Firewall Lab
AI-generated Palo Alto and Fortinet firewall labs in the browser.
Describe zones, NAT rules, and security policies in plain English. AI writes the correct vendor CLI and deploys in minutes, alongside Cisco routers and Nokia switches in one topology. SSH into any firewall to verify policies or iterate by hand — both paths are always available. BYOI the firewall image once.
What makes NetPilot different for firewall labs
GNS3, EVE-NG, and physical appliances can all run Palo Alto and FortiGate. NetPilot combines AI-generated firewall configs + mixed-vendor cloud topology + one-shot deployment in a single product.
Cloud-native firewall lab
AI-generated firewall configs
Multi-turn policy iteration
Minutes vs hours per lab
See It in Action
Deploy a firewall alongside Cisco routers — AI configures zones, NAT, and security policies automatically.
Why AI-Powered Firewall Labs?
Setting up a firewall lab in GNS3 or EVE-NG takes hours. Describe what you need and get a working firewall topology in minutes.
AI Generates Policies
Describe your security requirements — the AI generates zone configs, NAT rules, security policies, and routing integration automatically.
No Hardware Required
No $1,000+ appliances. No server with 32GB RAM. Upload your firewall image once — labs deploy to the cloud.
Mixed Vendor Topologies
Palo Alto or Fortinet firewalls alongside Cisco routers, Nokia switches, Arista cEOS — all in a single topology with real CLIs.
What You Can Practice
Real firewall CLIs with AI-generated configurations — from basic zone setup to advanced threat prevention.
Zone & Policy
- Security Zones
- Inter-Zone Policies
- Application-Based Rules
- URL Filtering
- Threat Prevention
NAT
- Source NAT (SNAT)
- Destination NAT (DNAT)
- Bidirectional NAT
- NAT Overload / PAT
- Policy-Based NAT
VPN & HA
- IPSec Site-to-Site VPN
- GlobalProtect (Palo Alto)
- SSL VPN (Fortinet)
- Active/Passive HA
- Active/Active HA
Integration
- OSPF with Firewall
- BGP with Firewall
- Static Routing
- Cisco + Firewall Topology
- Multi-Vendor Security
How It Works
Upload Your Image
Upload Palo Alto PAN-OS or Fortinet FortiGate via BYOI. One-time upload — NetPilot builds the Docker image automatically.
Describe Your Lab
“Set up a Palo Alto firewall between two Cisco segments with NAT and security policies” — AI generates everything.
SSH Into Real CLIs
Your firewall lab deploys to cloud ContainerLab. SSH into Palo Alto or Fortinet alongside Cisco routers — real CLIs, real behavior.
NetPilot vs every other firewall lab option
Head-to-head across GNS3, EVE-NG, physical appliances, and NetPilot.
| Dimension | GNS3 | EVE-NG | Physical | NetPilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary use case | Home lab; firewall cert / CCNA-Security study | Team lab on shared on-prem server | Vendor-certified production testing | Enterprise firewall change validation + mixed-vendor labs |
| Cloud-hosted / browser access | Self-hosted | Self-hosted server | Physical appliance | Browser only |
| AI-generated firewall configs | Manual CLI | Manual CLI | Manual CLI | Zones, NAT, policies from plain English |
| Multi-turn iteration | Per-change CLI edit | Per-change CLI edit | Per-change CLI edit | Natural-language policy updates |
| Palo Alto PAN-OS | BYOI QEMU image | BYOI image | Purchase appliance | BYOI upload (1-click) |
| Fortinet FortiGate | BYOI image | BYOI image | Purchase appliance | BYOI upload (1-click) |
| Setup time | 2-4 hours | 1-2 days | Hours (rack + license) | Minutes (after image upload) |
| Mixed-vendor topology (firewall + routers) | BYOI every vendor | BYOI every vendor | Expensive (multiple appliances) | Palo Alto + Cisco + Nokia + Arista in one topology |
| Offline / air-gapped operation | Fully offline on owned workstation | Self-hosted on your server | Fully air-gapped rack | Cloud-first; enterprise on-prem available |
| Hardware-accelerated throughput | Software-only | Software-only | Line-rate ASIC throughput | Virtual appliance (cloud) |
| Hardware requirements | 32 GB RAM workstation | 16 GB+ dedicated server | Physical rack + power | Any browser |
| Cost | Free + your hardware | Free / 150 EUR Pro | $1,000+ per appliance | Free tier (BYOI) |
Where NetPilot fits vs firewall-lab alternatives
Pick GNS3 / EVE-NG / physical firewall labs when you need:
- •Physical appliances are right when you specifically need hardware-accelerated throughput or vendor-certified production testing
- •GNS3 is right if you need fully offline operation on your own workstation
- •EVE-NG is right if you have a shared team lab server already running
- •You need a licensing or compliance environment that requires on-prem-only operation
Pick NetPilot when you need:
- •AI-generated zone configs, NAT rules, and security policies from plain English
- •Mixed-vendor topology in one shot: Palo Alto + Fortinet + Cisco + Nokia + Arista
- •BYOI PAN-OS / FortiGate once — cloud handles Docker image building + deployment
- •Minutes from prompt to working firewall lab vs hours of QEMU / vrnetlab setup
- •Multi-turn policy iteration: "add a DMZ zone and allow HTTPS from untrust to DMZ"
Verdict:GNS3, EVE-NG, and physical firewalls remain the right choice for specific offline or hardware-accelerated needs. NetPilot is the cloud + AI-built firewall-lab choice for teams who want AI-generated Palo Alto and Fortinet configs in a mixed-vendor cloud topology — minutes, not days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about firewall labs