virtualization.

Grab the latest Community OVA from eve-ng.net/download. Community is free and covers everything in weeks 1–12.

The OVA is ~2 GB. Verify the SHA-256 checksum on the download page after the file lands.

1. Open VMware → File → Open → select the EVE-NG OVA.
2. Accept the EULA. Name the VM eve-ng.
3. Before powering on: Edit VM Settings.
4. Set Memory to at least 12 GB (more if you have it).
5. Set Processors to 4+ cores. Tick Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI.
6. Set Hard Disk to expand if needed (200 GB+ to start).
7. Network adapter: NAT for first boot.

Power on the VM. Default login at the console:

login: root
password: eve

The setup wizard walks you through:

• Set a new root password
• Hostname: eve-ng
• DNS domain: lab.local
• Static IP (recommended) or DHCP
• NTP server: pool.ntp.org

When it reboots, browse to http://<eve-ip>/ from your host. Web login: admin / eve.

The client pack lets your browser launch lab consoles in PuTTY/SecureCRT/VNC. Download from the EVE-NG downloads page (Windows) or use brew install --cask eve-ng-integration on macOS.

Test it by opening a sample lab in EVE-NG and right-clicking a node → Console. A terminal should pop up.

Images live under /opt/unetlab/addons/ on the EVE-NG VM. Use WinSCP (Windows) or scp (macOS/Linux) to upload.

For our bootcamp you'll need:

• Juniper vSRX → qemu/vsrxng-<version>/
• Cisco ASAv → qemu/asav-<version>/
• Palo Alto VM-Series → qemu/paloalto-<version>/
• Cisco IOSvL2 (switches) → qemu/viosl2-<version>/
• Cisco IOSv (routers) → qemu/vios-<version>/

After upload, SSH in and run:

/opt/unetlab/wrappers/unl_wrapper -a fixpermissions

1. Web UI → Add new lab → name it w01-hello-srx.
2. Right-click canvas → Node → add a vSRX, an IOSv router, and a VPCS (host).
3. Right-click canvas → Network → add a Management(Cloud0) bridge.
4. Drag connections: VPCS → router → SRX.
5. Right-click each node → Start. Wait for the green play icon.
6. Right-click → Console on the SRX and log in (root / no password on first boot).

That's it — you're now running real Juniper code on your laptop.

• Use Wipe on a node to reset its config without losing the topology.
• Use VMware Snapshots on the EVE-NG VM before any risky upgrade.
• Export labs as .unl files (Lab → Export) and store them in your own Git repo.