Outgrown Packet Tracer?
Run the real thing instead.
Packet Tracer is a great first sandbox for CCNA basics - free, light, and built into Cisco NetAcad. But it simulates device behaviour rather than running real network software, it is Cisco-only, and BGP, MPLS and the tricky edge cases you hit at CCNP/CCIE aren't fully there. netplex. runs real images - Cisco and everyone else - in your browser, with a free tier so the step up costs nothing.
Packet Tracer simulates - it doesn't run real IOS. Cisco itself calls it a learning aid, not a replacement for real routers and switches. OSPF neighbour troubleshooting, ACL edge cases and STP behaviour don't fully match real hardware, and advanced protocols like BGP and MPLS are stripped down or missing. netplex. runs the actual images, so what you practise is what production does.
Perfect for week one.
A ceiling by month three.
Simulated, not real
Packet Tracer models device behaviour with its own simplified engine. It is easy on your laptop, but it is not real IOS - so the output, timers and quirks you learn don't always match the gear you'll touch in a job or a lab exam.
Advanced protocols are thin
BGP and MPLS are stripped down or absent, and OSPF/ACL/STP edge cases behave differently to real hardware. The moment CCNP or CCIE topics need real protocol behaviour, the simulation stops keeping up.
Cisco only
Packet Tracer is a Cisco teaching tool - you cannot drop in Juniper, Arista, Palo Alto, Linux or a container. Real networks are multi-vendor; your practice can't be.
No real automation
You can't point Ansible, a REST client or a Python/Netmiko script at Packet Tracer devices the way you would real gear. The single biggest growth area in networking - automation - is the one thing you can't practise here.
Tied to a NetAcad account
Getting Packet Tracer means enrolling in Cisco Networking Academy and signing in. It's free, but it's a Cisco-account walled garden rather than an open lab you just open in a browser.
No packet capture on the wire
Packet Tracer's "simulation mode" animates packets, but it isn't a real capture - you can't open a genuine pcap in Wireshark and inspect true frames. For protocol study, seeing the real bytes matters.
Packet Tracer vs netplex.
Both free to start. One is real.
| Feature | Packet Tracer Free · NetAcad account |
netplex. tier shown per row |
|---|---|---|
| Runs real network images | No — simulated behaviour | Yes — real IOS, Junos, EOS, etc. |
| Protocol fidelity (OSPF / ACL / STP) | Approximate — edge cases differ | Exactly as the real image behaves |
| BGP / MPLS | Stripped down or missing | Full — it's the real control plane |
| Multi-vendor | Cisco only | Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Nokia, Linux… |
| Real automation (Ansible / API / Netmiko) | No — can't script the devices | Yes — real SSH, API, Terraform, Ansible |
| Real packet capture (pcap / Wireshark) | Animated sim mode only | Browser-native, real frames |
| Runs in browser | Desktop / mobile app | Yes — nothing to install |
| Works fully offline on a laptop | Yes — its big strength | Runs on a host you reach via browser |
| Footprint | Tiny — runs on anything | Real images need real RAM (on the host) |
| Account required | Cisco NetAcad enrolment | Your own netplex. host |
| Good for CCNA basics | Yes — purpose-built for it | Yes — plus CCNP / CCIE / real jobs |
| Cert templates (CCNA / CCNP / CCIE) | CCNA-oriented | Import-and-study lab templates |
| Cost | Free | Free — Associate, up to 1,000 nodes |
Packet Tracer characteristics from Cisco NetAcad and community documentation (2026): simulation-based, Cisco-only, advanced protocols limited, learning-aid by design. netplex. rows are code-verified.
Straight with you — keep Packet Tracer for what it's great at
For your first weeks on VLANs, basic OSPF and subnetting, Packet Tracer is genuinely excellent: free, tiny, fully offline on a weak laptop, and wired into the NetAcad curriculum with no images to source. netplex. runs real images, so it needs a host with real RAM and images to run. Use Packet Tracer to learn the fundamentals; move to netplex. the moment you need real IOS behaviour, BGP/MPLS, multi-vendor topologies, or automation practice - and it's still free to do so.
You've hit the ceiling when… any of these is true.
Packet Tracer got you started. These are the signals it's time for real gear - and netplex.'s free tier means the jump costs nothing.
You're past CCNA
CCNP and CCIE topics lean on real protocol behaviour, timers and platform quirks the simulation doesn't reproduce.
You need BGP or MPLS
These are the real control planes, not a simplified model. netplex. runs the actual routing stack, the way it behaves in production.
Your network isn't all Cisco
Juniper, Arista, Palo Alto, Linux, containers - build a mixed topology that looks like the real world, in one canvas.
You want to learn automation
Point Ansible, a REST client or a Python script at real devices - the skill that actually moves careers forward.
You want real packet capture
Open a genuine pcap in a browser-native Wireshark and read the true frames on the wire, not an animation.
You're teaching a class
The Class tier gives every student an isolated pod with a live lab, plus reset and grading from one screen.
Keep the basics.
Graduate to real gear.
Start on the free Associate tier - real images, multi-vendor, in your browser. Everything Packet Tracer taught you still applies; now it's running on the real thing.
Australian schools get the full platform free — install and teacher training included. Learn more →