NetPilot
Network Digital Twin

Network Digital Twin for Enterprise Networks

A runnable, multi-vendor sandbox that mirrors your production network. One platform for change validation, what-if modeling, automation testing, and pre-deployment verification.

“Build me a sandbox matching our core network with OSPF, BGP, and the Palo Alto firewall.”

AI-built in minutes. SSH to every device. Dedicated cloud or on-prem.

AI-generated sandbox in minutes
Multi-vendor on real CLIs
REST API for CI/CD
Dedicated cloud per team

Looking for change validation specifically? Network Change Validation Lab covers pre/post BGP / ACL / routing-change testing with AI-built mirror labs. The digital twin here is the broader umbrella — change validation is one of four use cases.

What makes NetPilot different as a digital twin

Verification tools model your network without running one; manual sandboxes run one but take weeks to build. NetPilot is the AI-built runnable digital twin — one platform for change validation, what-if modeling, automation testing, and pre-deployment verification.

Cloud-native sandboxes

Dedicated cloud VMs per team. No local infra to stand up, no EVE-NG server to maintain.
The alternativeTraditional digital twin setups require self-hosted EVE-NG / CML / Docker hosts and per-team hardware sizing.

AI-built digital twin

Describe the production topology (or paste sanitized configs) — AI generates a matching multi-vendor sandbox.
The alternativeBatfish/forward-analysis tools model your network but don't generate a runnable lab. Manual sandbox = weeks of per-device config.

Multi-turn change iteration

"Add an Arista spine and test OSPF convergence when R2 fails" — AI updates sandbox configs across all devices.
The alternativeIn a manual sandbox, every change is per-device CLI. In verification tools, you can't actually apply the change — only analyze it.

Minutes vs weeks per sandbox

Minutes from prompt to working multi-vendor sandbox.
The alternativeTraditional workflow: weeks of ticketing + provisioning + per-device config before first test can run.

See It in Action

Watch how NetPilot builds a complete sandbox environment from a single description.

Four use cases, one digital twin platform

Change validation, what-if modeling, automation testing, pre-deployment verification — same AI-built multi-vendor sandbox, different workflows.

Change Requests Go Untested

Network changes go straight to production because building a test environment takes too long. One misconfigured BGP peer or ACL can take down critical services.

Automation Scripts Break in Production

Your Ansible playbooks work in dev but fail on production gear. Without a realistic multi-vendor test bed, you're debugging live — and hoping nothing breaks.

Lab Setup Takes Weeks

Building a POC environment means provisioning VMs, finding device images, configuring each device by hand. By the time it's ready, the project timeline has slipped.

Multi-Vendor Complexity

Your production network has Cisco, Juniper, Arista, and Palo Alto. Building a test lab that matches requires expertise in every vendor's CLI and config syntax.

Traditional Sandbox vs. NetPilot Digital Twin

Stop waiting weeks for sandbox environments. AI-built digital twin in minutes for every use case.

Traditional workflow

✗File change request ticket
✗Wait for lab environment approval
✗Provision VMs and install EVE-NG
✗Hunt for device images
✗Build topology manually in GUI
✗Configure each device via CLI
✗Hope it matches production

Weeks per environment

With NetPilot

Describe the test scenario in plain English
AI builds matching topology with working configs
Test changes, validate automation, ship with confidence

Minutes per environment

A Complete Network Digital Twin Platform

Everything you need for change validation, what-if modeling, automation testing, and pre-deployment verification.

Change Management Sandbox

Validate every change request before production. Test BGP updates, ACL changes, and routing migrations in an isolated sandbox environment.

Pre-Production Validation

Catch configuration errors before they cause outages. Test failover scenarios, validate configs, and ship changes with confidence.

Automation Testing

Run Ansible, Python, Terraform, or any automation code against real device CLIs. Test in isolation, debug safely, deploy with confidence.

Network Digital Twin

Describe your production topology or provide configs. AI generates a matching sandbox — your network's digital twin in minutes.

