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GNS3 - How to save labs with router configs
Posted by Josh under Cisco , Cisco Routers , Dynamips , GNS3 , PEMU -If you have used GNS3 for any amount of time at all, you have encountered this situation. It’s late and you have been working on your lastest lab for hours. You decide to save your work. Logically, you go to File > Save. Unfortunately, the topology is saved but the router configs are gone.
Follow these steps to save your project. When the project is re-opened, router configurations will be in tact.
- Open GNS3
- Start a lab with objects (routers, pix, switches, etc)
- Click ‘File > New Project’ instead of ‘File > Save’.
- Make sure ‘Export Router Configuration Files’ and ‘Keep working directory files’ are checked.
- Click ‘Yes’ to Apply project settings to the current topology.
That’s it!
In the video below, I created a small lab with a single router. I changed the hostname and domain name just to demonstrate config changes will remain when the project is re-opened.
July 8th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
[...] GNS3 - How to save labs with router configs 1 views [...]
July 9th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
the working directory is needed to save labs? I just click the “export all startup-config” and save. When i reopen the lab all looks fine, including startup-configs.
Something is missing when gns3 dont reopen working directory? and in this case, using the same directory dont get me any trouble with other labs? I guess so, cause “automatically clean working directory” is default setting.
tks
sry for my english
July 12th, 2008 at 12:27 am
thx mate..keep posting..currently fall in love with GNS3..cheers…
July 13th, 2008 at 1:30 am
@WingChunBR - You don’t necessarily “need” the working directory to save the startup configurations for the routers, but the working directories contain the flash and nvram as well as other files.
If you clean out the working directory, the flash and nvram files are gone after you close the lab. It becomes important to keep the working directory if you are working on a lab for … say …. call manager express or sdm. Both store files in flash.
I hope this answers your question.
Josh
July 13th, 2008 at 2:05 am
Plz send the Layer 3 switch IOS
i don’t have any switch ios’s
and explain the process how to install the ios
July 13th, 2008 at 8:32 am
@akula - gns3 does not emulate a switch. The only way to do switch labs is with a 3640 or 3745 image and the nm-16esw network module.
Josh
July 14th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Hi Josh,
I was able to save the Lab following the steps you provided, however, when I tried to open the Lab (after I saved it), my server just crashed
I’ve got GNS-3 running on Ubuntu Server 7.10, and the Lab I was running was the Frame-Relay lab with 3 Routers.
The server has 1.5GB RAM and it’s a Dual Processor P3 Server.
Any ideas??
Rgrds,
Ayo
July 14th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Never mind Josh…….I restarted the server and tried to re-open the Lab. It’s working O.K this time.
Thx,
Ayo
July 14th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Hi Josh,
I’ve got another query:
I’ve saved my config and I’ve run it again successfully.
Could you please advise how I can save again once I’ve made more changes?
I tried to follow the same steps you prescribed for saving the first time, but it doesn’t seem to work.
Thanks a lot!!!
Rgrds,
Ayo
July 16th, 2008 at 9:31 am
@Ayo - After you have created a project, you can just click File > Save.
Josh
July 16th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
ah ok. I dont need flash here(ccna labs), so i can erase my workingdir.
But if u use another lab with different settings (that stored in flash) they will not overwrite each other?
thanks josh
July 17th, 2008 at 2:28 am
Love the tips and info!!! THANKS!!!
July 28th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I followed the demo to the “T” the only thing different is that I used a different path (C:\My Networks\MPLS Development\) and for some reason it does not pull my config’s back. The project loads but the configs are still blank.
Not there is an error in my IOS when booting but not sure:
Cisco IOS Software, 3700 Software (C3745-ADVENTERPRISEK9-M), Version 12.4(19b),
RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Technical Support: http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
Copyright (c) 1986-2008 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Fri 13-Jun-08 10:20 by prod_rel_team
BIST FAILED…
Unknown file system detected.
Use format command to format the card as DOS File System.
Or use erase command to format the card as Low End File System.
I am running 0.5 GNS3 with 12.4 IOS Code. Anyone able to help here.
Is it the spaces in the path or something else?
Andrew
July 28th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Andrew,
You might try to save to a project folder that does not have a space in it…maybe c:\My_Networks\MPLS_Development\ .
Can you post your .net configuration file?
Josh
August 5th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Hey, thanks for this blog post. I was getting all frustrated trying to use “File >> Save” instead of New Project.
August 7th, 2008 at 12:34 am
Does any one have hints on how to bring down the utilizations of ones PC while running GNS3, or better still calculate the best idlepc values.
cheers
August 12th, 2008 at 7:15 am
[...] - bookmarked by 2 members originally found by acmul on 2008-07-20 GNS3 - How to save labs with router configs http://www.blindhog.net/gns3-how-to-save-labs-with-router-configs/ - bookmarked by 1 members [...]
August 16th, 2008 at 2:05 am
i am able to save the topology but when i drag the switch and save……..switch is not save nor its connections. that’s the problem