Cisco pyATS vs Mininet

Cisco pyATS is a Python framework for network testing, automation, and validation, available free under the Apache 2.0 license. It supports sanity, feature, solution, system, and scale test and verification workflows, with reusable data-driven tests ranging from simple checks to complex asynchronous suites. Genie libraries provide device connectivity, parsers, APIs, platform-agnostic feature models, reusable test cases, and a YAML-driven test runner. Built-in device libraries cover Cisco IOS, IOS XE, IOS XR, NX-OS, and ASA; plugins and extensions can add other platforms. Connections can use CLI, NETCONF, or RESTCONF. XPRESSO manages test suites, environments, testbeds, resources, live test views, and archived results with comparisons and analytics. It supports on-demand, bundled, and scheduled runs through Jenkins and Docker backends. Cisco also documents Ansible community integrations and out-of-the-box RobotFramework support. pyATS runs on Linux and macOS and supports self-hosted deployment. Cisco says more than 75% of its codebase is open source on GitHub. Email support is best-effort and usually receives a reply within a day.

Mininet is a free network emulator that creates virtual hosts, switches, controllers and links on one machine. Its hosts run standard Linux network software on the real Linux kernel and network stack, while switches support OpenFlow. The project describes uses including research, development, learning, prototyping, testing and debugging, including experiments with SDN systems using OpenFlow and P4. A topology-aware and OpenFlow-aware command-line interface supports debugging and network-wide tests. Users can select parameterized topologies or create custom ones, and an extensible Python API supports network creation and experimentation. Mininet networks can connect to real networks, and code developed in Mininet can move to real systems with minimal changes. Installation options include a pre-packaged virtual machine, native installation from source and packages for recent Ubuntu or Debian 11 and later; Fedora support is experimental. Mininet depends on the Linux kernel, while its VM can run through VMware or VirtualBox on Mac, Windows and Linux. Its networks are constrained by a single server's CPU and bandwidth, and it cannot currently run non-Linux-compatible OpenFlow switches or applications. Mininet is released under a permissive BSD open source license.