petru

How to install Cisco Packet Tracer on Ubuntu 23.10 or 24.04

According to Cisco, Cisco Packet Tracer is supported only on the following list of operating systems:

“Computer with either Windows (10, 11), MacOS (10.14 or newer) or Ubuntu (20.04, 22.04) LTS operating system, amd64(x86-64) CPU, 4 GB of free RAM, 1.4 GB of free disk space“

If you try to install Cisco Packet Tracer on a Ubuntu machine with Ubuntu 23.10 or 24.04, you will encounter the below error:

petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$ cat /etc/os-release 
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION_ID="24.04"
VERSION="24.04.1 LTS (Noble Numbat)"
VERSION_CODENAME=noble
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
UBUNTU_CODENAME=noble
LOGO=ubuntu-logo
petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$ ls
Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb
petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$ sudo apt-get install ./Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb 
[sudo] password for petru: 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'packettracer' instead of './Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb'
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 packettracer : Depends: libgl1-mesa-glx but it is not installable
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.
petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

In this post, I want to show you how to overcome this issue. To address it, you need to install the unmet dependency.

Look for missing dependency libgl1-mesa-glx

You could update the repository metadata and try to identify the missing dependency. To update the reposittory metadata, run sudo apt-get update.

petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$ sudo apt-get update
Get:1 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security InRelease [126 kB]
Hit:2 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble InRelease                                                                  
Hit:3 https://aquasecurity.github.io/trivy-repo/deb generic InRelease     
Get:4 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates InRelease [126 kB]
Get:5 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/main amd64 Components [7,204 B]
Get:6 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/main Icons (48x48) [11.3 kB]
Get:7 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/main Icons (64x64) [17.1 kB]
Get:8 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/restricted amd64 Components [212 B]       
Get:9 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/universe amd64 Components [51.9 kB]
Get:10 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/universe Icons (48x48) [47.0 kB]                   
Get:11 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/universe Icons (64x64) [73.4 kB]               
Get:12 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-security/multiverse amd64 Components [212 B]            
Get:13 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports InRelease [126 kB]                               
Get:14 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/main i386 Packages [316 kB]
Get:15 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/main amd64 Packages [597 kB]
Get:16 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/main amd64 Components [114 kB]
Get:17 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/main Icons (48x48) [30.1 kB]
Get:18 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/main Icons (64x64) [43.9 kB]
Get:19 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/main amd64 c-n-f Metadata [10.2 kB]
Get:20 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/restricted amd64 Components [212 B]
Get:21 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/universe amd64 Packages [705 kB]
Get:22 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/universe i386 Packages [434 kB]
Get:23 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/universe amd64 Components [306 kB]
Get:24 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/universe Icons (48x48) [167 kB]
Get:25 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/universe Icons (64x64) [266 kB]
Get:26 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/universe amd64 c-n-f Metadata [19.8 kB]
Get:27 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/multiverse amd64 Packages [14.8 kB]
Get:28 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/multiverse amd64 Components [940 B]
Get:29 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/multiverse Icons (48x48) [1,867 B]
Get:30 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates/multiverse Icons (64x64) [2,497 B]
Get:31 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports/main amd64 Components [208 B]
Get:32 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports/restricted amd64 Components [216 B]
Get:33 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports/universe amd64 Components [21.1 kB]
Get:34 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports/universe Icons (48x48) [5,789 B]
Get:35 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports/universe Icons (64x64) [11.4 kB]
Get:36 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports/multiverse amd64 Components [212 B]
Fetched 3,654 kB in 2s (1,742 kB/s)                               
Reading package lists... Done
petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$
Update the repository metadata
Update the repository metadata

To search for the libgl1-mesa-glx dependency run the command apt-cache search libgl1-mesa-glx.

petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$ apt-cache search libgl1-mesa-glx
petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$
The required depency is missing from the repository
The required depency is missing from the repository

Unfortunately, as you can see above the required dependency is missing from the repository. At this point you may give up and install Cisco Packet Tracer on a supported operating system like Ubuntu 22.04.

However, I am not giving up now. I will show you how to overcome this situation.

