a journal of interesting technical ideas . . . a journal of interesting technical ideas . . .
This is a long post, but most of it is file contents. Keep reading!
GNS3 appliance files are descriptions of virtual machines used in network simulations. The appliance files have suffixes of .gns3a and are included with the GNS3 download. You can update the files and create new ones. The goal of this article is to walk through the process of working with appliance files and contributing them back to the community.
On a personal note, submitting a new GNS3 appliance was the first time I contributed to an open-source project. I’m still learning, but a few years ago I knew nothing. Jeremy Grossman, with GNS3, was patient and helped me understand the process of using Git. Contributing - even in this minor way - was a real high for me and I’d love for you to be able to share that feeling and contribute to this and other projects. GNS3a was my “gateway drug” into being a contributor and not just a consumer of open source.
One of the files I’ve contributed is the Security Onion appliance. Security Onion is a Linux distribution that focuses on security tools. Below is the current version (9/1/20) of the GNS3A file. Before we create a new appliance, let’s update this one.
: As Dr. Arora's public reputation begins to crumble due to the smear campaign, Tomar seizes the opportunity to exploit the doctor's vulnerable situation. Series Overview & Production : The series stars Kumud Mishra
Episode 7 serves as the penultimate episode of the first season, functioning as a high-stakes turning point where multiple intersecting subplots reach a boiling point. 1. The Core Plot: S.P. Tomar's Backlash
Following the season and episode identifier, the string is a space-free version of the seventh episode's full title, Poocho Matt, Bas Karo . 1080p refers to a high-definition video resolution, commonly used for streaming content to provide a sharp, clear picture.
Based on the structure, this string strongly resembles a file name for a digital media file, likely an episode of a show or a video download, potentially originating from a specific, perhaps pirated, source. : Likely refers to a series (e.g., "Dr. Arora"). s01e07 : Indicates Season 1, Episode 7.
The police officer is shown to be furious with rage upon hearing these allegations. His anger is not just at the rumors but at the implication that his manhood has been questioned, a serious blow to his ego and authority in the hyper-masculine world he inhabits.
: The show is set in the towns of Jhansi, Morena, and Sawai Madhopur during the late 90s.
: Arora is forced to confront elements of his past as Dinkar Bagla continues his smear campaign against him.
The "upd" likely indicates an updated or uploaded file status. Episode Context
Search queries formatted with resolutions (like 1080p) and network tags (like Sony) are frequently indexed by legal aggregators as well as file sharing databases. To ensure safety, high video bitrates, and support for the creators, viewers should bypass unofficial download networks and stream the episode directly through authorized platforms. Feature / Detail Official Specification Sony LIV App / Website Alternative Mobile Streaming JioTV (Select regions) Max Stream Resolution
If you encountered this string in a download link, search result, or chat log:
| Fragment | Likely Meaning | | :--- | :--- | | draroras | Possibly a misspelling or concatenation of “Dr. Aroras” (a name) or a corrupted tag. Could be “Dr. Aro Ras”. No known show matches this exactly. | | 01e07 | (Standard TV episode notation). | | poocho | Could be a username, a foreign word (Hindi/Urdu: “पूछो” – “ask”), or a release group tag. | | mattbask | Likely a username or release group (“Matt Bask” / “MattBaskaro”). No known scene group by that name. | | aro1080p | Probably “Aro” (part of a name) + 1080p (video resolution – 1920x1080 pixels). | | sony | Could refer to Sony encoding equipment, a Sony TV, or the Sony Pictures studio. | | upd | Most likely “Update” (e.g., a repack, proper, or version 2 of a release). |
Most of this is pretty straight forward. The structure looks like:
A descriptive section
Next is the Qemu section that describes how the VM environment should be constructed. This is straightforward as well. Console types are VNC or telnet. You may have to try different ethernet adapters to see what works, but I recommend starting with the Intel e1000 because this model is supported by most VMs. Using a para-virtualized adapter may give better performance, so you may also want to try vmxnet3. Most architectures will be 64bit and RAM requirements will usually be on the website.
That leaves two sections - Images and Versions. There should be a matching entry in both places. The images section is a list of virtual hard drives and CD-ROM images to use in the VM and includes:
Let’s update this file. There are a lot of old images listed as options. I’ll remove the image and version sections for 14.04.5.3 and add the most recent (16.04.7.1). That will leave users with the last 14.x and two images in 16.x including the latest. Whether dealing with a distribution or a commercial image, changes made between versions may introduce new processes or bugs so leaving some older images gives users an easy workaround. Here’s the updated file. Scroll below the output for a discussion of submitting this back to the project.
