Powering on the lab
NOVA Network Lab ▶ Watch the film
  1. 01 Design
  2. 02 Run
  3. 03 Connect
  4. 04 Datacenter
  5. 05 Failover
  6. 06 Observe
  7. 07 Automate

NOVA NETWORK LAB

Build a network.Step into the datacenter.Work on real devices.

A network lab that runs on your own computer: real router, switch and firewall consoles, labs on a world map linked with real latency, and a datacenter you can walk into.

▶ Watch the filmTake the tour ↓

01 / DESIGN

Build real networks.

Draw a topology or arrange the same appliances in racks. Both views share the same devices, ports, power and cables, and every lab keeps its own topology, room and disks.

  • Routers, switches, firewalls and PCs
  • Running on your own computer
  • Saved labs you switch between in a click

02 / RUN

Real images. Real CLI.

Bring your own images: Cisco IOSv and IOSvL2, FortiGate, Linux and VPCS. Each device has its own console: float it, tab it, or open it in its own window.

HQ-R1 · consoleIOSv 15.9
HQ-R1#show ip ospf neighbor
Neighbor ID     Pri   State      Dead Time   Address        Interface
2.2.2.2           1   FULL/DR    00:00:36    172.16.21.2    Gi0/2
2.2.2.2           1   FULL/DR    00:00:34    172.16.12.2    Gi0/1
HQ-R1#ping 10.2.2.10
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 10.2.2.10, timeout is 2 seconds:
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 5/20/69 ms
HQ-R1#
Cisco IOSvIOSvL2FortiGateLinuxVPCS

03 / CONNECT

From your city to the world.

Pin every lab to a real place and link labs across the map. Delay, jitter, loss, bandwidth and fibre distance apply to the actual traffic.

  • Bucharest, Cluj, Craiova, Slatina… and Frankfurt
  • One-way delay, jitter and loss on real frames
  • Live counters for forwarding, queueing and drops

04 / DATACENTER

Your racks. In 3D.

Walk the cold aisle. Racks, power leads, PDUs, patch panels and transceivers are all modelled, and power, heat and airflow are simulated cabinet by cabinet.

  • Exercises: cooling off, a blocked cabinet, an open containment
  • Airflow that follows the cabinets
  • An RJ45 workbench: strip, order T568A/B, crimp, test

05 / FAILOVER

Break a link. Watch it heal.

Cut, black-hole or flap any link. BFD notices in 150 ms, OSPF reroutes, and the backup takes the traffic.

HQ-R1 ↔ DC-R1primary · 18 ms · OSPF FULL
LINK CUTHQ-R1 ↔ DC-R1 · cable pulled
BFD DOWNdetected in 150 ms
OSPF REROUTEvia HQ-R2 · backup · 24 ms
TRAFFIC RESTOREDHQ → DC over the backup
LINK REPAIREDtraffic back on the primary · 18 ms

06 / OBSERVE

See every protocol.

NOVA reads the frames on every link and names what it finds, layer by layer. Follow a label across an MPLS core: pushed, swapped, popped.

07 / AUTOMATE · MCP

Bring your own AI agent.

NOVA speaks MCP. Claude, Codex or any MCP client can build labs, link sites and work the consoles while you watch.

Your AI agentMCPNOVA

Claude · Codex · any MCP client connected

youAdd a branch in Slatina, link it to Craiova and Bucharest, then test the failover.
nova_api create lab "Branch Slatina" · SL-R1, SL-SW1 ✓
nova_api link SL-R1 ↔ HQ-R2 (Bucharest) ✓
nova_console SL-R1 show ip ospf neighbor
HQ-R2 FULL/DR
nova_api create lab "Branch Craiova" · link to SL-R1, HQ-R1 ✓
nova_api test failover SL-R1 ↔ HQ-R2
✓ traffic rerouted via Craiova

EVERYTHING IN THE BOX

A lab you can work in.

Real devices

Cisco IOSv and IOSvL2, FortiGate, VPCS and graphical Linux guests, or any virtual disk you import.

Cisco IOSvIOSvL2FortiGateLinuxVPCS

WAN conditions

Delay, jitter, loss, bandwidth and fibre distance on the actual traffic.

delay
18 ms
jitter
2 ms
loss
0.1 %

150ms

Failover drills

Cut, black-hole or flap a link; BFD notices and the routing protocols move the traffic.

A physical training room

Racks, power leads, PDUs, patch panels and transceivers, with power, heat and airflow modelled cabinet by cabinet.

PowerHeatAirflowContainmentFire suppression

RJ45 workbench

Strip the jacket, put the eight conductors in T568B order, crimp, and let the tester find the faults.

  • HQ · Bucharestrunning
  • DC · Frankfurtrunning
  • Branch · Clujstopped

Saved labs

Each lab keeps its topology, room, VM settings and private disks.

Packets on every link

Capture what crosses a link, see each protocol by name and export a PCAP.

ETHMPLS 24IPv4TCP 179BGP
Your AI agentMCPNOVA

Automation over MCP

Claude, Codex or any MCP client can build labs, link sites and type in the consoles while you watch.

Two connected views

A topology and a 3D room on the same devices, ports, power and cables.

HQ-R1# show ip route ospf
O  10.2.0.0/16 [110/2] via 172.16.12.2

Flexible consoles

Float them, tab them or open native windows.

4 GB RAM2 vCPU4 NICs

Editable VMs

RAM, CPU, NICs, disks and boot order while a guest is stopped.

Networks with consequences

An Ethernet fabric that forwards real frames: a pulled cable is a dead link.

THE FILM

NOVA in 90 seconds.

Made entirely in code with three.js, the same engine as NOVA's 3D: no screenshots, no stock footage.

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