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HCIP-Datacom Core practice labs

14 guided labs on real Huawei router images: OSPF in depth, IS-IS, BGP attributes and policy, route import and policy-based routing, MPLS and L3VPN, multicast, IPv6 routing, VRRP and BFD, with two troubleshooting labs and a carrier-core capstone.

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Standard for a month, £75.00, runs every lab here, with nothing extra to pay for the guided labs. 1 of the 14 labs also run in the free demo.

Guided labs
14
Follows
Huawei HCIP-Datacom-Core Technology (exam H12-821)
Runs every lab
Standard
Devices
AR1000V router, EVE-NG GUI server, CloudEngine CE6800, NetEngine NE40E and VPCS

Who these labs are for

For anyone preparing for HCIP-Datacom-Core Technology, and engineers who run Huawei networks.

Every lab uses the AR1000V router image, with an NE40E or CE6800 where a lab needs one. Routers take about 3 to 4 minutes on first boot, and each lab opens with a short Task 0 paste.

The 14 labs

Every lab in the folder, as the workspace lists them, with what each runs and the smallest plan that fits. Read on 2 November 2026.

HCIP-Datacom Core course 14 labs

Shared folderHCIP-Datacom Core H12-821 guided labs

Routing in depth, MPLS and L3VPN, multicast, IPv6 and high availability, then two troubleshooting labs and a capstone.

  1. 01OSPF in depth - LSAs and special areas

    Read every OSPF LSA type on a running three-area network, then shrink the databases with a stub area, a totally stubby area and an NSSA, and watch each LSA disappear or change type.

    4× AR1000V router, 2× VPCS

    6 vCPU, 10,240 MBFits Standard

  2. 02OSPF route control

    Join a stranded area with a virtual link, summarise at the ABR and the ASBR, keep a network inside its area, send a default route, steer traffic with cost, and protect the backbone with HMAC-SHA256.

    4× AR1000V router, 2× VPCS

    6 vCPU, 10,240 MBFits Standard

  3. 03IS-IS levels and route control

    Build a two-area IS-IS network from scratch: NETs, levels, DIS election, point-to-point links, the default route from the attached bit, route leaking into Level-1, summarisation and authentication.

    4× AR1000V router, 2× VPCS

    6 vCPU, 10,240 MBFits Standard

  4. 04BGP attributes and route reflectors

    Give a dual-homed AS one route reflector, then steer traffic out with Local_Pref and in with MED and AS_Path, using the path selection order to explain every result.

    4× AR1000V router, 2× VPCS

    6 vCPU, 10,240 MBFits Standard

  5. 05BGP route control with filters and communities

    Run the policy of a small transit provider: peer groups, prefix lists, AS_Path filters, standard and well-known communities, route policies, aggregation and route limits.

    4× AR1000V router, 1× VPCS

    5 vCPU, 9,216 MBFits Standard

  6. 06Route import and policy-based routing

    Join an OSPF domain to an IS-IS domain at two points, fix the suboptimal path that mutual import creates with tags and preference, filter what crosses the border, then override the routing table with policy-based routing.

    4× AR1000V router, 2× VPCS

    6 vCPU, 10,240 MBFits Standard

  7. 07MPLS and LDP

    Turn a routed core into an MPLS core: LSR IDs, LDP sessions, label tables, penultimate hop popping, LSP ping and trace, LSP triggers, explicit null and a remote LDP session.

    4× AR1000V router, 2× VPCS

    6 vCPU, 10,240 MBFits Standard

  8. 08MPLS L3VPN

    Carry two customers with the same addresses over one MPLS core: VPN instances, RDs and route targets, MP-BGP, eBGP to one customer, direct routes for the other, and the two-label stack.

    4× AR1000V router, 1× NetEngine NE40E, 4× VPCS

    10 vCPU, 14,336 MBFits Standard

  9. 09Multicast with IGMP and PIM-SM

    Stream to a group across three routers: PIM-SM with a static RP, IGMP on the receiver LAN, the shared tree, the switch to the shortest-path tree, then a dynamic RP with BSR. A real sender and receiver prove it.

    3× AR1000V router, 2× EVE-NG GUI server

    5 vCPU, 8,192 MBFits StandardRuns in the free demo

  10. 10IPv6 routing with OSPFv3 IS-IS and BGP

    Connect two IPv6 domains: OSPFv3 on one side, IS-IS on the other, BGP4+ between them. Hosts use SLAAC, and a prefix filter keeps a management network private.

    4× AR1000V router, 2× VPCS

    6 vCPU, 10,240 MBFits Standard

  11. 11VRRP and BFD

    Share a LAN between two gateways with two VRRP groups, watch the uplink with interface tracking and BFD, tie OSPF to BFD, and prove that BFD catches a failure interface tracking misses.

