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.
Piracy sites rarely generate income through standard advertising. Instead, they use aggressive pop-up networks, malicious redirects, and disguised download links. Clicking these can automatically install spyware, ransomware, or cryptocurrency miners on your device.
By choosing legitimate platforms, you ensure a buffer-free viewing experience, protect your personal hardware from cyber threats, and directly support the creators, actors, and production crews who invest resources into filmmaking.
The humour is often broad and unapologetic. Expect playful cultural jabs, puns, and physical comedy that hits like a water balloon — sudden, wet, and laugh-inducing. It’s not aiming for wit as much as warmth. The film knows you’re there to be entertained; it obliges.
Q: How can I support the entertainment industry? A: Choose legitimate streaming options, purchase tickets to theaters, or buy or rent movies and shows through authorized platforms.
While platforms like aFilmywap offer a quick shortcut to finding nostalgic cinema, they come with substantial drawbacks for consumers:
They said destiny had a sense of humour. Mine started at Chandni Chowk: a riot of colour, spice fumes and bargaining banter that clung to the air like incense. I arrived hungry for more than food — hungry for chaos, for a story — and before long I found it: a battered poster stuck above a tea stall, edges curling, the words “Chandni Chowk to China” printed in a font that promised adventure and nonsense in equal measure.
Chandni Chowk to China is a 2009 Bollywood action-comedy that blends Indian masala filmmaking with Chinese martial arts. Directed by Nikhil Advani, the film stars Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone in a story that travels from the bustling streets of Old Delhi to the Great Wall of China. Plot Summary
However, the film has enjoyed a second life on television broadcasts and digital syndication. Audiences have grown to appreciate its vibrant musical tracks—such as the title song and "Safar"—alongside the earnest, physically demanding comedic performance delivered by Akshay Kumar. Legal and Safe Alternatives for Streaming
is a 2009 Bollywood martial arts action-comedy starring Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone. You can find the complete feature on major streaming platforms rather than using unofficial sites like afilmywap. Official Streaming Options
The legendary Hong Kong action star played the antagonist, Hojo.
: A humble vegetable cutter named Sidhu is mistaken for the reincarnation of an ancient Chinese warrior and travels to China to save a village from a tyrant.
These sites operate illegally by distributing content without the permission of the copyright holders. They frequently change domain extensions (like .com, .in, .org) to evade government bans and cyber laws.
Finding movies that might not be prominently featured on the homepages of mainstream apps. No Cost: Avoiding monthly subscription fees. The Risks of Using Unofficial Download Sites
The upload began. Progress bars crawled like dhobis through the night. A message pinged: "We can verify receipt. Meet at Daryaganj, 6 AM. Bring proof." The voice on the other side was terse, professional. Rani’s breath fogged in the air-conditioned hum. The café’s CCTV, a relic from a decade ago, flickered with static.
: A formidable martial arts master and the film's primary antagonist. 🎞️ Notable Facts
Quick access to various file sizes (300MB, 720p, 1080p).
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.
Piracy sites rarely generate income through standard advertising. Instead, they use aggressive pop-up networks, malicious redirects, and disguised download links. Clicking these can automatically install spyware, ransomware, or cryptocurrency miners on your device.
By choosing legitimate platforms, you ensure a buffer-free viewing experience, protect your personal hardware from cyber threats, and directly support the creators, actors, and production crews who invest resources into filmmaking.
The humour is often broad and unapologetic. Expect playful cultural jabs, puns, and physical comedy that hits like a water balloon — sudden, wet, and laugh-inducing. It’s not aiming for wit as much as warmth. The film knows you’re there to be entertained; it obliges.
Q: How can I support the entertainment industry? A: Choose legitimate streaming options, purchase tickets to theaters, or buy or rent movies and shows through authorized platforms.
While platforms like aFilmywap offer a quick shortcut to finding nostalgic cinema, they come with substantial drawbacks for consumers: chandni chowk to china afilmywap
They said destiny had a sense of humour. Mine started at Chandni Chowk: a riot of colour, spice fumes and bargaining banter that clung to the air like incense. I arrived hungry for more than food — hungry for chaos, for a story — and before long I found it: a battered poster stuck above a tea stall, edges curling, the words “Chandni Chowk to China” printed in a font that promised adventure and nonsense in equal measure.
Chandni Chowk to China is a 2009 Bollywood action-comedy that blends Indian masala filmmaking with Chinese martial arts. Directed by Nikhil Advani, the film stars Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone in a story that travels from the bustling streets of Old Delhi to the Great Wall of China. Plot Summary
However, the film has enjoyed a second life on television broadcasts and digital syndication. Audiences have grown to appreciate its vibrant musical tracks—such as the title song and "Safar"—alongside the earnest, physically demanding comedic performance delivered by Akshay Kumar. Legal and Safe Alternatives for Streaming
is a 2009 Bollywood martial arts action-comedy starring Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone. You can find the complete feature on major streaming platforms rather than using unofficial sites like afilmywap. Official Streaming Options By choosing legitimate platforms, you ensure a buffer-free
The legendary Hong Kong action star played the antagonist, Hojo.
: A humble vegetable cutter named Sidhu is mistaken for the reincarnation of an ancient Chinese warrior and travels to China to save a village from a tyrant.
These sites operate illegally by distributing content without the permission of the copyright holders. They frequently change domain extensions (like .com, .in, .org) to evade government bans and cyber laws.
Finding movies that might not be prominently featured on the homepages of mainstream apps. No Cost: Avoiding monthly subscription fees. The Risks of Using Unofficial Download Sites It’s not aiming for wit as much as warmth
The upload began. Progress bars crawled like dhobis through the night. A message pinged: "We can verify receipt. Meet at Daryaganj, 6 AM. Bring proof." The voice on the other side was terse, professional. Rani’s breath fogged in the air-conditioned hum. The café’s CCTV, a relic from a decade ago, flickered with static.
: A formidable martial arts master and the film's primary antagonist. 🎞️ Notable Facts
Quick access to various file sizes (300MB, 720p, 1080p).
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!