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How to Add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3? – We had previously installed Layer 2 Switch on GNS3. Layer 2 Switches only forward packets according to the table of MAC addresses. Layer 3 Switches also use the MAC address table and additionally do Ip routing.

How to Add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3?

How to Add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3?

The process to add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3 is almost identical to adding a Cisco Router in the GNS3 program. To perform Switching based operations with GNS3, you must follow the steps to add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3.

With Layer 3 Switches on GNS3, you can perform VLAN, 802.1Q Trunking, and InterVLAN Routing. You can do this with the use of GNS3 Layer 3 Key.

Download IOS Required to Add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3

Before the process to add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3, download the IOS software from the computer below.

How to Simulate Layer3 Switch in GNS3?

We can now go through to the steps to simulate Layer 3 Switch in GNS3. Follow the steps below to add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3 after downloading the IOS from the above computer.

   Step 1

First, run the GNS3 program and click on the Edit menu.

   Step 2

From the Edit menu, click Preferences.

   Step 3

In the General Preferences window that opens, click the IOS Routers tab.

To add a Layer 2 Switch in the GNS3 network simulation program, you can read the topic called “How to Add Layer 2 Switch in GNS3?“.

   Step 4

The Layer 2 Switch we added earlier has been added from the Qemu VMs section. The process to add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3 is done from this section. In the Cisco Router template window, click the New button.

   Step 5

In the IOS Image window, select the New Image option and click the Browse button.

   Step 6

Select the IOS you downloaded from the above button and click the Open button.

   Step 7

If the GNS3 program asks you to copy IOS to the default image folder, click Yes.

   Step 8

Click Next to continue.

   Step 9

This is the most important step to add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3. You need to select “This is an EthernetSwitch Router” here. After you select this option, click Next to continue.

   Step 10

Leave the Layer 3 Switch’s RAM value as default and click Next.

   Step 11

In the Network Adapters window, select the NM-16ESW interface in Slot 0 and proceed to the next step.

   Step 12

Click the Idle-PC Finder button to select the most appropriate value for your computer’s CPU performance for the Layer 3 Switch IOS.

   Step 13

Calculating Idle-PC value…

   Step 14

In the process to add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3, the most appropriate Idle-PC value for IOS is determined. Click the OK button to continue.

   Step 15

As you can see, the process to add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3 has been completed successfully.

   Step 16

Drag and drop the Layer 3 Switch to the GNS3 workspace.

   Step 17

Create the topology as follows. Double click on Layer 3 Switch in GNS3 to test it.

   Step 18

We have finished the steps to add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3. Now, to test the switch, apply the show vlan-switch command in the CLI command interface.

Simulate Layer3 Switch in GNS3 by executing the following commands.

ESW1# conf t
ESW1(config)#interface vlan 1
ESW1(config-if)#ip address 192.168.10.1 255.255.255.0
ESW1(config-if)#no shutdown
ESW1(config-if)#exit
ESW1(config)#infterface fastethernet0/0
ESW1(config-if)#no shutdown
ESW1(config-if)#exit
ESW1(config)#exit
ESW1#

   Step 19

Configure the VPCS on GNS3 and then ping the Vlan 1 interface to test the connection as follows.

   Step 20

You can see that the process is successful when pinging the VPCS on each other. Our Layer 3 Switch is running smoothly.

To save the IOS software running on the Cisco router to the TFTP server, you can read the topic called “How to Backup Cisco IOS Image to TFTP Server?“.

Show Command Entries Related to How to Add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3

How to Add to Layer 3 Switch in GNS3 ⇒ Video

You can watch how to add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3. Also, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel…

  Final Word

How to Add Layer 3 Switch in GNS3? – In the GNS3 program, we can add a manageable Switch with this process. No such processing is required in the Cisco Packet Tracer program. In this article, we basically did a little test. Follow us for more advanced configurations.

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