How to use Claude to build and test twin routing labs
A network engineer reports that Claude agents built matching eBGP and OSPF labs, repaired a hidden forwarding failure and prepared a reusable lesson and lab kit.
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Suggested prompt
Suggested prompt written by Agents In Use, not the source author. Replace bracketed inputs and review tool permissions first.
Editorial suggested prompt: Build matching eBGP and OSPF teaching labs using the same topology and detection timers. Verify both routing state and host pings, record each test configuration and separate original measurements from later reruns. Keep the experiment confined to lab projects.
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Sourced account- Source poster / publisher
- /u/Graham76782
- Original account
- Read the source ↗
- Published
- Source link checked
- Reported result
- The author reports two working routing labs and a reusable kit. QA found failed host pings despite Full OSPF adjacencies. Later throttle tests produced 20, 15 and 10 aggregate SPF runs under different settings, not one universal count.
- Human involvement
- The engineer chose the experiment, directed the orchestrator and taught the recorded lesson. The source does not describe a formal approval gate for every configuration change.
A linked account supports attribution. It does not mean we independently reproduced its result.
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How the agent did it
- The engineer sets the comparison goal and talks to a voice-driven Claude orchestrator while recording the lab build.
- Claude agents plan matching two-spine, three-leaf labs, test OSPF support and configure both projects through the GNS3 REST API.
- The builder verifies routing state and host connectivity; a QA agent repeats the demonstration and fixes stale neighbour addresses that broke forwarding.
A network engineer posting as /u/Graham76782 used Claude Code and Opus subagents to build a teaching experiment around eBGP and OSPF. The engineer directed a voice-driven orchestrator, recorded the build and taught from the lesson that the agents produced.
The planned comparison used matching two-spine, three-leaf topologies, the same FRR image and matched detection timers. A builder used the GNS3 REST API to create projects, install configurations and check routing and host connectivity. The useful failure came during QA. OSPF neighbours showed Full adjacencies, but host pings failed because the spines retained old neighbour addresses. The author says the QA agent identified and fixed that fault during repeated rehearsals.
The original post reports 19 aggregate SPF runs after suspending and resuming one link. In later comments, the author reports follow-up tests with 20 runs at FRR defaults, 15 with one throttle setting and 10 with a heavier setting. These are separate reported runs, not interchangeable measurements. BGP does not run OSPF's SPF algorithm, so zero SPF runs alone is not a like-for-like performance benchmark. The author also reports zero BGP updates from the unaffected spine and similar packet loss between the twins.
Claude subsequently prepared recording edits and a containerlab kit, which the author says it tested end to end. This is a supervised lab-building account, not independently verified evidence that one routing protocol is universally faster.
Prompt
Suggested prompt (written by Agents In Use, not the author's)
Source: Reddit · /u/Graham76782
Frequently asked questions
Did Claude run the experiment without a person?
No. The engineer set the goal, directed a voice-driven orchestrator and taught the lesson. Claude agents performed lab construction, checks, fault repair and later packaging.
Why does the source give different SPF counts?
The initial demonstration reports 19 runs. Later comments describe separate throttle tests with 20, 15 and 10 runs. The settings and test runs differ, so none is a universal OSPF cost.
More details
Remaining steps
- The engineer teaches from the generated lesson, then reports follow-up throttle tests in the comments. Claude also packages and tests a downloadable lab kit.
About this account
Claude subagents planned, configured and checked the labs, diagnosed a forwarding fault and updated lesson material with observed outputs. A later detached job prepared recording edits and a tested lab kit.
First-person account and saved author comments reviewed from https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1x9i1wf/i_had_a_team_of_claude_agents_build_two_identical/ Reported results have not been independently reproduced. Suggested prompt is an editorial reconstruction, not the author's original prompt.
Credit: /u/Graham76782 on r/ClaudeAI
Source published
Added to Agents In Use
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Tools and topics
Claude Code · Opus · GNS3 REST API · FRR · containerlab
Networking · Lab testing · Teaching
Editorial completeness: 100/100. Measures documented fields, not agent performance or verified outcomes.