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Reusable EVE-NG Lab Foundation

Overview

Reusable EVE-NG Lab Foundation packages network labs as a managed platform service rather than a disposable unmanaged VM. The recorded deployment used GCP with nested virtualization, and the same operating model also carries cleanly to Proxmox.

It gives training and validation environments the same repeatable delivery model used elsewhere in the platform.

Case study

  • Context: network labs were delivered as disposable, unmanaged VMs with no lifecycle management, no health checks, and no repeatable provisioning path. Each lab setup was a manual operation that could not be reliably reproduced across Proxmox and GCP.
  • Challenge: the same EVE-NG configuration needed to run on both surfaces without diverging. Nested virtualization on GCP required specific VM contract settings that were not otherwise encoded in the platform. On-prem delivery depends on the authoritative foundation (NetBox IPAM, shared SDN) being in place first; the GCP path uses static addressing and can run standalone.
  • Approach: platform/linux/eve-ng and platform/linux/eve-ng-healthcheck provide a shared configuration layer across both surfaces. The GCP deployment uses platform/gcp/platform-vm with nested virtualization encoded in the contract rather than applied manually. The Proxmox path uses the same configuration module.
  • Outcome: the recorded exercise proved the nested virtualisation contract on GCP, and the current Proxmox capture shows the equivalent EVE-NG VM path retained under the same operating model. Lab delivery follows the same validation and lifecycle discipline as production infrastructure.

Covers nested virtualisation contract delivery on GCP, EVE-NG UI reachability, and the equivalent Proxmox path retained under the same operating model.

Outcome

The result is a reusable lab platform for training, validation, and enablement within the same HybridOps operating model.

  • The recorded deployment used GCP with nested virtualisation defined in the VM contract.
  • The same configuration layer remains reusable for the Proxmox-hosted EVE-NG VM.
  • Lab delivery follows the same validation and lifecycle discipline as production infrastructure.

Operating model

  • GCP provides the recorded deployment surface.
  • Proxmox remains the compatible on-prem delivery surface and the current reference capture.
  • A shared EVE-NG configuration layer keeps lifecycle and validation consistent.
  • Nested virtualization is encoded in the VM contract instead of being left as tribal knowledge.

On-prem prerequisite: onprem/eve-ng@v1 allocates its VM IP from NetBox IPAM and depends on the shared SDN authority state. The authoritative on-prem foundation (including NetBox) must be deployed before this blueprint can run. The GCP blueprint (gcp/eve-ng@v1) uses static addressing and has no NetBox dependency; it can be deployed standalone.

Architecture

EVE-NG Lab Foundation operating model: shared configuration at the top feeds both the recorded GCP lane and the compatible Proxmox lane, while common health checks validate readiness across both surfaces.

A single configuration layer covers both surfaces. The GCP path encodes nested virtualization in the VM contract; the Proxmox path uses the same configuration module without divergence.

Delivery sequence

  1. A VM surface is provisioned on Proxmox or GCP.
  2. The shared EVE-NG configuration layer is applied.
  3. Health checks confirm the lab surface is ready.
  4. Training or validation workloads consume the same managed lab platform.

Platform state

GCP Compute Engine details for platform-labs-eve-ng-01, showing the running nested-virtualization host in europe-west2-a EVE-NG status dashboard from the lab surface, showing the live appliance state and active VPCS workload count Proxmox summary for dev-eve-ng-01, showing the on-prem companion lab host running on hybridhub

IP addresses, hostnames, and instance identifiers visible in screenshots and recordings reflect the ephemeral infrastructure provisioned during the recorded exercise.

Implementation

  • Demonstrated deployment: GCP nested virtualization VM surface.
  • Compatible secondary path: Proxmox-hosted lab delivery.
  • Shared configuration: platform/linux/eve-ng and related health checks.
  • Operator discipline: lab delivery stays under the same workflow as the wider platform.

Key components

  • Shared configuration module: platform/linux/eve-ng
  • Health check: platform/linux/eve-ng-healthcheck
  • GCP blueprint: gcp/eve-ng@v1
  • On-prem blueprint: onprem/eve-ng@v1
  • Nested virtualization contract: platform/gcp/platform-vm

Where it fits

  • network training environments that need repeatable delivery
  • lab delivery for validation, pre-sales, and enablement
  • reusable lab surfaces that follow the same lifecycle as platform infrastructure

References

Further reading
Implementation references
  • platform/linux/eve-ng#gcp_eve_ng_config
  • platform/linux/eve-ng-healthcheck#gcp_eve_ng_healthcheck
  • platform/gcp/platform-vm#gcp_eve_ng_vm

Validation scope

The GCP and Proxmox lanes were proven end-to-end during the recorded HybridOps v1.0.1 exercise; screenshots and video above reflect that run. Module validate records are current.