GNS3 vs Mininet
GNS3
gns3.comMininet
mininet.orgSide by side
| Figure | GNS3 | Mininet |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Network Simulation Software | 8.0 (#8) | 8.5 (#3) |
| Spec score · Network Testing Software | 8.1 (#9) | 8.6 (#4) |
| Integrations | GNS3 supports Docker instances, QEMU-based appliances, hypervisors including VMware, VirtualBox and Hyper-V, and connections to real networks. | The recommended Mininet VM includes OpenFlow binaries and tools, and Mininet supports Open vSwitch and multiple OpenFlow controllers. |
| Platform requirements | The documentation lists Windows, macOS, and Linux, and recommends the GNS3 VM for most Windows and macOS setups and complex topologies. | Mininet depends on the Linux kernel; the project describes its VM as running on VMware or VirtualBox for Mac, Windows, and Linux. |
| Support | GNS3 points users to its documentation and community for help, questions, and bug reports. | The project directs users to its FAQ, documentation, and mininet-discuss mailing list for support and discussion. |
Plans
In their own words
GNS3
GNS3 is free, open-source software for emulating, configuring, testing, and troubleshooting virtual and real networks. Its graphical client works with a virtual machine, and servers can run locally or remotely. Users can combine emulated devices running actual images with simulated devices, including a built-in layer 2 switch. It supports appliances from vendors such as Cisco, Brocade, Cumulus Linux, and HPE, as well as Docker, QEMU-based appliances, VMware, VirtualBox, Hyper-V, and connections to real networks. The GNS3 Marketplace offers preconfigured appliance templates with recommended settings. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux; documentation recommends the GNS3 VM for most Windows and macOS setups and complex topologies. Users must supply their own Cisco IOS images. There are no monthly or yearly license fees, and device capacity depends in practice on the host computer’s CPU and memory. GNS3 is used for networking education, certification practice, proofs of concept, demonstrations, and interoperability testing. A server has no authentication enabled by default and should be restricted at the network level.
Mininet
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.