Common Open Research Emulator (CORE)
5.5#29 in network simulation softwareAPILinuxSelf-hosted
VisitCommon Open Research Emulator (CORE) vs Containerlab
Containerlab
7.6#1 in network simulation softwareFree planFree planWebAPIExtensionLinux
VisitWhat both publish
| Fact | Common Open Research Emulator (CORE) | Containerlab |
|---|---|---|
| API | NRL says the CORE API lets other systems interact with CORE emulation and is used for communication between CORE components. | The clab-api-server performs lab lifecycle, file, terminal, capture, image, and inspection operations on the Linux host. |
| Integrations | CORE documentation includes provided services for EMANE, FRR, Quagga, SDN, and XORP. | Containerlab can launch VM based routers through vrnetlab or boxen integration and can run containerlab style topologies on Kubernetes through Clabernetes. |
| License | The GitHub repository identifies the project license as BSD-2-Clause. | The public GitHub repository identifies the project license as BSD-3-Clause. |
| Requirements | The repository states that CORE requires Python 3.9 or later. | The documented prerequisites include a Linux server or VM, Docker, and sudo privileges to run Containerlab. |
| Support | The repository points users to GitHub-hosted documentation and a Discord channel for support discussions. | The project directs users with questions, ideas, and bug reports to its Discord community. |
Common Open Research Emulator (CORE) plans
No prices published.
Containerlab plans
- ContainerlabFree
- Free and open-sourceFree
Pick Common Open Research Emulator (CORE) if…
CORE suits researchers, educators, security practitioners and engineers evaluating network scenarios or applications. It is also relevant when emulations must connect to physical networks, distributed instances or hardware-in-the-loop setups.
Pick Containerlab if…
Containerlab suits network engineers and others who need to define and manage network labs as code. It also fits users who want to start topologies in CI or pair labs with telemetry stacks.