NetPilot

Defense & Government Research Lab

Reproducible MANET and mesh protocol experiments in the cloud.

AI-built multi-vendor mesh topologies for protocol research under degraded conditions. Cloud-hosted. Artifact-ready for publication. Complementary to CORE/EMANE for RF-channel fidelity research, with cloud-native iteration speed for protocol-layer work.

Babel / OSPF / IS-IS comparison
tc netem impairment injection
Artifact-ready reproducibility

See It in Action

Watch NetPilot build a 5-node FRR mesh, deploy it to the cloud, inject random link loss, and run an end-to-end test — all from one plain-English prompt. The same flow applies to MANET, mesh, and tactical protocol experiments under adversarial conditions.

Mesh and MANET research tools compared

Honest positioning. NetPilot is not a replacement for CORE/EMANE on RF-channel fidelity (that is the established open-source reference environment). NetPilot is the cloud iteration layer for protocol-level research, multi-vendor comparison, and artifact-ready reproducibility.

DimensionCORE/EMANEns-3ContainerLabEVE-NGGNS3NetPilot
AI-built from plain-English prompt❌❌❌❌❌✅
Cloud self-serve❌ on-prem❌ self-hosted❌ self-hosted❌ self-hosted VM❌ self-hosted✅
Real NOS CLIs⚠️ via VMs❌ simulator✅ BYOI✅ BYOI✅ BYOI✅ FRR + commercial
RF-channel fidelity (PHY modeling)✅ reference-grade⚠️ modules❌ out of scope❌ out of scope❌ out of scope❌ out of scope
Artifact-ready reproducibility⚠️ scenario files✅ scripts⚠️ YAML topo⚠️ lab files⚠️ project files✅ prompt = artifact
Multi-vendor NOS interop⚠️ via VMs❌✅ BYOI✅ BYOI✅ BYOI✅
Setup timeDays (install + scenario)Days (scripts)Hours (install + images)Hours–days (VM + images)Hours (install + images)~2 minutes
Anchor experiment

Babel vs OSPF vs IS-IS under progressive packet loss

A canonical mesh-routing experiment: compare three routing protocols on identical topologies under increasing packet-loss conditions. Which converges fastest? Which is most stable? Which misbehaves at what loss threshold?

The NetPilot workflow: describe the experiment in plain English — "8-node mesh with FRR running Babel, 8-node mesh with FRR running OSPF, and 8-node mesh with FRR running IS-IS — same topology, same node positions. tc netem injects correlated packet loss progressively from 0% to 20%. Capture per-protocol convergence time, route table stability, and adjacency flaps."

NetPilot generates FRR configurations for all three protocols, deploys all three labs in ~2 minutes each, runs the impairment script, and produces per-protocol data that's reproducible by any researcher with the same prompt. The prompt + generated configs become the artifact.

→ AI-powered MANET research labs→ OSPF vs Babel under link failure

Complement to CORE/EMANE — not replacement

CORE/EMANE wins

  • • RF-channel fidelity and waveform modeling
  • • PHY-layer channel effects and interference
  • • Established open-source reference lineage
  • • On-premises deployment for regulated environments

NetPilot wins

  • • AI-built topologies from plain-English prompts
  • • Cloud self-serve — minutes to running lab
  • • Multi-vendor NOS (FRR + commercial) for interop research
  • • Artifact-ready reproducibility for publication

Use both. CORE/EMANE for RF-fidelity validation; NetPilot for protocol-layer iteration and multi-vendor comparison. The two target different layers of the stack.

Use cases for defense and government research teams

Four research workflows where cloud-native protocol iteration adds speed to an existing RF-fidelity toolchain.

Cross-protocol mesh behavior

Compare Babel vs OSPF vs IS-IS convergence and route stability under packet loss on identical mesh topologies. Reproducible per-protocol behavioral data in the cloud. The comparison cited in the NetPilot OSPF-vs-Babel analysis is the canonical starting point.

OSPF vs Babel under link failure →

Packet loss, latency, and jitter impairment research

tc netem on Linux endpoints provides scriptable, reproducible IP-layer impairment — uniform and correlated packet loss, latency, jitter, duplication, reordering, rate limiting, and link-flap patterns. Scripted, repeatable, capturable per experiment.

Multi-vendor mesh research

FRR mesh interoperating with commercial NOSes — real CLIs, real protocol behavior, real adjacency state. Useful for researching cross-implementation behavior that single-vendor simulators cannot surface.

AI-powered MANET research labs →

Reproducible artifacts for FFRDC / academic publication

The prompt + generated configs + deployable topology form an artifact another researcher can run in minutes. Matches SIGCOMM / CoNEXT / IMC artifact-evaluation expectations — addresses the environment-setup bottleneck that drives reproducibility rates below one-third in networking research.

Protocols and impairments supported

IP and routing-protocol layer coverage. For RF-channel fidelity, pair with CORE/EMANE.