Find more information about libgl1-mesa-glx package

If you have a machine running Ubuntu 22.04, you could check for the depency on it.

petru@ubuntu2204:~/Downloads$ grep Ubuntu /etc/os-release 
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
petru@ubuntu2204:~/Downloads$ apt-cache search libgl1-mesa-glx
libgl1-mesa-glx - transitional dummy package
petru@ubuntu2204:~/Downloads$
Search for the depency on Ubuntu 22.04
Search for the depency on Ubuntu 22.04

As you can see we found the required dependency. Let’s find more information about this dependency. Run the command apt-cache show libgl1-mesa-glx.

petru@ubuntu2204:~/Downloads$ apt-cache show libgl1-mesa-glx
Package: libgl1-mesa-glx
Architecture: amd64
Version: 23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1
Multi-Arch: same
Priority: optional
Section: universe/libs
Source: mesa
Origin: Ubuntu
Maintainer: Ubuntu Developers <ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com>
Original-Maintainer: Debian X Strike Force <debian-x@lists.debian.org>
Bugs: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+filebug
Installed-Size: 73
Depends: libgl1, libglx-mesa0
Filename: pool/universe/m/mesa/libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb
Size: 5584
MD5sum: 2781475c76805db713a83249e2e95d3f
SHA1: 8564298f1f3db0e8d6f3238e7814e72c4dd1bb94
SHA256: 26f1cebb4a9f08ba7875575df027d5d642dc9f3e547e53d05a6df5a46389dce9
SHA512: 17e07c5a766ac457646d341d2ec5b890dbae9f27869ddaac723c3a67f28837b35f307261372d6f71840f42fb3723f1d25e143aeee8699c890586ff8278023d1f
Homepage: https://mesa3d.org/
Description-en: transitional dummy package
 This is a transitional dummy package, it can be safely removed.
Description-md5: 635a93bcd1440d16621693fe064c2aa9

Package: libgl1-mesa-glx
Architecture: amd64
Version: 22.0.1-1ubuntu2
Multi-Arch: same
Priority: optional
Section: universe/libs
Source: mesa
Origin: Ubuntu
Maintainer: Ubuntu Developers <ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com>
Original-Maintainer: Debian X Strike Force <debian-x@lists.debian.org>
Bugs: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+filebug
Installed-Size: 70
Depends: libgl1, libglx-mesa0
Filename: pool/universe/m/mesa/libgl1-mesa-glx_22.0.1-1ubuntu2_amd64.deb
Size: 5456
MD5sum: 42ec65d32de4d244f3670d979f868cd1
SHA1: 1004230284b5475d81083a58982263018672218d
SHA256: 51028c0e3a16ae872fc537685d46eef4ed5778c548cf7b4d544bb858e3ff310d
SHA512: 2096c266955d3a83814196d444f541193d4723d575acd33d28a4bfa40cf65a5700f86fe4aa463365cdfb03526498ad5a9b0d5ee279118604b39f0066f012a619
Homepage: https://mesa3d.org/
Description-en: transitional dummy package
 This is a transitional dummy package, it can be safely removed.
Description-md5: 635a93bcd1440d16621693fe064c2aa9

petru@ubuntu2204:~/Downloads$
Find more information about the dependency libgl1-mesa-glx
Find more information about the dependency libgl1-mesa-glx

From the description we can see that it is a dummy package and it can be safely removed. Because it is a dummy package, it is not included anymore in the newer Ubuntu versions.

Download the libgl1-mesa-glx depency locally on your machine

Now, you can download the depency locally on your machine. To download the package locally, run the command sudo apt-get download libgl1-mesa-glx.

petru@ubuntu2204:~/Downloads$ sudo apt-get download libgl1-mesa-glx
Get:1 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-updates/universe amd64 libgl1-mesa-glx amd64 23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1 [5,584 B]
Fetched 5,584 B in 0s (111 kB/s)            
W: Download is performed unsandboxed as root, as file '/home/petru/Downloads/libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb' couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)
petru@ubuntu2204:~/Downloads$ ls
libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb  Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb
petru@ubuntu2204:~/Downloads$
Download libgl1-mesa-glx locally on your machine
Download libgl1-mesa-glx locally on your machine

Copy the libgl1-mesa-glx depency to the target machine

Copy the package to the host running Ubuntu 23.10 or 24.04.

petru@ubuntu2204:~/Downloads$ scp libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb 172.16.10.102:~/Downloads
The authenticity of host '172.16.10.102 (172.16.10.102)' can't be established.
ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:5NJZ0/YJftau0cE6vG9OWJS6le7WbpP7XkXAz74AgZA.
This key is not known by any other names
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
Warning: Permanently added '172.16.10.102' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.
petru@172.16.10.102's password: 
libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb                                      100% 5584   865.1KB/s   00:00    
petru@ubuntu2204:~/Downloads$
Copy the package to the host running Ubuntu 23.10 or 24.04.
Copy the package to the host running Ubuntu 23.10 or 24.04.

