Unlimited nodes. Every engine.
Free forever. No 7-node ceiling.
The EVE-NG alternative that runs in your browser. netplex. is a browser-based network lab: browser consoles, a REST API and automatic image import on the free tier. No fixpermissions step. No licence key to start. No node limit (one running lab at a time).
You know these problems.
We fixed all of them.
The fixpermissions chore
Every image upload means logging in over SSH to run /opt/unetlab/wrappers/unl_wrapper -a fixpermissions. Get the folder name wrong and the image silently doesn't appear. There's no error - it just isn't there.
The free tier is now 7 nodes
The old Community Edition reached end of life in June 2026. With V7 the free tier is "Freemium" - 7 nodes per EVE server (EVE-NG's Features Compare page), for non-commercial use, with two admin accounts. A realistic CCIE Enterprise topology doesn't fit in 7 nodes. Pro is 150 EUR per licence, licensed per concurrent session. netplex free: no node limit (one running lab at a time).
Community has ended
EVE-NG lists Community Edition 6.2.0-4 as end of support and end of life from June 2026. It only works with the 6.x line, so moving to V7 means moving to Freemium or Pro.
Licence tied to one machine
EVE-NG Pro's licence is tied to one VM instance or one physical computer, runs for a limited time, and needs an internet check about every 24 hours. You can re-host it yourself, but a lab server cut off from the internet needs planning. (netplex. paid licences are also tied to the machine; its free tier needs no key.)
AMD CPUs need EPT
EVE-NG requires Intel VT-x/EPT or nested AMD EPT. AMD Ryzen 3900 and newer EPYC should work; older AMD can have issues. Check your CPU before you buy a server.
Setup is a manual job
Setup means installing the ISO on a VM or bare metal, loading images by hand and, for Pro, a licence. It is more hands-on than a one-click import.
EVE-NG Freemium vs netplex. Associate
Free next to free.
Both are the free tier. For the paid pair, see EVE-NG Pro vs netplex. Professional.
| Feature | EVE-NG Freemium Free tier · non-commercial use |
netplex. Associate Free tier · no time limit |
|---|---|---|
| Modern browser UI (React canvas) | HTML5 UI (V7 added a new theme) | Yes |
| In-browser consoles (SSH · serial) | HTML5 console | Integrated |
| Integrated packet capture | Integrated (Docker Wireshark + HTML console capture) | Browser-native |
| Licence-free nodes (FRR · VyOS) | Yes - FRR Docker template, VyOS image supported | Yes |
| Snapshots · backup | Built-in Backup Manager (full backup/restore); no git integration found | Git-backed backup and restore |
| REST API | Yes - JSON API (docs partly outdated, per EVE-NG) | Full REST API |
| Lab as code (plan / apply) | No plan/apply workflow documented; labs are XML files managed via the API | Git-friendly .npx lab files |
| AI agent access (MCP) | No official MCP server found on eve-ng.net | MCP server (beta), 80+ tools, read-only |
| Link impairment (delay · jitter · loss · rate) | Yes - Link Quality | Good / Poor / Bad presets |
| AMD CPU support | Yes with EPT (Ryzen 3900+, newer EPYC); older AMD can have issues | Yes - KVM on x86-64, Intel or AMD |
| Licence portability | No licence needed | No licence key needed |
| Built-in switch and router nodes (no image needed) | Partial - unmanaged L2 switch only, no router node | Yes - a built-in switch and Linux router start instantly |
| Lab backup to GitHub / git | No | Yes - push backups to GitHub, GitLab or any git remote |
| Scheduled backups to SSH / SFTP / SMB / cloud | Yes | Yes - on a timer, to your own SSH/SFTP or SMB server or cloud storage |
| LXC container nodes | No | Yes - LXC nodes |
| Network-namespace nodes (about 50 ms start) | No | Yes - lightweight namespace nodes, no image |
| MicroVM nodes (Firecracker) | No | Yes - Firecracker MicroVM nodes (beta) |
| Themes and accent colours | Yes | Yes - 6 themes and 9 accent colours |
| Export the topology as PNG / PDF / SVG | No | Yes - PNG (1x-3x, transparent), PDF or SVG |
| Export to draw.io / Mermaid / Graphviz / SSH config / Nornir | No | Yes - draw.io, Mermaid, Graphviz, SSH config, hosts file, Nornir inventory |
| Recently deleted labs (restore within days) | No | Yes - restore a deleted lab within 3 days (labs that had a backup repository) |
| Coloured tags on devices | No | Yes - free-text tags, each with its own colour |
