How to Build Hybrid Network Labs Using Netlab with Containerlab and Vagrant

Network engineers can combine Containerlab and Vagrant within a single netlab topology to run each Cisco network OS in its most efficient environment. Cisco IOSv and IOSvL2 require full KVM virtual machines via Vagrant, while IOL and Alpine Linux containers run more efficiently through Containerlab. Netlab resolves cross-provider wiring automatically when all nine nodes are defined in a single topology.yml file and launched with one command. The setup requires a Linux server with KVM, libvirt, Vagrant, Docker, and Containerlab installed, and enforces libvirt as the primary provider with Containerlab as secondary. This hybrid approach avoids the resource waste of forcing every device into a single backend and lets each node run in its native environment.