SD-WAN

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last person joined: 7 days ago 

Ask questions and share experiences with SD-WAN and Session Smart Router (formerly 128T).
  • 1.  EVE-NG server rec

    Posted 30 days ago

    Hello members. I've taken a position on a network that uses the SSR platform and I want to mock up this network in a scaled down version on EVE-NG. I'm shopping for a eBay workstation ( tower) for this purpose. I'm looking for hardware specs. Let's assume...

    2 conductors

    8 SSR's 

    2 Palo Alto FW's 

    4 Cisco routers

    Other misc. machines, switches, workstations to generate traffic, etc. 

    It is my understand that the focus should be CPU cores and RAM. Storage is fairly easy to add. 

    Let's say my budget is $750



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    DALE CARPINETI
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  • 2.  RE: EVE-NG server rec

    Posted 30 days ago
    Approximate minimum VM resources:
     
    Device vCPU RAM
    2× SSR Conductors 2 each 4–8 GB each
    8× SSR Routers 1–2 each 2–4 GB each
    2× Palo Alto VM 4 each 8–12 GB each
    4× Cisco CSR1000v 2 each 4 GB each
    Misc. hosts 2–4 total 4–8 GB total
     
    Total: roughly 30–40 vCPUs and 60–90 GB RAM if everything runs at once.
    You can get by with less if you start only part of the topology at a time.
    Hardware recommendations (~$750)
    Option A – Used workstation (Xeon, ECC RAM)
     
    HP Z440/Z640, Dell Precision T5810/T7810, Lenovo P510, etc.
    CPU: Xeon E5-1650 v3/v4 (6 cores @ 3.5 GHz) or dual E5-2680 v3 (12 cores/CPU).
    RAM: 64 GB min, ideally 96–128 GB ECC DDR4.
    Storage: 1 TB NVMe (PCIe adapter) + 1 TB SATA SSD.
    NIC: Intel i350-T2/T4 (excellent EVE-NG driver support).
    Cost: $600–800 total.
    Option B – Consumer tower (Ryzen)
    Ryzen 7 3700X/5700X (8 cores @ 4 GHz+).
    64 GB DDR4 RAM (up to 128 GB if board allows).
    1 TB NVMe + 1 TB SATA SSD.
    Intel i350 NIC.
    Cost: $650–850.
    Use Ubuntu LTS + EVE-NG Community/Pro.
    iperf3 traffic generator


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    Hannu Rokka
    Senior Advisor (DataCom)
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  • 3.  RE: EVE-NG server rec

    Posted 28 days ago

    Thank you very much! That's exactly what I've been looking for. Can I reach out to you directly if I have any questions on the install? 



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    DALE CARPINETI
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  • 4.  RE: EVE-NG server rec

    Posted 28 days ago
    I'm glad to hear my earlier notes were helpful! Just to clarify - I don't work for Juniper, and my time for hands-on support is quite limited alongside my own work.
     
    I'm happy to share general guidance here in the forum when I can, but for technical troubleshooting or configuration assistance, I'd recommend reaching out through Juniper's (and other vendor) official support channels or your local partner.
     
    Best regards,
    Hannu


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    Hannu Rokka
    Senior Advisor (DataCom)
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  • 5.  RE: EVE-NG server rec

    Posted 27 days ago

    For sure. Of course you have your own things to attend to. Do you think this would work?

    https://ebay.us/m/8tgH1A

    Along with an Intel i350 Quad port 1G NIC. 

    Appx $600



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    DALE CARPINETI
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  • 6.  RE: EVE-NG server rec

    Posted 27 days ago

    The specs on that PC look pretty comparable to the machine I am running for my EVE-NG lab. I have been content with the performance Running 9 vJunos-routers, 2 vJunos switches, and a few vPCs. 

    One thing to consider, I have multiple NICs in my server allowing me the primary management interface, but I am also to create a network bridge that allows me to connect my lab to physical hardware. This is not my primary purpose for my EVE-NG lab, but the couple of times I've wanted it, it's made life way easier. 



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    TIM HENRIKSEN
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  • 7.  RE: EVE-NG server rec

    Posted 26 days ago

    Thanks, not the prettiest box, but yes, I believe it will work well for my purposes. Also adding an Intel i350 Quad port 1G NIC. 



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    DALE CARPINETI
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