: As Dr. Arora's public reputation begins to crumble due to the smear campaign, Tomar seizes the opportunity to exploit the doctor's vulnerable situation. Series Overview & Production : The series stars Kumud Mishra
Episode 7 serves as the penultimate episode of the first season, functioning as a high-stakes turning point where multiple intersecting subplots reach a boiling point. 1. The Core Plot: S.P. Tomar's Backlash
Following the season and episode identifier, the string is a space-free version of the seventh episode's full title, Poocho Matt, Bas Karo . 1080p refers to a high-definition video resolution, commonly used for streaming content to provide a sharp, clear picture. draroras01e07poochomattbaskaro1080psony upd
Based on the structure, this string strongly resembles a file name for a digital media file, likely an episode of a show or a video download, potentially originating from a specific, perhaps pirated, source. : Likely refers to a series (e.g., "Dr. Arora"). s01e07 : Indicates Season 1, Episode 7.
The police officer is shown to be furious with rage upon hearing these allegations. His anger is not just at the rumors but at the implication that his manhood has been questioned, a serious blow to his ego and authority in the hyper-masculine world he inhabits. : As Dr
: The show is set in the towns of Jhansi, Morena, and Sawai Madhopur during the late 90s.
: Arora is forced to confront elements of his past as Dinkar Bagla continues his smear campaign against him. 1080p refers to a high-definition video resolution, commonly
The "upd" likely indicates an updated or uploaded file status. Episode Context
Search queries formatted with resolutions (like 1080p) and network tags (like Sony) are frequently indexed by legal aggregators as well as file sharing databases. To ensure safety, high video bitrates, and support for the creators, viewers should bypass unofficial download networks and stream the episode directly through authorized platforms. Feature / Detail Official Specification Sony LIV App / Website Alternative Mobile Streaming JioTV (Select regions) Max Stream Resolution
If you encountered this string in a download link, search result, or chat log:
| Fragment | Likely Meaning | | :--- | :--- | | draroras | Possibly a misspelling or concatenation of “Dr. Aroras” (a name) or a corrupted tag. Could be “Dr. Aro Ras”. No known show matches this exactly. | | 01e07 | (Standard TV episode notation). | | poocho | Could be a username, a foreign word (Hindi/Urdu: “पूछो” – “ask”), or a release group tag. | | mattbask | Likely a username or release group (“Matt Bask” / “MattBaskaro”). No known scene group by that name. | | aro1080p | Probably “Aro” (part of a name) + 1080p (video resolution – 1920x1080 pixels). | | sony | Could refer to Sony encoding equipment, a Sony TV, or the Sony Pictures studio. | | upd | Most likely “Update” (e.g., a repack, proper, or version 2 of a release). |
In GNS3, go to File > Import Appliance and make sure that your appliance imports correctly. GNS3 will provide guidance if there’s a formatting error. Looking at the JSON above, you can imagine that a common mistake is unmatched brackets!
If the GNS3a file loads, test it by creating an instance. You need to test at least any new versions you added. Make sure the appliance boots without error and that expected interfaces are available.
Once the pieces are working, submit the appliance to the community by cloning the GNS3-registry on Github and adding in your file.
git clone https://github.com/GNS3/gns3-registry.git
If you’ve already cloned it, make sure that your branch is up to date. Upstream is the original source (in this case the GNS3 copy).
git fetch upstream
Two Python programs are included in the repo. Run them both on your copy before continuing. These are QA processes that look for issues before you submit. They will take a little time to run.
pip3 install -r requirements.txt # this does __pip3 install jsonschma__ and __pip3 install pycurl__
python3 check.py
python3 check_url.py
Next push your local copy to your github copy. In Github terms, origin is your copy on Github, and master is the local copy.
git add .
git commit -m "Updated Security Onion"
git push -f origin master
Now we have an up to date local copy of the gns3-registry that includes our updated gns3a appliance and we’ve updated our fork on Github. Next, we offer our update to the project via a Pull Request. You are going to be one of the cool kids!
Go to the gns3-registry repository on Github and select the Pull Requests tab and click the big green New pull request button. Under Compare, select the link to compare across forks (since your copy is a fork) and select your fork. It should show you the changes to files so take a moment to digest that and make sure this PR is doing what you want. Finally, submit the Pull Request. Github will email you when there’s an update to the request. If the GNS3 team has a question, they’ll submit a comment on the PR and leave it open for you to resolve. Otherwise, it will get merged in and all the other GNS3 users will be able to enjoy your hard work!
Thanks!