ipspace · ipspace · Jan 31, 2026 · Jan 17, 2026 · Jan 30, 2026
diff --git a/docs/caveats.md b/docs/caveats.md
@@ -10,18 +10,18 @@
 (caveats-eos)=
 ## Arista EOS
 
-* Routed VLANs cannot be used in EVPN MPLS VLAN bundles
-* Arista EOS uses an [invalid value for the suboption 150 of the DHCP option 82](https://blog.ipspace.net/2023/03/netlab-vrf-dhcp-relay.html#vendor-interoperability-is-fun) when doing inter-VRF DHCPv4 relaying.
-* The DHCP client on Arista EOS is finicky. When the DHCP state changes on one of the data-plane Ethernet interfaces, the management interface might lose its IPv4 address.
-* You can set Arista cEOS serial number and system MAC address with the **eos.serialnumber** and **eos.systemmacaddr** node properties.
+### Arista vEOS VM Caveats
+
 * Use **libvirt.uuid** node property to ensure a vEOS VM does not change its serial number every time you start the lab.
+
+(caveats-ceos)=
+### Arista cEOS Container Caveats
+
+* Arista cEOS containers are configured through an Ansible playbook, using an SSH session with the **arista.eos.eos_config** Ansible modules. To configure them with Linux scripts using FastCLI, set the **defaults.devices.eos.clab.group_vars.netlab_config_mode** [topology default](topo-defaults) to **sh**. You can also set the **netlab_config_mode** node variable to **sh** to experiment with this feature.
+* You can set Arista cEOS serial number and system MAC address with the **eos.serialnumber** and **eos.systemmacaddr** node properties.
 * Anycast gateways and DHCP/DHCPv6 clients do not work on Arista cEOS Ethernet interfaces.
-* Arista EOS cannot configure OSPF NSSA type-7 address ranges.
-* IPv6 BFD for IS-IS cannot be enabled on individual interfaces.  If you set **isis.bfd.ipv6** to *True*, BFD is enabled on all IS-IS interfaces.
 * cEOS MPLS data plane was introduced in release 4.32.1F.
 * Arista cEOS disables OSPFv2 on broadcast container stub interfaces (implemented as _dummy_ interfaces). _netlab_ automatically changes the OSPF network type for Arista cEOS dummy interfaces to **point-to-point**.
-* Arista EOS virtual machines and containers use [proprietary control-plane messages to indicate the loss of Ethernet line protocol](https://blog.ipspace.net/2025/03/arista-spooky-action-distance/). Set the **netlab_phy_control** node variable to *False* to disable this functionality.
-* Reloading device configurations that contain `no lldp transmit` or `no lldp receive` configuration command randomly fails due to an Arista EOS bug ([more details](https://github.com/ipspace/netlab/issues/2577)). Remove these commands from the saved device configurations before restarting the lab.
 
 The default name of the management interface is **Management0** on vEOS and **Management1** on cEOS. If you'd like to change the management interface name on cEOS:
 
@@ -45,6 +45,16 @@ nodes:
       intf_map: /mnt/flash/EosIntfMapping_json
 ```
 
+### Other Arista EOS Caveats
+
+* Routed VLANs cannot be used in EVPN MPLS VLAN bundles
+* Arista EOS uses an [invalid value for the suboption 150 of the DHCP option 82](https://blog.ipspace.net/2023/03/netlab-vrf-dhcp-relay.html#vendor-interoperability-is-fun) when doing inter-VRF DHCPv4 relaying.
+* The DHCP client on Arista EOS is finicky. When the DHCP state changes on one of the data-plane Ethernet interfaces, the management interface might lose its IPv4 address.
+* Arista EOS cannot configure OSPF NSSA type-7 address ranges.
+* IPv6 BFD for IS-IS cannot be enabled on individual interfaces.  If you set **isis.bfd.ipv6** to *True*, BFD is enabled on all IS-IS interfaces.
+* Arista EOS virtual machines and containers use [proprietary control-plane messages to indicate the loss of Ethernet line protocol](https://blog.ipspace.net/2025/03/arista-spooky-action-distance/). Set the **netlab_phy_control** node variable to *False* to disable this functionality. This functionality is automatically disabled if you use FastCli scripts to configure Arista cEOS containers.
+* Device configurations that contain `no lldp transmit` or `no lldp receive` configuration command trigger configuration reload failures due to an Arista EOS bug ([more details](https://github.com/ipspace/netlab/issues/2577)). These commands are thus automatically removed from collected device configurations.
+
 (caveats-aruba)=
 ## Aruba AOS-CX
 

diff --git a/netsim/ansible/templates/lag/eos.j2 b/netsim/ansible/templates/lag/eos.j2
@@ -32,10 +32,6 @@ interface {{ ch.ifname }}
  channel-group {{ intf.lag.mlag.ifindex }} mode active
 !
