| Scenario | Recommendation | | :--- | :--- | | You own an old 2600 router | Extract its IOS and use it in GNS3 (legal under personal use). | | You are a student | Sign up for – some courses include image access. | | You need modern features | Purchase CML Personal ($199/year) – includes commercial-use images. | | You are a company | Buy the appropriate SmartNet contract; do not share images internally beyond licensed users. |
Once you download CML, the images are stored locally. You can point GNS3 directly to CML’s image directory. cisco gns3 images
| Image Type | Minimum RAM | Recommended RAM | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Cisco 3725 (Dynamips) | 128 MB | 256 MB | | Cisco 7200 | 256 MB | 512 MB | | vIOS Router (QEMU) | 512 MB | 1 GB | | ASAv | 2 GB | 4 GB | | CSR1000v | 2.5 GB | 4 GB | | Scenario | Recommendation | | :--- |