How to Add Layer 2 Switch in GNS3

Adding a Layer 2 Switch to GNS3 can significantly improve your practice sessions if you prepare for Cisco pass exams. Using a network device such as an L2 Switch involves creating a new project, selecting its type, and configuring its settings. Also, this device lets you connect your virtual computers or other network devices.

After setting up the switch, you can use various switching concepts such as VLAN, STP, and EtherChannel in your topology. In short, you can gain valuable experience and improve your skills before taking the genuine exam by simulating devices used in the real world.

How to Add Layer 2 Switch in GNS3

Importance of a Layer 2 Switch in GNS3 Networking

A Layer 2 switch is a network appliance that works at the Data Link layer in the OSI model (Layer 2). So, it means it uses MAC addresses to send messages between devices on the network. Primarily, it links devices on the web and helps them talk to each other.

Layer 2 switches are essential parts of today’s computer networks. They make things go fast and prevent the network from getting too busy by sending traffic only to the right places.

Also, L2 devices help network managers split networks and manage how traffic moves around better. They use VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks) to do this. Without this device, keeping a network stable and working well would be hard.

Using a Layer 2 Switch on GNS3

Once you install GNS3 on your PC, things like Cisco Switch or Router don’t automatically come with it. So, you need to set up these devices yourself.

For instance, if you want to add a Layer 2 Switch into GNS3, you must start by getting the IOS image. After that, you add it from the QEMU part of the program.

If you’re getting ready for Cisco exams, practicing with L2 devices like switches is critical to learning about Switching.

When setting up a Layer 2 switch, you might only use some cool things physical devices can do. That’s because some IOS images don’t support every feature.

For instance, after putting in a vIOS Switch image, you can set up things like VLAN, VTP, and STP configurations.

How to Add and Configure L2 Switch in GNS3

First, click the button below to download the image of Switch (vIOS-L2.vmdk).

Download vIOS-L2

Step 1

To use the Switch IOS file, first download it and then open the GNS3 emulator program. Once the program is open, click on the Edit button.

GNS3 / Edit

Step 2

To access the Preferences settings, go to the Edit menu and click on it.

GNS3 / Edit / Preferences

Step 3

To find QEMU virtual machines in the General Preferences, go to the QEMU tab and pick QEMU VMs.

Qemu VMs

Step 4

To make a new QEMU virtual machine template, click the New button.

Qemu VMs / New

Step 5

Please enter a name for the Layer 2 Switch in the Qemu VM name window.

Qemu VM Name

Step 6

In the Qemu settings for the binary and memory, if your operating system is 64-bit, choose the option shown in the picture below.

Qemu Binary

Step 7

Also, set how much RAM the switch should have in this window and click Next.

Setting the RAM for the L2 Switch

Step 8

To select a new image, click the “New Image” option and then the “Browse” button.

Selecting an Image File

Step 9

Choose the vIOS-L2.vmdk file you downloaded, then click Open in the pop-up window.

vIOS-L2.vmdk

Step 10

Next, confirm the addition by clicking “Yes” to start copying.

Confirm Default Location

Step 11

Once you have identified the position of the image, click on the “Finish” button.

Locating IOS

Step 12

The Qemu VM Templates window confirms the successful placement of the Layer 2 Switch.

QEMU VM Templates

Step 13

Right-click on the Layer 2 Switch from the Devices section.

Configuring Layer 2 Switch

Step 14

Please press the Configure Template button to change the template’s appearance.

Configure Template

Step 15

To configure the Layer 2 Switch, first open the configuration window. Next, select the ‘Switches’ group from the ‘Category’ menu.

Category / End Devices

Step 16

To change the Layer 2 Switch’s symbol, click the Browse button.

Category / Switches

Step 17

To choose a logo, you can refer to the image below.

iosv_l2

Step 18

Click OK to keep your settings after changing the switch symbol.

Closing Switch Settings

Step 19

Please drag and drop the “Layer 2 Switch” icon to the workspace.

Add Switch to Workspace

Step 20

To add the interface to the switch, click the Configure button by right-clicking it.

SW Configuration

Step 21

You can add interfaces to the Switch from the Network tab.

