Terraform Provider for GNS3

Overview

The Terraform Provider for GNS3 allows network engineers and DevOps professionals to automate the deployment and management of GNS3 network topologies using Terraform. This provider eliminates manual setup by enabling Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for network emulation environments.

Features

• Create and manage GNS3 nodes (Routers, Switches, Cloud and Links).
• Define and configure network links between nodes.
• Automate GNS3 topology deployment with Terraform.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Terraform (>= v1.13.0)
• GNS3 Server (>= v2.2.0) installed and running
• GNS3 API enabled on your server

Configure the Provider

Add the following to your Terraform configuration:

terraform {
  required_providers {
    gns3 = {
      source  = "netopschic/gns3"
      version = ">=2.5.0"
    }
  }
}

# Configure the GNS3 provider
provider "gns3" {
  host = "http://localhost:3080"
}

Install the Provider

terraform init

Files

• provider.tf: Configures the GNS3 provider.
• variables.tf: Defines input variables.
• main.tf: Contains resource definitions.
• outputs.tf: Specifies output values.

Usage

Fetching Template_id Router

data "gns3_template_id" "router_template" {
  name = "c7200"  # Replace with the actual template name
}

Creating a Project

resource "gns3_project" "project1" {
  name = "My-first-test-topology"
}

Creating a router or any device from template. Devices which are configured in gns3 can be deployed using this resource.

# Previous configuration
resource "gns3_router" "router1" {
  # resource parameters
}

# Updated configuration
resource "gns3_template" "router1" {
  # resource parameters
}

Creating a Docker container

resource "gns3_docker" "dhcp_server" {
  project_id = gns3_project.project1.project_id
  name       = ""
  compute_id = "local"
  image      = ""

  environment = {
   
  }
  start      = true
  start_command  = /bin/sh

  x = 500
  y = 300
}

Creating a Switch

resource "gns3_switch" "switch1" {
  project_id = gns3_project.project1.id
  name       = "Switch1"
}

Creating a Cloud

resource "gns3_cloud" "cloud1" {
  project_id = gns3_project.project1.id
  name       = "Cloud1"
}

Starting all nodes

resource "gns3_start_all" "start_nodes" {
  project_id = gns3_project.project1.id
}

Creating a Link Between Nodes

resource "gns3_link" "router1_to_switch" {
  project_id = "your_project_id"
  node_a     = gns3_node.router1.id
  node_b     = gns3_node.switch1.id
}

Example Topology (For Quick Spin!)

A basic topology connecting a router and a switch:

terraform {
  required_providers {
    gns3 = {
      source  = "netopschic/gns3"
      version = "2.5.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "gns3" {
  host = "http://localhost:3080"
}

# Create a GNS3 project
resource "gns3_project" "project1" {
  name = "simple-topology"
}

# Retrieve the template ID for the router
data "gns3_template_id" "router_template" {
  name = "c7200"  # Replace with your actual router template name
}

# Create a switch
resource "gns3_switch" "switch1" {
  project_id = gns3_project.project1.id
  name       = "Switch1"
  x          = 300
  y          = 300
}

# Create a cloud node
resource "gns3_cloud" "cloud1" {
  project_id = gns3_project.project1.id
  name       = "Cloud1"
  x          = 500
  y          = 100
}

# Create four routers positioned in a square layout
resource "gns3_template" "router1" {
  project_id  = gns3_project.project1.id
  template_id = data.gns3_template_id.router_template.id
  name        = "Router1"
  compute_id  = "local"
  x           = 100
  y           = 100
}

resource "gns3_template" "router2" {
  project_id  = gns3_project.project1.id
  template_id = data.gns3_template_id.router_template.id
  name        = "Router2"
  compute_id  = "local"
  x           = 500
  y           = 100
}

resource "gns3_template" "router3" {
  project_id  = gns3_project.project1.id
  template_id = data.gns3_template_id.router_template.id
  name        = "Router3"
  compute_id  = "local"
  x           = 500
  y           = 500
}

resource "gns3_template" "router4" {
  project_id  = gns3_project.project1.id
  template_id = data.gns3_template_id.router_template.id
  name        = "Router4"
  compute_id  = "local"
  x           = 100
  y           = 500
}

# Define links to form a square topology
resource "gns3_link" "link1" {
  project_id     = gns3_project.project1.id
  node_a_id      = gns3_template.router1.id
  node_a_adapter = 0
  node_a_port    = 0
  node_b_id      = gns3_template.router2.id
  node_b_adapter = 0
  node_b_port    = 0
}

resource "gns3_link" "link2" {
  project_id     = gns3_project.project1.id
  node_a_id      = gns3_template.router2.id
  node_a_adapter = 0
  node_a_port    = 1
  node_b_id      = gns3_template.router3.id
  node_b_adapter = 0
  node_b_port    = 1
}

resource "gns3_link" "link3" {
  project_id     = gns3_project.project1.id
  node_a_id      = gns3_template.router3.id
  node_a_adapter = 0
  node_a_port    = 2
  node_b_id      = gns3_template.router4.id
  node_b_adapter = 0
  node_b_port    = 2
}

resource "gns3_link" "link4" {
  project_id     = gns3_project.project1.id
  node_a_id      = gns3_template.router4.id
  node_a_adapter = 0
  node_a_port    = 3
  node_b_id      = gns3_template.router1.id
  node_b_adapter = 0
  node_b_port    = 3
}

# Start all devices
resource "gns3_start_all" "start_nodes" {
  project_id = gns3_project.project1.id

  depends_on = [
    gns3_template.router1,
    gns3_template.router2,
    gns3_template.router3,
    gns3_template.router4,
    gns3_switch.switch1,
    gns3_cloud.cloud1,
    gns3_link.link1,
    gns3_link.link2,
    gns3_link.link3,
    gns3_link.link4,
  ]
}

Roadmap

• Improve provider stability and error handling.
• Add resource for more network devices
• Enhance state management

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! To contribute:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new feature branch.
3. Commit your changes.
4. Open a pull request.

Issues & Feedback

For issues, feature requests, or general discussion, please open a GitHub issue

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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🚀 Created & Maintained by NetOpsChic