Multi-Vendor Support

Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Palo Alto, Fortinet — AI handles each vendor's syntax. Build realistic multi-vendor sandboxes without CLI expertise.

Isolated Cloud Sandbox

Each sandbox runs in a dedicated cloud VM. No shared resources, no conflicts. Test sensitive scenarios without exposing production.

NetPilot vs CloudMyLab vs DIY digital twins

Build sandbox environments faster with AI-powered automation.

DimensionCloudMyLabDIY (EVE-NG)NetPilot
Primary use caseHosted EVE-NG for existing .unl labsHome lab on owned hardware; cert studyEnterprise change validation + rapid multi-vendor sandboxes
Sandbox creationManual topology builderManual setup, days to weeksPlain English → AI builds it
Time to working sandboxHours of manual configDays to weeksMinutes
Change validationManual CLI per deviceManual CLI per deviceAI-generated configs, instant testing
Multi-vendor supportCisco, Juniper, limited othersPer-vendor expertise neededCisco, Juniper, Arista, Nokia, Palo Alto, Fortinet, FRR
AI assistanceNoneNoneAI troubleshooting + config generation
CI/CD / API integrationLimited APIBuild it yourselfREST API — spin up / tear down programmatically
Offline / air-gapped operationCloud-hosted onlyFully offline on owned hardwareCloud-first; enterprise on-prem available
Existing EVE-NG topology compatibilityRuns your existing .unl files as-isDepends on toolNot EVE-NG compatible; describe lab in plain English
Cost modelPer-hour / per-lab rentalServer + licensing + team timeSubscription with dedicated env for teams

Enterprise Sandbox Use Cases

From change management validation to CI/CD pipelines, NetPilot fits into your existing workflow.

Change Management Validation

Test every change request in a sandbox before production. Validate BGP changes, ACL updates, routing protocol migrations — catch errors before they cause outages.

Network Automation CI/CD

Integrate lab provisioning into your GitOps pipeline. Test Ansible playbooks, Terraform configs, and Python scripts automatically with every commit.

Vendor POC Evaluation

Evaluating new vendors or technologies? Spin up a test environment in minutes. Compare Arista vs Juniper, test SD-WAN solutions, validate before you buy.

Training & Onboarding

Onboard new team members with realistic lab environments. Practice network scenarios without risking production. Upskill your team on multi-vendor configurations.

The Cost of Skipping the Sandbox

$5,600
Average cost per minute of network downtime
Source: Gartner
$336K
Cost of a single hour of downtime
Some enterprises report $540K+/hour
Minutes
Time to create a sandbox with NetPilot
vs. days/weeks with traditional methods

Where NetPilot fits vs verification + DIY tools

Pick verification-only tools + DIY sandboxes when you need:

  • •You already have on-prem EVE-NG / CML with a curated image library invested
  • •You need fully offline operation on owned infrastructure (air-gapped or compliance)
  • •You need hosted EVE-NG for existing .unl topology files (CloudMyLab)
  • •Your use case is pure config verification / compliance analysis without executing the network

Pick NetPilot when you need:

  • •AI-built digital twin of your production network in minutes, not weeks
  • •Multi-turn natural-language iteration: "move OSPF to area 0.0.0.1, inject the R2 failure, show me convergence"
  • •Real CLIs on real NOS images — the sandbox actually runs, not just analyzed
  • •REST API for CI/CD integration — spin up / tear down programmatically
  • •Dedicated cloud per team — zero infrastructure to maintain

Verdict:Verification-only tools and DIY sandboxes remain useful for specific narrow cases. NetPilot is the AI-built runnable digital-twin choice for teams who need sandbox generation plus change execution on real multi-vendor CLIs — as of 2026, the productized combination of the two.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions from enterprise teams evaluating NetPilot.