L2 Switch / Network Settings

Step 22

Open the CLI prompt by double-clicking the switch. Afterward, check the device status using the ‘show vlan brief‘ command.

show vlan brief

Command Output:

vIOS-L2-01#show vlan

VLAN Name Status Ports
---- -------------------------------- --------- -------------------------------
1 default active Gi0/0, Gi0/1, Gi0/2
100 VLAN100 active
200 VLAN0200 active
300 VLAN0300 active
1002 fddi-default act/unsup
1003 trcrf-default act/unsup
1004 fddinet-default act/unsup
1005 trbrf-default act/unsup

VLAN Type SAID MTU Parent RingNo BridgeNo Stp BrdgMode Trans1 Trans2
---- ----- ---------- ----- ------ ------ -------- ---- -------- ------ ------
1 enet 100001 1500 - - - - - 0 0
100 enet 100100 1500 - - - - - 0 0
200 enet 100200 1500 - - - - - 0 0
300 enet 100300 1500 - - - - - 0 0
1002 fddi 101002 1500 - - - - - 0 0
1003 trcrf 101003 4472 1005 3276 - - srb 0 0
1004 fdnet 101004 1500 - - - ieee - 0 0
1005 trbrf 101005 4472 - - 15 ibm - 0 0
VLAN AREHops STEHops Backup CRF
---- ------- ------- ----------
1003 7 7 off

Primary Secondary Type Ports
------- --------- ----------------- ------------------------------------------

vIOS-L2-01#

 
Video

Frequently Asked Questions About Switches in GNS3

  1. Does GNS3 support L2 or other devices?
Yes, GNS3 can support Layer 2 switches. But, when you first get it, it doesn’t come with pictures or software for actual devices. So, you have to put IOS files from Cisco or other companies into the program yourself.
  1. How do I add a new network Layer 2 device to GNS3?
To add a new Layer 2 network device to your emulator program, you should first look at the GNS3 settings. To do this, go to Preferences > QEMU > QEMU VMs. Then, choose to add a new device, specify the appropriate amount of RAM, and add it. Finally, close the wizard and start using it by including it in your project.
  1. What are the switch types in GNS3?
GNS3 supports a wide range of switches from different vendors. These include Cisco switches such as IOSvL2, IOSv, and NX-OSv. Additionally, it supports devices like Juniper vSRX and QFX. Furthermore, it also supports some devices from other vendors like Arista, HP, and Dell.

Conclusion

When preparing for Cisco exams, putting a Layer 2 switch into GNS3 is a big deal. This device lets you pretend different network situations as they happen in real life. It’s perfect for practicing with VLANs, STP, and EtherChannel. Following the steps in this guide, you can easily add and set up an L2 network device in GNS3. As a result, this boosts your skills and helps you do well in your exams.

Related Articles

1) How to Install Cisco IOS in GNS3
2) How to Configure Cisco Router
3) How to Enable Telnet in the Router
4) How to Enable SSH in the Router
5) How to Use Cisco SDM

38 Comments

  1. Manfarre 30 October 2017

    funciono correctamente thanks so much

    Reply
    • tolqabaqci 31 October 2017

      I’m glad to hear that. Thanks for your comment!

      Reply
  2. Amez 14 November 2017

    Thanks so much! This whole website is so helpful!

    Reply
    • tolqabaqci 14 November 2017

      You’re welcome. Also, thanks for your comment!

      Reply
  3. Stanna448 18 November 2017

    Thanks man 🙂

    Reply
    • tolqabaqci 21 November 2017

      You’re welcome. Also, thanks for your comment!

      Reply
  4. Mark 18 November 2017

    Helo there, thanks for the ariticle and the video, I tried all u explained,did it exactly and it didn’t work for me. am using VMware and I downloaded the gns3vm for VMware. so if there is another way to make the switches work I will higly appreciate it

    Reply
    • tolqabaqci 21 November 2017

      Hello.

      After adding vIOS-L2 IOS image, increase the RAM amount of L2 Switch.

      Reply
  5. Akbar 26 December 2017

    Dear Sir
    Greetings
    Thank you for this excellent work. I really appreciate your efforts and supports available on this website. I followed your instructions to add layer-2-Switch and it worked perfect. There is one small problem. I build a small network in GNS3 with a PC+ Switch+Router. I configure all the three devices and I save the all the configuration. I closed my GNS3 and after sometimes I opened the same file again. I checked the router configuration it was ok. but the configuration from Switch was not there. I checked the console it reload the VLOS-L2 IOS image again and i have to reconfigure the switch. so is there any way that switch keep the configuration!!!

    I hope to hear back from you. sorry for lang story.

    Regards
    Akbar

    Reply
    • tolqabaqci 28 December 2017

      Thank you very much for your good comment. I will write an article for this problem and link to you.

      Reply
  6. Patrice 28 February 2018

    Hi,
    I followed your tutorial to install the Layer 2 switch but I got stuck at the step 13.
    I can see my L2 switch on the Qemu VM templates but it doesn’t appear on my devices list on the left windows of GNS3.

    Do you have a hint?

    Cheers
    Patrice

    Reply
  7. Keshoji 4 January 2019

    Wonderful! Thank you.

    Reply
    • tolqabaqci 4 January 2019

      Thank you, thank you for your comment.

      Reply
  8. scacream.co.uk 21 January 2019

    Wonderful, what a website it is! This webpage gives valuable data to us, keep it up.

    Reply
  9. Luis Franco 3 May 2019

    You are a rock star!