| Start-up configs pasted at first boot, named sets | Yes | Yes - paste once, switch between named sets |
| Windows / Linux desktops in a browser tab | Yes | Yes - RDP and VNC desktops in the browser |
| Host dashboard (CPU / RAM history and alerts) | No | Yes - 1-hour and 24-hour history, email/webhook alerts |
| Edit the lab as code next to the canvas | No | Yes - a JSON code panel kept in sync with the drawing |
| Smart image import (auto-detect, disk guard, boot test) | No | Yes - names the image, refuses when the disk is too full, boot-tests it |
| Push your own code as a device | No | Yes - CLI, VS Code task or git hook |
| Import other tools' labs | No | Yes - EVE-NG .unl, GNS3, Containerlab, Docker Compose |
| IPv6 labs | No | Yes - IPv6 addresses and traffic between nodes |
| UI in 5 languages | No | Yes - English, Arabic (right-to-left), Chinese, Spanish and French |
| Restore centre (lab history, file or whole platform) | Yes | Yes - restore a lab from history or a file, or the whole platform from a snapshot (admin) |
| Gateway node to the internet or host network | Yes | Yes - a Cloud gateway node, NAT or bridge, the only way out of a lab |
| Native console connector (your own terminal) | Yes | Yes - opens consoles in SecureCRT, PuTTY, Windows Terminal, iTerm2 and more |
| Side-by-side config diff viewer | No | Yes - one diff viewer with a commit picker and restore button |
| Setup (first lab running) | Install the ISO on a VM or bare metal, load images by hand | Install the ISO on a VM or bare metal, or import the OVA; then import images |
EVE-NG figures from the official features-compare page, read 12 Oct 2026 against EVE-NG 7.2.0-18. netplex. tier facts checked against the netplex. code.
No node limit. Nothing to buy to run more nodes.
Browser consoles, a REST API and automatic image import - all in the free tier (one running lab at a time).
Your EVE-NG labs come with you.
30 seconds, not 30 hours.
Import your .unl file and every node, link, interface assignment and saved configuration transfers automatically. No manual rewiring.
Export from EVE-NG
Right-click your lab → Export, or grab the .unl file directly from /opt/unetlab/labs/
Import in netplex.
Labs → Import → EVE-NG (.unl) and drop the file. The importer maps device kinds automatically.
Start your lab
Select all, press Start. Open the console from the browser - no client pack, no PuTTY.
Nodes + links
All topology objects carry across - node positions, interface assignments, link types.
Saved configs
Startup configurations embedded in the .unl file come across too. RAM-only state does not.
GNS3 too
Same importer handles .gns3project files and containerlab YAML. One workflow for every format.
Not a port. Built from scratch.
netplex. was designed for the way engineers work in 2026 - browser-first and API-first.
No client software needed
Console access, packet capture, topology editing - all run in the browser, and there is no native client pack. EVE-NG's HTML5 console works in a browser too; both need a server to run on.
Image setup - drop it in and walk away
Upload an image and netplex. works out what it is, converts it, sets permissions, files it and test-boots it, showing each step. No SSH. No fixpermissions. If it fails, you get a plain-English explanation.
Share a read-only live view
On Professional you can share a read-only view link to a running lab. Labs have a single editor at a time; two people cannot edit the same lab at once.
Full automation tools for one user
A full REST and WebSocket API, an MCP server for AI agents (beta, read-only below Architect), API keys, a command-line tool and a Python SDK ship today. Professional adds lab plan/apply. EVE-NG has a documented API too.
No licence key on the free tier
The free Associate tier needs no licence key. Paid netplex. licences are tied to the machine, like EVE-NG Pro's licence.
Scale beyond one machine
In beta: on Professional one lab can run across 2 hosts, on Architect across up to 4, linked by VXLAN inside an encrypted WireGuard tunnel - transparent to the emulated devices. EVE-NG's Cluster ships on every edition.
EVE-NG to netplex.
The questions people actually ask.
Got a specific EVE-NG problem? Jump straight to it.
Last reviewed October 2026 · Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Ready to run your first
EVE-NG import?
Start on the free Associate tier. Import a .unl file. Open a console in your browser. No client pack, no SSH session, no fixpermissions.