Cisco Packet Tracer vs QuNetSim

Cisco Packet Tracer is a free desktop network simulation and visualization tool for practicing networking, IoT and cybersecurity without physical lab hardware. Simulation Mode lets learners follow data as it travels through a network and analyze traffic. Physical Mode provides practice arranging a device rack and cables. The tool supports adding IoT devices, integrating Python code and practicing network automation. Tutored activities may provide hints, although Cisco says they are available for select courses. Packet Tracer runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, but not on smartphones or tablets. Learners can enroll in Cisco’s free Getting Started with Cisco Packet Tracer course to download the latest version. Installation opens a Packet Tracer Login window and may direct users to a browser for NetAcad sign-in. Some advanced functions, including multi-user Packet Tracer, require network access. On Ubuntu, Cisco’s instructions use the command line with elevated privileges. The Free plan costs nothing and requires course enrollment to download the latest version.

QuNetSim is a free, MIT-licensed Python framework for developing and testing quantum networking applications and protocols. It includes built-in exercises for qubit teleportation, entanglement distribution, superdense coding, and quantum key distribution. Multi-hop networks use entanglement swapping to create links between distant hosts. You can define routing functions from classical and quantum network states, represented with NetworkX graphs. The event-driven model gives packets sequence numbers and lets them wait for acknowledgements. Host, Protocols, and Network components correspond to application, transport, and network layers. Supported backends include SimulaQron, ProjectQ, and EQSN, with SimulaQron listed as the default; custom network and qubit backends can also be imported. Installation uses pip and includes an example-generating template. Linux, macOS, and Windows setup instructions require Python 3.5 or newer. It is intended for students and instructors, especially newcomers, and is described as educational rather than a full quantum-physics simulator.