--- title: netlab Release 1.5.0: Larger Lab Topologies «... description: netlab 1.5.0 introduces features for running larger network lab topologies. Key additions include the ability to start libvirt VMs in batches to prevent CPU... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-release-1-5-0-larger-lab-topologies-ipspace-net-blog-jumfbcbt5 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: netlab Release 1.5.0: Larger Lab Topologies « ipSpace.net blog | daily.dev og:description: netlab 1.5.0 introduces features for running larger network lab topologies. Key additions include the ability to start libvirt VMs in batches to prevent CPU... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-release-1-5-0-larger-lab-topologies-ipspace-net-blog-jumfbcbt5 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/jUMFBcBt5.png og:image:alt: netlab Release 1.5.0: Larger Lab Topologies « 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. # netlab Release 1.5.0: Larger Lab Topologies « ipSpace.net blog **[ipSpace.net Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace)** · 1 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary netlab 1.5.0 introduces features for running larger network lab topologies. Key additions include the ability to start libvirt VMs in batches to prevent CPU overload during startup, support for mixing virtual machines and containers in the same lab (reducing memory footprint for Linux hosts, Cumulus/FRR routers, and Arista cEOS), and custom management network IP subnets for environments running out of management IPs. Someone reportedly ran over 90 Mikrotik routers on a 24-core server with this release. Upgrade via pip3 install --upgrade networklab. ## 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 run large network topologies in netlab without hitting CPU overload on startup? netlab 1.5.0 lets you start libvirt virtual machines in batches, which reduces the CPU spike that causes startup failures on large topologies. This approach has been used to run over 90 Mikrotik routers on a 24-core server. Upgrade with pip3 install --upgrade networklab to get this feature. _Network engineers scaling up virtual labs track netlab releases and workarounds like these on daily.dev._ ### Can I mix virtual machines and containers in the same netlab lab topology? Yes, netlab 1.5.0 supports combining virtualization providers so VMs and containers coexist in the same lab. This reduces overall memory footprint by using true containers for supported devices — Linux hosts, Cumulus/FRR routers, and Arista cEOS — while keeping VMs for devices that require them. _Those building hybrid network labs find coverage of tools like netlab on daily.dev useful for keeping up with new capabilities._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [netlab 26.09: Syslog, More DNS, Netmiko « ipSpace.net blog](https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-26-09-syslog-more-dns-netmiko-ipspace-net-blog-7hzbp4smq) · 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) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-release-1-5-0-larger-lab-topologies-ipspace-net-blog-jumfbcbt5) ```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":"netlab Release 1.5.0: Larger Lab Topologies « ipSpace.net blog","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-release-1-5-0-larger-lab-topologies-ipspace-net-blog-jumfbcbt5","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-release-1-5-0-larger-lab-topologies-ipspace-net-blog-jumfbcbt5"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T08:54:58.978Z","dateModified":"2026-08-11T09:22:58.066Z","description":"netlab 1.5.0 introduces features for running larger network lab topologies. 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