 {%   endfor %}
-
-{% if 'gateway' in module %}
-ip virtual-router mac-address mlag-peer
-{% endif %}
 {% endfor %}
 
 {% for intf in interfaces if intf.type == 'lag' %}

diff --git a/netsim/ansible/templates/normalize/eos.j2 b/netsim/ansible/templates/normalize/eos.j2
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 {% for intf in interfaces if intf.virtual_interface is not defined %}
 !
 interface {{ intf.ifname }}
+{% if node_provider == 'clab' and netlab_config_mode == 'sh' %}
+ platform tfa phy control-frame disabled
+{% endif %}
 {# 'no switchport' allocates an internal VLAN in range 1006-, causing issues when overlapping with topology vlans #}
  shutdown
 {% if l.mac_address is defined %}

diff --git a/netsim/ansible/templates/ospf/eos.ospfv3.j2 b/netsim/ansible/templates/ospf/eos.ospfv3.j2
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ interface {{ l.ifname }}
 !
 {% endfor %}
 !
-{% if ospf_vrf %}}
+{% if ospf_vrf %}
 ipv6 router ospf {{ ospf_pid }} vrf {{ ospf_vrf }}
 {% else %}
 ipv6 router ospf {{ ospf_pid }}

diff --git a/netsim/ansible/templates/stp/eos.j2 b/netsim/ansible/templates/stp/eos.j2
@@ -6,11 +6,10 @@
 {% endif %}
 {# options are 'none', rstp, rapid-pvst or mstp (default if not set) #}
 spanning-tree mode {{ mode }} 
-
 {% if 'priority' in stp %}
 spanning-tree priority {{ stp.priority }}
 {% endif %}
-
+!
 {# Check for per-VLAN enable and priority; implies Rapid-PVST #}
 {% if vlans is defined %}
 {%   for vname,vdata in vlans.items() %}
@@ -23,19 +22,18 @@ spanning-tree vlan-id {{ vdata.id }} priority {{ stp.priority }}
 {%     endif %}
 {%   endfor +%}
 {% endif %}
-
+!
 {% for ifdata in interfaces if 'stp' in ifdata %}
 {%   if ifdata.vlan.trunk_id is defined or ifdata.vlan.access_id is defined %}
 interface {{ ifdata.ifname }}
 {%    if not ifdata.stp.enable|default(True) %}
- ! Disable STP on this interface, i.e. dont receive or send BPDUs
+! Disable STP on this interface, i.e. don't receive or send BPDUs
  spanning-tree bpdufilter enable
 {%    elif 'port_priority' in ifdata.stp %}
-#
-# Use 16x port_priority to get the correct 4-bit value on the wire
-#
+!
+! Use 16x port_priority to get the correct 4-bit value on the wire
+!
  spanning-tree port-priority {{ ifdata.stp.port_priority * 16 }}
-#
 {%    endif %} 
 {%   endif %}
 {%   if ifdata.stp.port_type is defined %}

diff --git a/netsim/devices/eos.yml b/netsim/devices/eos.yml
@@ -148,6 +148,16 @@ clab:
     ansible_become: yes
     ansible_become_method: enable
     netlab_ready: [ ssh ]
+    netlab_config_path: /mnt/flash/             # These variables are used when netlab_config_mode == 'sh'
+    netlab_config_wrapper: |
+      {% if netlab_config_mode == 'sh' %}
+      #!/usr/bin/FastCli
+      configure terminal
+      {% endif %}
+      {{ netlab_config_text }}
+      {% if netlab_config_mode == 'sh' %}
+      end
+      {% endif %}
 libvirt:
   build: https://netlab.tools/labs/eos/
   image: arista/veos

diff --git a/netsim/extra/bgp.session/eos.j2 b/netsim/extra/bgp.session/eos.j2
@@ -89,4 +89,7 @@ router bgp {{ bgp.as }}
 {% endfor %}
 {% endif %}
 !
