As you I'm sure have figured out, I've been enthralled with this GNS3 product. But there's a few problems that I've hit:

First Problem: Every time I recommend GNS3 to someone, they get all excited until they find out they need a copy of the IOS to run it. The next question becomes, "So where to I get that?" At which point, I'm forced to mutter something about using someone's SmartNet contract. And I honestly feel bad! There's so many people that want to learn Cisco that can't get a copy of the IOS from somewhere.

Second Problem: Even if you DO get a copy of the IOS and get GNS3 set up, you end up in a, "what now?" scenario. Let me describe...When I teach Cisco classes, I always encourage people to get some lab equipment from Ebay...but I know a lot of people do this, get all this shiny, racked equipment in place and then don't know what to do with it. It was the same feeling for me when I got GNS3 running - beautiful program, but left me with a, "okay...I've got this great network topology...what now?"

So...we come to my brilliant idea: as I'm showering this morning, it suddenly hits me (this is where most my brilliant thoughts originate) - we need LABS for GNS3. And, access to these GNS3 labs needs to be hosted on a website. Let's see if I can describe this in writing: I want to create a web page that has tons of labs - some could be certification-based, others could just be methods to set up cool configurations. If someone clicks on the lab, they get a visual network diagram followed by a lab description (and steps). If they click on one of the devices, it opens a remote telnet session to a GNS3 setup hosted on a server (this eliminates the first problem above).

Tell me you're not getting excited about this idea - my brainstorming continues...

The labs would either be free or VERY low cost (50 cents or a dollar per lab?) to cover the cost of hosting this solution. I HATE when lab companies that charge hundreds of dollars for something like this. Perhaps it's all free with PayPal donations accepted...who knows?

There's still missing links to my idea:

1. Need a scripting system that resets the labs (router configurations) when someone finishes.

2. Coding the webpage...obviously, if you look at this website...web coding is not my specialty. Actually...I hate web coding.

So...obviously, I'm going to need some help making this happen. Honestly, I would just love to write the labs - if only I knew a web developer who could build a site like this...

...ehem...IF ONLY I KNEW A WEB DEVELOPER WHO COULD BUILD A SITE LIKE THIS.

Sorry. Had to clear my throat. I just registered GNS3Labs.com :o). Only time will tell what it becomes.

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