TOPHAT

Overview

TOPHAT is an open-source Topology Orchestration Platform that transforms digital network topologies into physical connections. Its user-friendly interface lets users design and manage network topologies, with node-to-node links that create real-time transparent connections.

Built for enterprise and educational environments, TOPHAT combines the ease of virtual networking solutions with the reliability of physical infrastructure, making it ideal for network simulations, cybersecurity testing, and professional development.

For more info, checout our article on LinkedIn.

Installation

STEP 1 - Interconnects

Supported Platforms

Interconnect devices must meet the following requirements to ensure compatibility with TOPHAT:

Operating System (OS)

• Cisco IOSv
• Cisco IOS
• Cisco IOS-XE

Port Density

TOPHAT can support up to 2 Interconnect devices, each with varying port densities:

• 1x Interconnects
  • Must be 48 ports
• 2x Interconnects
  • Interconnect 1: 48 ports
  • Interconnect 2: 24-48 ports

---

Initial Configuration

Interconnect devices must be remotely accessible via SSH from the out-of-band (OOB) management interface to the TOPHAT application host.

It is recommended to use spanning-tree mode MST, and static assign OOB IP addresses for the Interconnects.

---

Authentication

• SSH Access: Required for secure remote administration.
• User Authentication: Devices must support username/password authentication.
• Privilege Escalation: An enable secret password must be configured for administrative access.

An example basic configuration is provided below:

hostname Interconnect
ip domain-name interconnect.lab
username admin privilege 15 secret 0 cisco
enable secret cisco
line vty 0 15
  login local
  transport input ssh
crypto key generate rsa modulus 2048
ip ssh version 2

---

Lab Device Ports

All device interfaces (excluding the last four ports) must be configured for dot1q tunneling (QinQ) to encapsulate Layer 2 protocol frames. These ports serve as direct connections to lab devices.

interface range GigabitEthernet1/0/1-44
  shutdown
  no switchport access vlan
  switchport mode dot1q-tunnel
  negotiation auto
  mtu 9000
  mtu 8978
  l2protocol-tunnel cdp
  l2protocol-tunnel lldp
  l2protocol-tunnel stp
  l2protocol-tunnel vtp
  l2protocol-tunnel point-to-point pagp
  l2protocol-tunnel point-to-point lacp
  l2protocol-tunnel point-to-point udld
  no cdp enable

---

Transport Ports

The last four interfaces (45-48 or 21-24, depending on the platform) are dedicated to transporting traffic between Interconnects.

If you are only using one Interconnect, shut these ports.

port-channel load-balance src-dst-mac
!
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/45-48
  channel-protocol lacp
  channel-group 1 mode active
  no shutdown
!
interface Port-channel1
  switchport mode trunk
  switchport trunk allowed vlan all
  switchport nonegotiate
  mtu 9000
  mtu 8978
  no cdp enable
  no shutdown

STEP 2 - Application

Environment Setup

Once the Interconnects are configured, proceed with the installation of the TOPHAT application.

Navigate to the TOPHAT GitHub repository, and make a copy of the compose.prod.yaml file.

Save the file as docker-compose.yml in your desired directory.

Running the Application

Run the following command to start the application:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml up -d

TOPHAT will now be running at 0.0.0.0:80.

To expose TOPHAT outside of your LAN, we recommend using Cloudflare Tunnels to securely expose the UI externally with ZeroTrust.

Developing

Create a new branch from dev

Setting Up

1. Clone the repo

2. Add a .env file within /backend with the following:

   DATABASE_URL="postgres://demo:demo@localhost:5432/demo"
   SECRET_KEY="my_secret_key"
   

3. Run npm install in the root directory of this project.

Starting Development Environment

1. Run docker compose -f compose.dev.yaml up --build

   This runs the postgres db and interconnect api container.

2. Run npm run dev:backend and npm run dev:frontend within the project root.

Pull Requests

When you are ready to submit a pull request, make sure you merge from your branch into dev.

Releases

Peridocially we will create release branches from dev. These branches will follow these naming convention:

release-<Major>-<Minor>-<Build>

<Major>-<Minor>-<Build> is used to create a new image per release, tagged with release-<Major>-<Minor>-<Build>

Steps for release:

1. Create release branch from dev
2. Make any changes in that release branch to make sure everything builds
3. Merge release branch into main
4. Merge main into dev

Notes on Using Production Compose File

The SECRET_KEY value must be the same for backend and interconnect-api.

Images

Images are automatically built when release branches get merged into main.

TOP Backend

TOP Frontend

TOP InterconnectAPI