EVE-NG

A usable Cisco ISE 3.x lab on EVE-NG is absolutely worth building for CCIE Security, because ISE shows up in authentication, policy, TrustSec, and operational troubleshooting far more often than most candidates expect. According to Cisco’s ISE 3.3 Installation Guide (2026), the evaluation baseline is 4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, and 300 GB disk, but in real EVE-NG use most candidates should allocate 8 vCPU if they want the GUI, policy changes, and endpoint tests to feel responsive instead of miserable. ...

You can build a fully functional VXLAN EVPN leaf-spine fabric on EVE-NG using free Nexus 9000v images — no physical Nexus switches or expensive hardware required. This guide walks through the complete stack from underlay IGP to L3VNI inter-VXLAN routing, with every NX-OS command you need and verification steps at each stage. Key Takeaway: VXLAN EVPN is the dominant fabric technology on the CCIE Data Center v3.1 blueprint, and with Cisco ACI shifting toward NDFC-managed NX-OS fabrics, hands-on CLI-based VXLAN EVPN skills are now non-negotiable for passing the lab exam. ...

Building a Cisco FTD and FMC lab on EVE-NG gives you a free, fully functional environment to practice the firewall configuration that makes up roughly 40% of the CCIE Security v6.1 lab exam. This guide walks you through every step — from importing qcow2 images to deploying your first access control policy with NAT rules. Key Takeaway: FTD/FMC hands-on practice is non-negotiable for CCIE Security candidates, and EVE-NG provides the most cost-effective way to build a production-realistic lab environment on commodity hardware. ...

Building a functional Cisco SD-WAN lab on EVE-NG requires 64GB+ RAM, controller images at version 20.15+, and roughly 3–4 hours of setup time — but it gives you hands-on access to every SD-WAN component tested on the CCIE EI v1.1 lab exam. This is the single most important lab you can build for CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure preparation in 2026. Key Takeaway: SD-WAN covers five full subsections of the CCIE EI v1.1 blueprint (2.2.a through 2.2.e). A properly built EVE-NG lab with vManage, vBond, vSmart, and cEdge devices lets you practice every orchestration, control plane, and data plane scenario the exam throws at you. ...