    3× AR1000V router, 1× CloudEngine CE6800, 3× VPCS

    8 vCPU, 11,264 MBFits Standard

  12. 12Troubleshooting OSPF IS-IS and BGP

    A network that passed no traffic after a bad change window. Six planted faults across OSPF, IS-IS and BGP: find them from the symptoms, working from the bottom up, and fix each one.

    5× AR1000V router, 2× VPCS

    7 vCPU, 12,288 MBFits Standard

  13. 13Troubleshooting MPLS VPN VRRP and BFD

    A customer VPN is down and the Cardiff gateways are confused. Six planted faults, from the IGP under LDP up to BFD and VRRP: follow the layers, prove each one with its own command, and fix the lot.

    6× AR1000V router, 2× VPCS

    8 vCPU, 14,336 MBFits Standard

  14. 14Capstone - a carrier core for a two-site customer

    Build it all from bare addresses: IS-IS and LDP in the core, a VPNv4 route reflector, one site on OSPF and one on BGP, route filtering, a VRRP gateway pair that follows BFD, and a real failover test.

    6× AR1000V router, 2× VPCS

    8 vCPU, 14,336 MBFits Standard

Devices and images

The exact Add Node images the labs use, and the vCPU and RAM their nodes are set to. Your plan counts what each running node is set to.

Devices and images in the HCIP-Datacom Core practice labs, as read on 2 November 2026
DeviceImage in Add NodeSet toLabsNodes
Huawei AR1000V routerhuaweiar1k-5.170-V300R022C00SPC100-Auto-update-esn1 vCPU, 2,048 MB1459
EVE-NG GUI server (Docker)eve-gui-server:latest1 vCPU, 1,024 MB12
Huawei CloudEngine CE6800huaweice6800-bundled2 vCPU, 2,048 MB11
Huawei NetEngine NE40Ehuaweine40e-bundled2 vCPU, 2,048 MB11
VPCS hostBuilt in to EVE-NGcounted as 1 vCPU, 1,024 MB1328

Browse every image in the Add Node list

How to open the labs

  1. Sign in to your workspace at lab.cloudlabbox.com.

  2. In File Manager, open Shared, then the folder HCIP-Datacom Core H12-821 guided labs.

  3. Open a lab and start its nodes, then open Lab Tasks for the steps.

The labs are read-only. You can start the nodes and configure the devices, but changes to the topology can’t be saved. To change a lab, rebuild it in your own folder.

The Shared folder in the EVE-NG File Manager, recorded on 2 November 2026 with a test account.
The EVE-NG File Manager open on the read-only Shared folder: one folder per guided course, including Arista EOS, BGP in depth, CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure, CCNA, CCNP ENARSI and ENCOR, Check Point, Cisco ASA, Cisco Nexus NX-OS, CompTIA Network Plus and FortiGate
A guided CCNA lab with its Lab Tasks pane, recorded on 1 November 2026 with a test account.
A guided CCNA lab open in EVE-NG with its nodes running: four routers and two PCs on the canvas, and the Lab Tasks pane beside them with the scenario, the addressing plan and the first task

Questions about the HCIP-Datacom Core labs

Are these HCIP-Datacom Core labs free?

They’re included with every lab plan, with nothing extra to pay, rather than free. Plans start at £3 a day or £0.50 an hour. To try one first, the free demo gives you 30 minutes with 6 vCPU and 8 GB, enough to run 1 of these labs.

Which plan do I need for these labs?

Standard, with 12 vCPU and 16 GB, runs every lab here. EVE-NG admits a node by the vCPU and RAM configured on it, so a lab needs the total its running nodes are set to. The biggest here, “MPLS L3VPN”, needs 10 vCPU and 14,336 MB. Each lab’s Lab Tasks pane names the plan it needs.

Can I change these labs?

You can start the nodes and configure the devices, but the labs are read-only: changes to the topology can’t be saved. To change one, rebuild it in your own folder.

Are these labs from Huawei?

No. CloudLabBox wrote them to follow the topics of Huawei’s HCIP-Datacom-Core Technology (exam H12-821). They aren’t training material from Huawei, and CloudLabBox is independent of Huawei.

Which plan do I need?

All 14 labs fit Standard. None fits Lite, because each runs at least three Huawei routers.

Does this cover the whole exam?

It covers the routing core. Topic codes follow the published training outline, because Huawei’s own exam page couldn’t be read, so the exam version isn’t confirmed. MPLS and L3VPN are marked as extension topics. Switching, security, services, WLAN and solutions aren’t taught here, and IGMP snooping isn’t shown.

Do I need vendor licences for these labs?

No. These labs don’t need any. CloudLabBox doesn’t provide vendor licences or subscriptions.

Try a lab before you choose

The free demo is a real workspace for 30 minutes, with 6 vCPU and 8 GB: enough to run 1 of these labs. No card and no email.

Try it free for 30 minutesStart this course

Plans from £3 a day or £0.50 an hour, each with every guided lab.

More practice labs

CloudLabBox is independent of Huawei. The labs follow exam topics and aren’t vendor training material; vendor names identify the exams and the images in the workspace.