This directory contains a testing framework for simulating student exercises across all containerlab labs.

parallel-testing/
├── lib/                          # Shared library functions
│   ├── common.sh                # Common utility functions
│   └── result-collector.sh      # JSON result collection
├── student-tests/               # Student exercise simulations
│   ├── ospf-basics-exercises.sh
│   ├── bgp-ebgp-exercises.sh (planned)
│   ├── linux-namespaces-exercises.sh
│   ├── vyos-firewall-exercises.sh
│   ├── enterprise-vpn-exercises.sh
│   └── zero-trust-exercises.sh
└── results/                     # JSON output files
    └── *.json

• log_info() - Blue info messages
• log_success() - Green success messages
• log_warning() - Yellow warning messages
• log_error() - Red error messages
• exec_vtysh() - Execute vtysh command in container
• exec_bash() - Execute bash command in container
• check_container() - Verify container is running
• count_pattern() - Count pattern matches in output
• has_pattern() - Check if pattern exists in output

• add_result() - Add exercise result to collection
• output_results() - Generate JSON output
• save_results() - Save results to file

# Make sure lab is deployed first
cd ospf-basics
sudo containerlab deploy -t topology.clab.yml

# Run student exercises
cd ../parallel-testing
./student-tests/ospf-basics-exercises.sh

{
  "lab": "ospf-basics",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-15T14:30:00Z",
  "summary": {
    "total": 5,
    "passed": 5,
    "failed": 0
  },
  "exercises": [
    {
      "exercise": 1,
      "name": "Verify OSPF Neighbors",
      "status": "passed",
      "expected": "2 neighbors in Full state",
      "actual": "Found 2 neighbors in Full state",
      "details": "r1 has correct OSPF adjacencies"
    }
  ]
}

1. Source the library files:

source "$LIB_DIR/common.sh"
source "$LIB_DIR/result-collector.sh"

1. Define exercise functions:

exercise_1() {
    log_info "Exercise 1: Description"
    
    # Run commands
    output=$(exec_vtysh "$container" "show command")
    
    # Validate results
    if [ condition ]; then
        add_result 1 "Exercise Name" "passed" "$expected" "$actual" "$details"
        log_success "PASSED"
    else
        add_result 1 "Exercise Name" "failed" "$expected" "$actual" "$details"
        log_error "FAILED"
    fi
}

1. Output results:

output_results "$LAB_NAME"
save_results "$LAB_NAME" "$OUTPUT_FILE"

Each student exercise script follows this pattern:

1. Pre-flight checks - Verify containers are running
2. Exercise execution - Run commands via docker exec
3. Validation - Check expected vs actual results
4. Result collection - Add to JSON results array
5. Summary output - Display and save JSON results

• Parallel testing - Can run multiple lab exercises simultaneously
• Consistent format - Standardized JSON output
• Student simulation - Tests exercises exactly as students would run them
• CI/CD ready - Easy integration into GitHub Actions
• Detailed reporting - JSON output for analysis and tracking