Quick Start
This quick start provides the basics so that you can get started with the NVIDIA Air network simulation platform.
Supported Browsers
The following browsers are fully supported:
- Google Chrome 91 or later
- Mozilla Firefox 89 or later
The following browsers are supported on a best effort basis:
- Microsoft Edge
- Safari
Login
NVIDIA Air uses the same credentials as the NVIDIA developer forums for account access. When the login page opens, enter the email address you use for the forums or the one you intend to use to sign up, then click GET STARTED:

The page redirects you to the NVIDIA forums login page. Either click the Create account link to sign up or enter your password to log in with an existing account:

Landing Page
After you log in, the NVIDIA Air landing page opens:

- The Sidebar provides links to create simulations, configure organizations and settings, and view documentation.
- The Filter organizations funnel lets you filter your list of simulations based on organization, if you belong to multiple organizations.
- The Search simulations box lets you filter your simulations based on a text match, if you have more than one simulation.
The BUILD A SIMULATION button lets you build a new simulation. This button appears only if you have no simulations. NVIDIA Air provides Pre-built Demos to help you get started.
When you click the BUILD A SIMULATION button, a new window opens so that you can choose from different ways to build a simulation.
Simulation Views
Every simulation has a basic view and an advanced view.
Basic View
The basic view of the simulation provides a graphical view of the topology.

Click a node in the topology to open a console and connect to that node:

Advanced View
The advanced view has four different panes:

- GUIDED TOUR provides a detailed description of the simulation, complete with step-by-step instructions on running the demo infrastructure.
- CONSOLE provides console connection to the simulation.
- NODES lists the nodes in the topology; see Nodes below.
- SERVICES provides optional services, such as SSH; see Services below.
Nodes
Use the NODES pane in the advanced view to see the status, number of CPUs, and amount of memory for each node. Click the Actions dropdown for a node and select:
- Rebuild to restore the node to its default configuration.
- Reset to issue a hard reset to the node.
- View Console to connect to the node from a console.
Services
Use the SERVICES pane in the advanced view to create an external connection into the simulation. You can access the simulation environment using your local preferred SSH client, run Grafana on the oob-mgmt-server and access the Grafana GUI externally, or set up SNMP polling from your local laptop into the simulation environment.
- ENABLE SSH populates the SERVICES panel with an SSH session, which provides a shortcut to enable inbound SSH to the oob-mgmt-server. Use this shortcut to leverage your preferred local SSH client. SSH password authentication is disabled on the oob-mgmt-server by default. To use SSH password authentication, you must upload SSH keys to your user profile; see User Settings below.
ADD SERVICE opens the Create Service dialog so you can add a service:
- In the SERVICE NAME field, enter the name of the service.
- In the INTERFACE dropdown, select the name of the interface in the simulation where the connection terminates. This is typically the eth0 interface on the oob-mgmt-server.
- In the SERVICE TYPE dropdown, select the type of service you want to create. If you select SSH, HTTP or HTTPS, NVIDIA Air creates a hyperlink to the URL automatically in the Services panel. If you select Other, you can select any port, but there is no hyperlink. The hyperlink provides a quick way to copy and paste the service.
- In the SERVICE PORT field, specify the internal port where the service terminates.
- Click SUBMIT to create the service.
The example below shows a service for TCP port 1022. The external port is 24886. Connecting to this service requires connecting to worker06.air.nvidia.com on TCP port 24886, which forwards and redirects to the oob-mgmt-server on TCP port 1022.

Log into Virtual Machines
To log into your virtual machines, use the operating system default credentials. Some operating systems require you to change your password after the first successful login.
Username: ubuntu
Password: nvidia
Username: cumulus
Password: cumulus
Username: cumulus
Password: cumulus
Username: cumulus
Password: CumulusLinux!
Username: cumulus
Password: cumulus
Username: admin
Password: YourPaSsWoRd
Username: ubuntu
Password: nvidia
Manage a Simulation
From the NVIDIA Air landing page, you can manage your simulations.

Each public simulation has three options:
- Power On or Off wakes the simulation up or puts it to sleep.
- Edit lets you change the simulation name and organization.
- Delete removes the simulation.
User Settings
The SETTINGS dropdown in the sidebar provides options to generate API tokens and upload SSH keys.

API Tokens
Click API Tokens in the SETTINGS dropdown to generate an authentication token, which enables you to execute authenticated activities using the NVIDIA Air API or SDK.
In the API Tokens window, provide a name and expiration date (optional) for the token, then click CREATE.

NVIDIA Air generates a token that you can use to access the API and SDK.

SSH Keys
Click SSH Keys in the SETTINGS dropdown to upload your public SSH key. Creating a simulation and enabling SSH allows for passwordless authentication.
In the SSH keys window, provide a name and enter your public key, then click ADD.

The SSH keys upload automatically to the oob-mgmt-server.
Resource Budgets
The number of simulation resources a user can consume is limited based on the user’s account. For an account using a company email, a user is granted the following limits:
- 60 vCPUs
- 90GB memory
- 650GB storage
- 4 running simulations
For an account using a non-company email, a user is granted the following limits:
- 30 vCPUs
- 45GB memory
- 350GB storage
- 1 running simulation