+{% if netlab_config_mode|default('') == 'sh' %}
+do bash sleep 2
+{% endif %}
 do clear bgp vrf all
diff --git a/tests/topology/expected/vxlan-router-stick.yml b/tests/topology/expected/vxlan-router-stick.yml
@@ -62,11 +62,50 @@ module:
 name: input
 nodes:
   r1:
+    _node_config:
+      initial: /mnt/flash/02-initial.sh:sh
+      normalize: /mnt/flash/01-normalize.sh:sh
+      ospf: /mnt/flash/04-ospf.sh:sh
+      vlan: /mnt/flash/03-vlan.sh:sh
+      vrf: /mnt/flash/05-vrf.sh:sh
+      vxlan: /mnt/flash/06-vxlan.sh:sh
     af:
       ipv4: true
       vpnv4: true
     box: none
     clab:
+      binds:
+      - source: node_files/r1/normalize
+        target: /mnt/flash/01-normalize.sh
+      - source: node_files/r1/initial
+        target: /mnt/flash/02-initial.sh
+      - source: node_files/r1/vlan
+        target: /mnt/flash/03-vlan.sh
+      - source: node_files/r1/ospf
+        target: /mnt/flash/04-ospf.sh
+      - source: node_files/r1/vrf
+        target: /mnt/flash/05-vrf.sh
+      - source: node_files/r1/vxlan
+        target: /mnt/flash/06-vxlan.sh
+      config_templates:
+      - mode: sh
+        source: normalize
+        target: /mnt/flash/01-normalize.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: initial
+        target: /mnt/flash/02-initial.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: vlan
+        target: /mnt/flash/03-vlan.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: ospf
+        target: /mnt/flash/04-ospf.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: vrf
+        target: /mnt/flash/05-vrf.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: vxlan
+        target: /mnt/flash/06-vxlan.sh
       env:
         CLAB_MGMT_VRF: management
         INTFTYPE: et
@@ -156,6 +195,13 @@ nodes:
     - vrf
     - vxlan
     name: r1
+    netlab_ansible_skip_module:
+    - normalize
+    - initial
+    - vlan
+    - ospf
+    - vrf
+    - vxlan
     ospf:
       af:
         ipv4: true
@@ -215,10 +261,31 @@ nodes:
       vtep_list:
       - 10.0.0.2
   s1:
+    _node_config:
+      initial: /mnt/flash/02-initial.sh:sh
+      normalize: /mnt/flash/01-normalize.sh:sh
+      vlan: /mnt/flash/03-vlan.sh:sh
     af:
       ipv4: true
     box: none
     clab:
+      binds:
+      - source: node_files/s1/normalize
+        target: /mnt/flash/01-normalize.sh
+      - source: node_files/s1/initial
+        target: /mnt/flash/02-initial.sh
+      - source: node_files/s1/vlan
+        target: /mnt/flash/03-vlan.sh
+      config_templates:
+      - mode: sh
+        source: normalize
+        target: /mnt/flash/01-normalize.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: initial
+        target: /mnt/flash/02-initial.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: vlan
+        target: /mnt/flash/03-vlan.sh
       env:
         CLAB_MGMT_VRF: management
         INTFTYPE: et
@@ -303,6 +370,10 @@ nodes:
     module:
     - vlan
     name: s1
+    netlab_ansible_skip_module:
+    - normalize
+    - initial
+    - vlan
     role: router
     vlan:
       max_bridge_group: 2
@@ -325,10 +396,43 @@ nodes:
           ipv4: 172.16.0.0/24
         vni: 101000
   s2:
+    _node_config:
+      initial: /mnt/flash/02-initial.sh:sh
+      normalize: /mnt/flash/01-normalize.sh:sh
+      ospf: /mnt/flash/05-ospf.sh:sh
+      vlan: /mnt/flash/03-vlan.sh:sh
+      vxlan: /mnt/flash/04-vxlan.sh:sh
     af:
       ipv4: true
     box: none
     clab:
+      binds:
+      - source: node_files/s2/normalize
+        target: /mnt/flash/01-normalize.sh
+      - source: node_files/s2/initial
+        target: /mnt/flash/02-initial.sh
+      - source: node_files/s2/vlan
+        target: /mnt/flash/03-vlan.sh
+      - source: node_files/s2/vxlan
+        target: /mnt/flash/04-vxlan.sh
+      - source: node_files/s2/ospf
+        target: /mnt/flash/05-ospf.sh
+      config_templates:
+      - mode: sh
+        source: normalize
+        target: /mnt/flash/01-normalize.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: initial
+        target: /mnt/flash/02-initial.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: vlan
+        target: /mnt/flash/03-vlan.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: vxlan
+        target: /mnt/flash/04-vxlan.sh
+      - mode: sh
+        source: ospf
+        target: /mnt/flash/05-ospf.sh
       env:
         CLAB_MGMT_VRF: management
         INTFTYPE: et
@@ -435,6 +539,12 @@ nodes:
     - vxlan
     - ospf
     name: s2
+    netlab_ansible_skip_module:
+    - normalize
+    - initial
+    - vlan
+    - vxlan
+    - ospf
     ospf:
       af:
         ipv4: true

diff --git a/tests/topology/input/vxlan-router-stick.yml b/tests/topology/input/vxlan-router-stick.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@
 #
 defaults.device: eos
 provider: clab
-defaults.devices.eos.clab.image: none
+defaults.devices.eos.clab:
+  image: none
+  group_vars.netlab_config_mode: sh
 
 groups:
   router: