OML Labs is a browser-native network simulator with the same web-canvas feel as Cisco CML — but it runs Palo Alto, FortiGate, Juniper, Arista and Linux right next to your Cisco nodes, starts on a free 5-node tier, and installs as one OVA on any hypervisor. Plus an AI assistant that explains stuck protocols.
CML is Cisco-only by design. OML runs Palo Alto, FortiGate, Juniper, Arista, Nokia, VyOS, Linux and Windows in the same topology as your Cisco nodes — so a security or SD-WAN lab isn't artificially Cisco-shaped.
CML Personal is a paid annual licence before you boot a single node. OML's free tier gives 5 nodes with full features — AI, snapshots, packet capture — with no time limit and no card.
OML's NETO assistant reads a running config, finds why OSPF won't go adjacent or why BGP is idle, and offers a one-click fix. It runs on a local Ollama LLM, so configs stay on the appliance. CML has no equivalent.
OML labs can carry instructor-defined objectives that auto-grade student attempts and export to CSV for an LMS. CML is a modeling sandbox; OML is a sandbox plus a teaching and study tool.
OML ships as a single OVA that boots on ESXi, Proxmox, VirtualBox, Workstation and KVM — and self-hosts on hardware you already own. No licence server check-in to keep a lab alive.
OML's Live Wire mode animates real frames crossing links, with RTT badges and drop markers, and streams a live Wireshark feed — so you can see exactly where a ping dies without leaving the canvas.
No snake oil. CML is Cisco's own product and has real, hard-to-match strengths:
CML ships IOSv, IOL, IOS-XE, NX-OS and IOS-XR images licensed for use — no hunting, no licensing grey area. With OML (as with EVE-NG and GNS3) you bring your own Cisco images. If a zero-friction, fully legal Cisco image set matters most, CML is the only route.
CML is backed by Cisco support and tracks the exact platforms in CCNA, CCNP and CCIE blueprints. For sanctioned exam prep on guaranteed-compatible images, that official status is genuine value.
Bottom line: if your work is purely Cisco and you want bundled, fully licensed IOS images with official support, CML is worth its annual fee. If your labs span firewalls and multiple vendors, you want to start free, or you'd like an AI co-pilot and lab scoring on top — OML covers the multi-vendor reality CML can't, and you can already supply your own Cisco images just as you would with CML's competitors.
Free 5-node tier with full feature access — AI, snapshots, hot-plug, community labs. No credit card. One OVA that self-hosts on every major hypervisor.