  • Routing: BGP, OSPF (multi-area), IS-IS (multi-level, wide metrics), Babel, RIP, EIGRP (on vendor NOS)
  • EVPN (Type-2/3/5, symmetric/asymmetric IRB) and VXLAN
  • SRv6 (uSID endpoint behaviors, L3VPN over SRv6) and SR-MPLS
  • PIM (ASM, SSM) for multicast mesh research
  • BFD (multi-hop, authenticated)
  • Impairments (tc netem): packet loss (uniform, correlated), latency, jitter, duplication, reordering, rate limit, link flap
  • Malformed packet injection via Scapy (protocol-layer only)
  • Multi-vendor NOS: FRR + Cisco IOL / Juniper cRPD / Arista cEOS / Nokia SR Linux (BYOI)

Scope note

NetPilot operates at the IP and routing-protocol layer. Research workflows requiring RF-channel fidelity (PHY modeling, waveform simulation) are best served by CORE/EMANE. NetPilot does not hold FedRAMP, IL4, or IL5 authorization; research labs with those compliance requirements should use on-premises tooling.

Defense & Government Research FAQ

Scenario-phrased questions from research practitioners.

Describe the experiment in plain English — for example, '8-node mesh with FRR running Babel on one topology, FRR running OSPF on a second identical topology, and FRR running IS-IS on a third. tc netem injects 0% to 20% correlated packet loss progressively. Capture convergence times and route stability per protocol.' NetPilot deploys all three in ~2 minutes, runs the impairment script, and produces reproducible per-protocol data.
No. CORE/EMANE is the open-source reference environment for RF-channel fidelity modeling and waveform research. NetPilot is complementary — it targets protocol-layer iteration, multi-vendor NOS behavior, and reproducible artifacts. Use CORE/EMANE for RF-layer fidelity; use NetPilot for control-plane iteration, multi-vendor protocol comparison, and publication-ready reproducibility.
Yes. NetPilot's prompt + generated configs + deployable topology form a reusable artifact that another researcher can run in minutes. This matches SIGCOMM / CoNEXT / IMC artifact-evaluation program expectations. Reproducibility in networking research has historically been low — around 32% by one ACM survey — and the prompt-as-artifact pattern directly addresses the environment-setup bottleneck that drives that number.
NetPilot's Linux endpoints use tc netem for scriptable, reproducible impairment: packet loss (uniform and correlated), latency, jitter, duplication, reordering, rate limiting, and link-flap patterns. Scapy is available for malformed or custom packet injection at the routing-protocol layer. The impairments are IP-layer — CORE/EMANE remains the correct tool for RF-channel fidelity modeling.
No — those are out of scope. NetPilot operates at the IP and routing-protocol layer. For waveform simulation, PHY-layer interference modeling, or RF-channel fidelity, CORE/EMANE remains the correct tool. NetPilot's wedge is protocol-layer iteration speed, multi-vendor comparison, and artifact-ready reproducibility.
Yes. NetPilot's default FRR image runs Babel alongside BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, EVPN, and SRv6. Describe the mesh topology, prompt the experiment, and SSH into any node to verify Babel state. The FRR cloud lab guide walks through the six-protocol FRR stack with copy-pasteable prompts.
ContainerLab, EVE-NG, and GNS3 are the canonical self-hosted multi-vendor lab platforms — powerful but self-operated. You provision the host, source the vendor images, and maintain the install. NetPilot is the cloud-hosted and AI-built equivalent: describe the topology in plain English and get a running lab in ~2 minutes, with the same real multi-vendor CLIs. Use the self-hosted tools when on-premises deployment is required; use NetPilot when iteration speed and artifact reproducibility matter more than local infrastructure control.
NetPilot's commercial cloud platform does not hold FedRAMP, IL4, or IL5 authorization. For teams that need those authorizations, NetPilot's enterprise plan includes a self-hosted / on-prem deployment option — run the software on your own authorized infrastructure (authorization scope remains with the deploying organization). Research labs whose workflow does not require those authorizations can use the cloud product directly, or pair with CORE/EMANE or self-hosted ContainerLab / EVE-NG / GNS3.
Yes. NetPilot's enterprise plan includes a self-hosted / on-prem deployment option for air-gapped or disconnected research environments. Run the platform on your own authorized infrastructure — authorization scope remains with the deploying organization. Commercial cloud is the default self-serve; on-prem is available via Contact Sales.

Related reading

Comparison

Best Network Research Lab Platforms in 2026

Tier-ranked comparison of 10 platforms with a 6-row segment routing guide.

Guide

AI-Powered MANET Research Labs

Reproducible mesh network experiments in the cloud — for defense, academic, and community mesh research.

Segment

Academic Research

Reproducibility methodology, artifact-ready workflows, and cross-protocol research rigor.

Segment

Open Networking & FRR

FRR Babel, OSPF, and IS-IS for mesh research — the open-source routing stack running inside many defense labs.

Tutorial

OSPF vs Babel Under Link Failure

Head-to-head routing protocol convergence comparison under impairment.

Tutorial

FRRouting Cloud Labs

Six FRR protocols in one prompt — BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, Babel, EVPN, SRv6.

Guide

BGP Convergence Research

Methodology and artifact patterns for BGP convergence research.

Comparison

Keysight vs VIAVI vs NetPilot: Research Lab Comparison

Honest comparison across research tooling categories.

Hub

Network Research Lab

The parent hub — all six research segments.

Ready to iterate on mesh protocols in minutes?

Dedicated environments, custom vendor image support, workflow integration — talk to us about a research plan. Or spin up a free lab and try a Babel vs OSPF comparison yourself.