Cisco Packet Tracer 8.x new features

The official release of Cisco Packet Tracer 9.0.0, build 9.0.0.0810, is now available for download. A new Cisco 8200 router as been added, fiber optics network are now more realistic, and Packet Tracer login experience has been improved for better accessibility.

It is now mandatory for students attending the following Cisco Networking Academy (Netacad) OT courses to use Cisco Packet Tracer 9.0.0 :

• Industrial Networking Essentials
• Industrial IoT and Control Systems in Energy
• Industrial IoT and Control Systems in Manufacturing
• Industrial Cybersecurity Essentials

What's new in Cisco Packet Tracer 9.0.0

Packet Tracer 9.0.0  is a major update. It has been designed as the Cisco answer to the growing number of cyberattacks targeting industrial (OT) networks, as well as the shortage of skilled workers in industrial cybersecurity. Cisco collaborated with NTNU, WSUTECH, ATINA, GLVIA, AkerSolutions and Ford to build the new Industrial Networking Essentials curricula and develop Cisco Packet Tracer 9.0 industrial labs.

Target audience is students in manufacturing and utility (energy power) as well as network engineers wanting to upskill to address industrial network security challenges. 

Network devices

Packet Tracer 9.0.0 features the following new network devices and servers required to build an emulated network compliant with the Purdue model:

• Routing :
  • A new Cisco Catalyst IR8340 Rugged Series Router featuring 12 RJ45 ports and 2 x Pluggable Interface Module (PIM) slots (P-5GS6-GL for 5G cellular network and P-LTEA18-GL for 3G/4G cellular network)
  • A new Cisco Catalyst IR1101 Rugged Series Router featuring 6 network ports as well as well as one slot for a P-5GS6-GL (5G) cor a P-LTEA18-GL (3G/4G) for cellular network connectivity.
  • A new Cisco 8200 Series Edge Platforms adesigned for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), multilayer security, and cloud-native agility.

• Switching: 
  • A new Catalyst IE-3400 (IE-3400-8P2S-A) rugged multilayer switch for industrial environment with 10 gigabit ethernet ports

• Security: A new ISA-3000 (ISA-3000-2C2F-K9) industrial firewall featuring two 1GbE SFP ports, two 10/100/1000Base-T ports, and one management port.

• Servers:
  • A new Data Historian server which can store date received from a CIP data collector in local databases.
  • A new Cyber Observers server, inspired by Cisco Cyber Vision, which acts as a device emulating cyber threats and mitigations in the network. The included dashboard shows network vulnerabilities detected in the network by configuring network device firmware versions with a locally configurable threat database.

OT protocols

The following OT (industrial protocols are now available in Packet Tracer :

• TCP/IP Modbus which allow modbus communcations over Ethernet
• Profinet (emulated with PTINTERNAL script module)
• Common Industrial Protocol - CIP (Ethernet/IP) : Packet Tracer supports Identity and TCP/IP Interface Objects 
• PTP power profile 
• PRO
• IEC61850
• Goose
• SV
• MMS
• OPC-UA
• Ladder Logic
• HMI/Workspace Thinfs

Sample industrial network 

The following industrial network diagram features three catalyst IE-3400 industrial switches connected in a single-mode optical loop connecting industrial PLC devices. The optical loop is connected to an ISA-3000 firewall securing industrial network and segmenting PLC from industrial data servers and workstations. A data historian server stores PLC data displayed as charts on a supervisory workstation.

Labs compatible with  Packet Tracer 9.0.0

The following labs demonstrate the capabilities of Packet Tracer 9.0 and are designed to help better understand how the emulated industrial network devices and endpoints can be used efficiently.

The first lab simulates an industrial smart grid including power meters and power generation sites connected to a WAN industrial network.

The second lab emulatees a cement factory for mixing raw materials. The lab features multiple PLC, industrial switches, as well as a remote cybersecurity server.