--- title: Expanding a Running Netlab Topology « ipSpace.net blog description: When you need to expand a running netlab topology by adding new devices, you must shut down the lab first — but you can preserve existing device... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/expanding-a-running-netlab-topology-ipspace-net-blog-pzd7fmv7k twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Expanding a Running Netlab Topology « ipSpace.net blog | daily.dev og:description: When you need to expand a running netlab topology by adding new devices, you must shut down the lab first — but you can preserve existing device... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/expanding-a-running-netlab-topology-ipspace-net-blog-pzd7fmv7k og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/pZD7FmV7K.png og:image:alt: Expanding a Running Netlab Topology « ipSpace.net blog og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Expanding a Running Netlab Topology « ipSpace.net blog **[ipSpace.net Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary When you need to expand a running netlab topology by adding new devices, you must shut down the lab first — but you can preserve existing device configurations. The workflow involves saving configs with `netlab collect -o` to a custom folder, shutting down and modifying the topology, restarting the lab, then pushing saved configs back with `netlab config`. The approach works on Cisco IOS/XE, NX-OS, IOS-XR, Arista EOS, Aruba AOS, and Dell OS10, with caveats for Nokia SR Linux/SR-OS, FRR, Linux, and Fortinet. A key warning: don't remove existing links or change their order — only append new links to the end of the links list to avoid interface mapping issues. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I add new devices to a running netlab lab without losing existing configuration changes? You cannot add devices to a running netlab lab directly — you must shut it down first. To preserve existing configs: run `netlab collect -o ` to save configurations to a custom directory (not the default `config` folder, which gets deleted by `netlab down --cleanup`), modify the topology file, restart the lab, then push saved configs back with `netlab config `. Do not reorder or remove existing links; only append new ones. _Network engineers expanding netlab labs track workflow tips like this on daily.dev._ ### Which platforms support saving and restoring device configurations in netlab? Saving and restoring configurations works reliably on Cisco IOS/XE, NX-OS, IOS-XR, Arista EOS, Aruba AOS, and Dell OS10, and most probably on Juniper platforms. It does not work for Linux or Fortinet devices. FRR only supports reloading FRRouting configuration, not data-plane config. Nokia SR Linux and SR-OS require `netlab config --reload` followed by `netlab initial` due to how netlab configures them. _Keeping track of platform-specific netlab limitations is easier when the right posts surface at the right time on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Compress netlab Lab Topologies with Dot Notation « ipSpace.net blog](https://daily.dev/posts/compress-netlab-lab-topologies-with-dot-notation-ipspace-net-blog-johomwxka) · ipSpace.net Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [netlab 26.10: SRv6, More Netmiko « ipSpace.net blog](https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-26-10-srv6-more-netmiko-ipspace-net-blog-1cocu1zdt) · ipSpace.net Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#networking](https://daily.dev/tags/networking), [#ansible](https://daily.dev/tags/ansible) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/expanding-a-running-netlab-topology-ipspace-net-blog-pzd7fmv7k) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Expanding a Running Netlab Topology « ipSpace.net blog","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/expanding-a-running-netlab-topology-ipspace-net-blog-pzd7fmv7k","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/expanding-a-running-netlab-topology-ipspace-net-blog-pzd7fmv7k"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T08:52:25.380Z","dateModified":"2026-08-11T08:55:39.499Z","description":"When you need to expand a running netlab topology by adding new devices, you must shut down the lab first — but you can preserve existing device...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--VDukGCjf--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2002","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--VDukGCjf--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2002","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"ipSpace.net Blog","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ipSpace.net Blog","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--xS7E82MT--/f_auto,q_auto/v1786438303/logos/ipspace?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/expanding-a-running-netlab-topology-ipspace-net-blog-pzd7fmv7k","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"networking,ansible","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ipSpace.net Blog","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Expanding a Running Netlab Topology « ipSpace.net blog"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/expanding-a-running-netlab-topology-ipspace-net-blog-pzd7fmv7k#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I add new devices to a running netlab lab without losing existing configuration changes?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"You cannot add devices to a running netlab lab directly — you must shut it down first. To preserve existing configs: run `netlab collect -o ` to save configurations to a custom directory (not the default `config` folder, which gets deleted by `netlab down --cleanup`), modify the topology file, restart the lab, then push saved configs back with `netlab config `. Do not reorder or remove existing links; only append new ones. Network engineers expanding netlab labs track workflow tips like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which platforms support saving and restoring device configurations in netlab?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Saving and restoring configurations works reliably on Cisco IOS/XE, NX-OS, IOS-XR, Arista EOS, Aruba AOS, and Dell OS10, and most probably on Juniper platforms. It does not work for Linux or Fortinet devices. FRR only supports reloading FRRouting configuration, not data-plane config. Nokia SR Linux and SR-OS require `netlab config --reload` followed by `netlab initial` due to how netlab configures them. Keeping track of platform-specific netlab limitations is easier when the right posts surface at the right time on daily.dev."}}]} ```