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 copies how devices behave instead of running real network software, its devices are Cisco-style only, and the tricky cases you meet at CCNP/CCIE are only partly there (its BGP is simplified). netplex. runs real images - Cisco and everyone else, which you bring yourself - and you drive it from a 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. Cisco rates its fidelity as medium: OSPF neighbour troubleshooting, ACL edge cases and STP behaviour don't always match real hardware, and its BGP is simplified. netplex. runs the actual images, so what you practise is what production does.
Perfect for week one.
A ceiling by month three.
Pretend devices, not real ones
Packet Tracer copies 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 is simplified, MPLS is not listed among its features, and OSPF/ACL/STP edge cases can behave differently to real hardware. The moment CCNP or CCIE topics need real protocol behaviour, the simulation stops keeping up.
Cisco-style devices only
Packet Tracer is a Cisco teaching tool with simulated Cisco-style devices (plus generic end devices) - you cannot drop in a Juniper, Arista, Palo Alto, Linux or container image. Real networks are multi-vendor; your practice can't be.
Automation is limited
Packet Tracer's simulated devices aren't reachable like real gear from your own computer, so a REST client or a Python/Netmiko script has nothing real to talk to. Automation is the one thing that is hard to practise here.
You need a free Cisco login
Packet Tracer needs a free NetAcad or Skills for All account to sign in (no course enrolment needed). netplex. needs no Cisco account, but it does need its own server.
No real packet capture documented
Packet Tracer's "simulation mode" shows a packet list and animates packets, but we found no documented way to export a real pcap for Wireshark. For protocol study, seeing the real bytes matters.
Packet Tracer vs netplex.
Both free to start. One is real.
| Feature | Packet Tracer Free · NetAcad / Skills for All login · checked against Packet Tracer 9.x docs |
netplex. Tier shown per row |
|---|---|---|
| Runs real network images | No - simulated behaviour | Yes - real IOS, Junos, EOS, etc. |
| Protocol fidelity (OSPF / ACL / STP) | Approximate - Cisco calls it medium fidelity | Exactly as the real image behaves |
| BGP / MPLS | BGP simplified; MPLS not listed | Real routing software inside the image |
| Multi-vendor | Cisco-style simulated devices (plus generic end devices) | Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Nokia, Linux… |
| Real automation (SSH / API / Netmiko) | SSH between simulated devices; no real SSH/REST endpoint on your host | Yes - real SSH, REST API, Netmiko against real images |
| Real packet capture (pcap / Wireshark) | Simulation-mode packet list; no pcap export documented | Browser-native, real frames |
| Runs in browser | Desktop app | Yes - browser Studio (on a netplex. server) |
| Works on a single laptop | Yes - one desktop app (needs a free login to start) | Needs a server: x86-64 Linux host or appliance (nested virtualization if the host is a VM) |
| Footprint | Tiny - runs on anything | Real images need real RAM (on the host) |
| Account required | Free NetAcad or Skills for All account | None - your own netplex. host |
| Good for CCNA basics | Yes - purpose-built for it | Yes - plus CCNP / CCIE study with real images |
| Cert templates (CCNA / CCNP / CCIE) | CCNA-oriented | Import-and-study lab templates |
| Cost | Free | Free - Associate, no node limit (one running lab at a time) |
| Built-in tool nodes (scanner, multicast, traffic) | No | Yes - network scanner, multicast, traffic generator and bandwidth tester nodes (Professional) |
| Built-in switch and router nodes (no image needed) | Yes | 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 | No | 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 |
| Presentation mode (laser, spotlight, pen) | No | Yes - laser pointer, spotlight, pen and annotation (Professional) |
| Export to draw.io / Mermaid / Graphviz / SSH config / Nornir | No | Yes - draw.io, Mermaid, Graphviz, SSH config, hosts file, Nornir inventory |
| Freeze points and lab branches | No | Yes - freeze a lab, restore it, or branch a new lab from it (Professional) |
| Read-only share link for a live lab | No | Yes - a link anyone can watch, nobody can change (Professional) |
| 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 | No | Yes - paste once, switch between named sets |
| Windows / Linux desktops in a browser tab | No | 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 |
| Pull and restore cables while the lab runs | No | Yes - take a link down and bring it back live (Professional) |
| 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 |
| IPv6 labs | Yes | Yes - IPv6 addresses and traffic between nodes |
| UI in 5 languages | Yes | Yes - English, Arabic (right-to-left), Chinese, Spanish and French |
| Restore centre (lab history, file or whole platform) | No | Yes - restore a lab from history or a file, or the whole platform from a snapshot (admin) |
| Config drift detection | No | Yes - compares a saved golden config with the running one (Professional) |
| Live traffic animation on cables | Partial - Packet animation in Simulation mode; not live traffic | Yes - links flash as packets flow (Professional) |
| Native console connector (your own terminal) | No | 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 |
Checked against Packet Tracer 9.x documentation (NetAcad help and FAQ) on 12 Oct 2026: simulation-based, Cisco-style devices, medium fidelity, learning aid by design. netplex. rows are code-verified.
Packet Tracer taught you the theory. This is where you run it for real.
Same free-to-start story - except every device in the topology actually boots real software.
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, runs on a weak laptop (after a free login), and wired into the NetAcad curriculum with guided activities and no images to source. netplex. runs real images, so it needs a server (an x86-64 Linux host or the appliance) with plenty of RAM, and images you supply yourself. Use Packet Tracer to learn the fundamentals; move to netplex. the moment you need real IOS behaviour, full BGP/MPLS, multi-vendor topologies, or real SSH/REST practice - and it's still free to do so.
You've outgrown it 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
Packet Tracer's BGP is simplified and MPLS is not listed. netplex. runs the real routing software inside the image, 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 bring the images).
You want to learn automation
Point a REST client or a Python script at real device images - a skill that is hard to practise on simulated devices.
You want real packet capture
Capture real frames on the wire in the browser and read them in Wireshark, not an animation.
You want labs as code
Save a lab as a portable .npx file, keep it in git and rebuild the same lab any time.
Packet Tracer to netplex.
The questions people actually ask.
Last reviewed October 2026 · Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
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.