Describe the production segment to NetPilot ("digital twin of our US-East POP — 2 Cisco PE, 1 Juniper PE, dual eBGP upstreams") or paste sanitized configs. The AI generates a matching multi-vendor runnable sandbox in ~2 minutes — same topology, IP addressing, vendor NOS, routing relationships. You run the planned change against the twin, capture pre/post snapshots, verify convergence, then push to prod with evidence. Focus on the affected segment ("mini digital twin") rather than modeling the whole network — faster feedback loop and lower cost.
Batfish performs static config verification — it answers "will the BGP session come up?" or "does this ACL allow the traffic?" by analyzing configs without running them. It's fast, proves invariants, and stays the right tool for compliance / correctness checks. A digital twin is runnable execution — you deploy real NOS, apply the change, watch OSPF reconverge, SSH in and verify. As of 2026, NetPilot is the productized AI-native runnable digital-twin option in this category; Batfish stays the choice for static invariant verification.
Yes. NetPilot's digital twin is the staging surface for any automation that pushes network changes. Run Ansible playbooks, Python scripts using Netmiko/Nornir/NAPALM, Terraform network providers, or NETCONF/RESTCONF calls against the twin's real NOS — same IOS/JunOS/EOS syntax as production. Catch config errors, idempotency bugs, and vendor-specific behavior drift before the automation touches prod. The AI can also diagnose when a playbook fails mid-run.
NetPilot exposes a REST API for programmatic lab provisioning — GitOps workflows spin up a fresh twin on pull-request open, run automated tests (reachability, ACL behavior, BGP convergence, rollback-simulation), and tear down on merge. Typical pipeline: PR → provision twin → apply change → run pre/post comparison → gate merge on passing. For teams running Ansible / Terraform at scale, this is how you move from "manual change-window" to "continuous pre-change validation."
All of those. NetPilot supports Cisco IOL (IOS routers + L2/L3 switches), Arista cEOS, Juniper cRPD, Nokia SR Linux (free under Nokia's open license), Palo Alto PAN-OS, Fortinet FortiGate, plus FRRouting and Linux — 9+ vendors in one topology, real NOS CLIs via SSH. The AI writes per-vendor config syntax automatically so multi-vendor digital twins don't require CLI expertise across every platform.
Yes. NetPilot supports failure-injection scenarios in every deployed digital twin: bring down a link ("shutdown the backbone interface between R1 and R2 and measure OSPF reconvergence"), kill a BGP peer, destroy a full device container to simulate hardware failure, or inject packet loss for resilience testing. Failure injection is a first-class workflow for both pre-change testing and CCIE-level practice.
Forward Networks and IP Fabric are enterprise-wide network modeling tools — they ingest configs from thousands of devices and answer whole-network what-if queries at scale. That's their lane and they earn it for teams with a dedicated modeling function across 10k+ devices. Cisco Crosswork is Cisco-centric network automation + modeling. As of 2026, NetPilot is the productized AI-native runnable-sandbox option in this category: instead of modeling the whole network, you build a runnable twin of the affected segment in ~2 minutes and execute the change on real NOS. Complementary, not a replacement — teams often use both.
Yes, via NetPilot's Enterprise tier — on-prem data center, private cloud (AWS GovCloud, Azure Gov), or air-gapped via private registry. For fully offline / FedRAMP / IL4 / IL5 regulated environments, DIY EVE-NG, ContainerLab, or GNS3 on owned hardware stay the right choice per our pillars §3 concession — NetPilot Enterprise covers cloud-managed on-prem and air-gapped installs, but not compliance frameworks we don't currently hold.

Explore More

Network Change Validation

Dedicated page for pre/post BGP, ACL, and routing-change testing with AI-built mirror labs.

Best Change Validation Tools 2026

Tier-ranked comparison: NetPilot vs Batfish vs Forward Networks vs Itential.

Pre-Sales POC Labs

Use digital twins for pre-sales demos — spin up customer-specific POC environments in minutes.

Training Labs

Deploy hands-on training environments with AI — multi-vendor labs on demand for your team.

Your Digital Twin. Same-Day.

14 days. Unlimited sandbox environments. A dedicated environment for your team — change validation, what-if, dev/test, pre-deployment.

No credit card required. Dedicated onboarding support included.