    Reply
    • tolqabaqci 3 May 2019

      Thanks for your comment 🙂

      Reply
  10. NUMAN 9 July 2019

    hi buddy,

    i just installed the vIOS-L2.rar file on GNS3, the install went ok no errors but the IOS isn’t loading when i console in.

    CAN YOU HELP PLEASE

    Reply
    • tolqabaqci 10 July 2019

      Can you try increasing the RAM of the Switch?

      Reply
  11. Gustavo 10 July 2019

    Hi.

    Everything fine. The only problem is, no mater how many interfaces I configure, the switch only has one single interface.

    Reply
    • tolqabaqci 10 July 2019

      Interesting I’ve never encountered such a problem before. Are you sure you have saved your settings? Also, what version of GNS3 are you using?

      Reply
  12. Osama 22 July 2019

    Thank you, but this isn’t really an L2 switch. I tried to configure the router protocol using it, and it recognized the command.

    Reply
    • tolqabaqci 23 July 2019

      Yes, you are right! But this is the only ios image file that we can use for free.

      Reply
  13. RAFID ABBAS 24 October 2019

    I need image iOS gns3 switch layer2. Please

    Reply
  14. Jason Willis 29 March 2020

    Very helpful. Thank you

    Reply
  15. Maria RZP 17 April 2020

    thank you so much

    Reply
  16. luciferdac 19 April 2020

    have install it but only ethernet0 ports are being shown no ethernet 0/0 port neither the giagabit ports shown

    Reply
  17. JayDee 4 July 2021

    Whenever I add the RAR file downloaded from your link, it installs fine as a Qemu VM. However, when I start the device it states that there is ”no bootable device”. Do you know why this might be? I’m running GNS3 version 2.2.22.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Tolga Bagci 5 July 2021

      Have you tried increasing the RAM of the VM? If you haven’t, increase the RAM size. Also, download the image file again, maybe it was downloaded incorrectly.

      Reply
    • F4r3ll 31 July 2021

      The problem is according to you, you uploaded the RAR File.
      Unzip the RAR File and pick the “vIOS-L2.vmdk” file
      that is the file that is going to run

      Reply
  18. Eslam 1 August 2021

    Hello ,

    I followed all steps , but in step #22 , i can’t access SW & SW still is power off despite i power it on & there is a message appears ” HAXM acceleration support is not installed on this host ”
    Note : i increase RAM , but no use.

    Thanks in advance.

    Reply
  19. Eslam 2 August 2021

    The IOS Image working with me , but only on one Switch , when i connect another Switch , this switch not working and stacks in ” GNU GRUB version 2.00 ” , Anyone can solve this issue , Please ?

    Note : i increase RAM , but no use.

    Reply
  20. Rakesh 10 May 2022

    for me its showing like this in switch console
    GNU GRUB version 2.00

    +————————————————————————–+
    |IOSv: flash0:vios_l2-adventerprisek9-m (hd0,msdos1) |
    | |
    | |
    | |
    | |
    | |
    | |
    | |
    | |
    | |
    | |
    +————————————————————————–+

    Use the ^ and v keys to select which entry is highlighted.
    Press enter to boot the selected OS, `e’ to edit the commands
    before booting or `c’ for a command-line. ESC to return
    previous menu.
    Booted IOSv. Boot args: [/vios_l2-adventerprisek9-m]

    Smart Init is enabled

    Not enough memory in the system for IO memory
    IO memory available 137961004 required 227540992

    Memory configuration adjustment:
    Image size=108784400, PMem req=163176600, I/O mem=137961004, PMem avail=135980500

    IOMEM size chosen (137961004) did not fit in memory (273941504 bytes). Trying again with a smaller IOMEM.

    IOMEM size: 68980502 bytes

    %Software-forced reload

    *Mar 1 00:00:00.000
    Request to return (to ROMMON); not supported, reload.

    *Mar 1 00:00:00.000

    Reply
    • Tolga Bagci 11 May 2022

      Hello. Can you try increasing the RAM size of the Switch?

      Reply
  21. Gene Kessinger 8 December 2022

    Hello Tolga,
    This may be on a different question but i work with Cisco 9000 series Switches/Routers and i want to import them into GNS3 to give a more realistic environment. How and if i can how would i? is their some documentation on how i would available?

    Reply
  22. Dragos Neagu 25 February 2023

    Hello Tolga,
    The download button doesn’t work anymore. It redirects me https://www.sysnettechsolutions.com/en/download-vios-l2-image-for-gns3/

    Reply
    • Tolga Bagci 26 February 2023

      Hi, I checked the link is working.

      Reply
  23. John 10 December 2023

    No switchport command? How to assign VLAN sir?

    Reply
  24. Juan 20 December 2023

    You rock MANNN!!!!! Thanks!!!

    Reply

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