How to Install GNS3 VM on macOS & Mac

In this guide, I will explain how to install GNS3 VM on an Apple Mac computer. I will do this, especially on macOS 12, 13, 14, or 15 operating systems. Thus, I will help you prepare for Cisco exams more professionally.

How to Install GNS3 VM (Server) on macOS 12, 13, 14, and 15

When you run a Cisco Router or Switch on the GNS3 virtual lab tool, the performance of your computer is seriously reduced. Therefore, when you design more advanced network topologies, you may encounter performance problems as each device running will put an additional load on your host’s processor.

The primary purpose of using a GNS3 VM is to minimize performance issues. When you add the Router IOS image after connecting the GNS3 and GNS3 VM, the image is uploaded to the server and run from there. As a result, you will be able to create more specific network designs and gain more performance gains.

Before you can use the GNS3 VM on your Mac, you must have a virtualization program installed on your computer. To configure the GNS3 VM on your macOS system, you can use VMware Fusion or Oracle VM VirtualBox.

Requirements

Before starting to configure the GNS3 VM, install the necessary programs from the links listed below.

1. Install GNS3 on macOS
2. Download Cisco IOS
3. Install VMware Fusion on macOS

How to Download and Install GNS3 VM

By downloading the GNS3 VM.ova file from the GNS3 official website to your computer, you can easily import it with the virtualization program you have installed.

Step 1

To download the GNS3 VM, visit this link and click “Download the GNS3 VM” at the bottom of the download page.

Step 2

On the page where virtualization programs are listed, click the Download button next to VMware Workstation and Fusion.

Step 3

After downloading the archived GNS3 VM file to your Mac, go to Downloads and double-click on it to extract the archived file to the folder.

Step 4

After extracting the zip file to the folder, the contents of the GNS3 VM folder will be as follows.

Step 5

Open your VMware Fusion software and click File / Import from the tool menu.

Step 6

In the Choose an Existing Virtual Machine window, click the Choose File button to specify the location of the OVF file.

Step 7

Go to Downloads, select the GNS3 VM.ovf file in the GNS3 VM folder, and click Open.

Step 8

After adding the GNS3 VM, click Continue and allow the Fusion software to access the Downloads folder.

Step 9

Specify the location of the GNS3 Server virtual machine and click Save.

Step 10

Wait while the GNS3 VM virtual machine is imported into Fusion.

Step 11

After the import process is completed, the information about the virtual machine will appear in the Finish window. Click Customize Settings to make changes to the GNS3 Server.

Step 12

Click Advanced in the GNS3 Server settings.

Step 13

Disable Side Channel Mitigations and change the Troubleshooting property to None to make the GNS3 server work better.

Step 14

In the Processors and Memory settings, configure the RAM size and number of virtual cores according to the performance of your host computer.

Step 15

Run the GNS3 VM virtual server.

Step 16

After the GNS3 VM is turned on, the software’s screen displays the server version or information on the virtualization platform. The IP address launches Web-Ui, which allows you to access the server from a web browser on your computer.

How to Connect GNS3 to GNS3 VM

You can connect to the server via Web-Ui and create your projects without integrating the GNS3 VM into your GNS3 software. However, we recommend using this method, as it is more efficient.

Step 1

Click Help / Setup Wizard from the GNS3 tool menu.

Step 2

Select Run appliances in a virtual machine in the setup wizard and click Next.

Step 3

Leave the GNS3 local server settings as default and click Next.

Step 4

After the connection to the local GNS3 server is successful, click Next again.

Step 5

To activate the GNS3 VM, select the program installed on your system for the Virtualization Software and click Next after changing the vCPU value and RAM size according to the hardware features of your host computer.

Step 6

The GNS3 VM is started automatically in the Servers Summary section. After checking the information in the GNS3 Virtual Machine summary window, click the Finish button.

How to Add a Cisco Router to GNS3 Server

After downloading a Cisco Router IOS image to your computer from the link in the requirements list, you can easily add it to your GNS3 server.

Step 1

Click Preferences from the GNS3 tool menu to open the IOS image attachment wizard.

Step 2

In the New IOS Router Template window, select Run this IOS router on the GNS3 VM and click Next.

Step 3

In the IOS Image window, click Browse to specify the location of the IOS image you downloaded to your Mac.

Step 4

Go to the Downloads folder, select c7200-adventerprisek9-mz.152-4.M7.bin, and open it.

Step 5

Click Yes in the question asked to decompress the IOS image.

Step 6

Wait while the Cisco Router IOS image is uploaded to the GNS3 Server.

Step 7

After copying the IOS image to the server, click Next again.

Step 8

You can change the name of the Router IOS image or edit its platform. If you add the same image again, remember to change the Router Name.

Step 9

You can increase the memory size according to your host’s hardware features so that the Router you have added will work more stable on your computer. The default memory size for the C7200 IOS image is 512 MB.

Step 10

If you want to add a serial interface or gigabit interface to the Router you have added, you can add those interfaces to the empty slots in the network adapters window.

Step 11

In order not to use 100% of your Mac’s processor, you need to set an Idle-PC value. The simulator software automatically determines this value according to your computer’s specifications.

Click the Idle-PC Finder button to find a suitable Idle-PC value for the Router c7200, and after the appropriate value is found, click Finish to close the window.

Step 12

When you check the information on the image you added in the IOS Router Templates section, you can see that the server value is GNS3 VM.

How to Create a New Project in macOS

After installing the GNS3 VM on your macOS system and adding an iOS image to the server, you can create a new project to test the Router device you added.

Step 1

In the window that opens after clicking the New Project icon in GNS3, you can configure the project’s name and location.

Step 2

After adding a c7200 Router to the project, select the GNS3 VM in the server selection window while adding the VPCS device.

Step 3

After running all devices, open the console by double-clicking on R1 and executing the commands below to assign the IP address to the interface connected to the VPCS.

R1# conf t
R1(config)# interface fastethernet 0/0
R1(config)# ip address 192.168.1.100 255.255.255.0
R1(config)# no shutdownCopy

Step 4

In order to assign an IP address to the VPCS device, execute the following command in the console window and check with the show ip command.

PC1> ip 192.168.1.200/24
PC1> show ipCopy

Step 5

You can see that the connection between the two devices is successful when you ping from R1 to VPCS.

Video

Installing Old Versions

Conclusion

In conclusion, it would be beneficial to install GNS3 VM alongside the simulation software on your macOS PC. In fact, this structure will enhance your Cisco exam preparation. Plus, it will significantly optimize your overall network simulation experience.

Obviously, you will perform better by delegating resource-intensive tasks to the GNS3 VM. Thus, you can enjoy efficiency while designing complex network topologies.

In short, you can integrate the virtual server into your simulation program by following the steps I have explained. Even if you are a beginner, you can easily configure it. In short, this will allow you to try and learn the basic networking concepts. Thus, you can gain more confidence and competence.