Install libgl1-mesa-glx depency on Ubuntu 23.10 or 24.04

Install the depency on the host with Ubuntu 23.10 or 24.04. Run the comand sudo apt-get install ./libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb

petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$ ls -l
total 276200
-rw-r--r-- 1 petru petru      5584 Oct 19 13:40 libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 petru petru 282817852 Oct 19 12:04 Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb
petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$ sudo apt-get install ./libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb
[sudo] password for petru: 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'libgl1-mesa-glx' instead of './libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb'
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  libgl1-mesa-glx
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 32 not upgraded.
Need to get 0 B/5,584 B of archives.
After this operation, 74.8 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 /home/petru/Downloads/libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb libgl1-mesa-glx amd64 23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1 [5,584 B]
Selecting previously unselected package libgl1-mesa-glx:amd64.
(Reading database ... 214489 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libgl1-mesa-glx:amd64 (23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1) ...
Setting up libgl1-mesa-glx:amd64 (23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1) ...
N: Download is performed unsandboxed as root as file '/home/petru/Downloads/libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb' couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)
petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$
Install the missing dependency
Install the missing dependency

Install Cisco Packet Tracer

The last step is to install Cisco Packet Tracer. Run the command sudo apt-get install ./Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb.

petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$ sudo apt-get install ./Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'packettracer' instead of './Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb'
The following additional packages will be installed:
  dialog libpthread-stubs0-dev libxau-dev libxcb-xinerama0 libxcb-xinerama0-dev libxcb1-dev libxdmcp-dev x11proto-dev
  xorg-sgml-doctools
Suggested packages:
  libxcb-doc
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  dialog libpthread-stubs0-dev libxau-dev libxcb-xinerama0 libxcb-xinerama0-dev libxcb1-dev libxdmcp-dev packettracer
  x11proto-dev xorg-sgml-doctools
0 upgraded, 10 newly installed, 0 to remove and 32 not upgraded.
Need to get 1,054 kB/284 MB of archives.
After this operation, 3,968 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y
Get:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/universe amd64 dialog amd64 1.3-20240101-1 [303 kB]
Get:2 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/main amd64 libpthread-stubs0-dev amd64 0.4-1build3 [4,746 B]
Get:3 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/main amd64 xorg-sgml-doctools all 1:1.11-1.1 [10.9 kB]
Get:4 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/main amd64 x11proto-dev all 2023.2-1 [602 kB]
Get:5 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/main amd64 libxau-dev amd64 1:1.0.9-1build6 [9,570 B]
Get:6 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/main amd64 libxcb-xinerama0 amd64 1.15-1ubuntu2 [5,410 B]
Get:7 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/main amd64 libxdmcp-dev amd64 1:1.1.3-0ubuntu6 [26.5 kB]
Get:8 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/main amd64 libxcb1-dev amd64 1.15-1ubuntu2 [85.8 kB]
Get:9 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/main amd64 libxcb-xinerama0-dev amd64 1.15-1ubuntu2 [6,034 B]
Get:10 /home/petru/Downloads/Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb packettracer amd64 8.2.2 [283 MB]
Fetched 1,054 kB in 4s (296 kB/s)
Preconfiguring packages ...
Selecting previously unselected package dialog.
(Reading database ... 214495 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../0-dialog_1.3-20240101-1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking dialog (1.3-20240101-1) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libpthread-stubs0-dev:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../1-libpthread-stubs0-dev_0.4-1build3_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libpthread-stubs0-dev:amd64 (0.4-1build3) ...
Selecting previously unselected package xorg-sgml-doctools.
Preparing to unpack .../2-xorg-sgml-doctools_1%3a1.11-1.1_all.deb ...
Unpacking xorg-sgml-doctools (1:1.11-1.1) ...
Selecting previously unselected package x11proto-dev.
Preparing to unpack .../3-x11proto-dev_2023.2-1_all.deb ...
Unpacking x11proto-dev (2023.2-1) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libxau-dev:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../4-libxau-dev_1%3a1.0.9-1build6_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libxau-dev:amd64 (1:1.0.9-1build6) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libxcb-xinerama0:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../5-libxcb-xinerama0_1.15-1ubuntu2_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libxcb-xinerama0:amd64 (1.15-1ubuntu2) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libxdmcp-dev:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../6-libxdmcp-dev_1%3a1.1.3-0ubuntu6_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libxdmcp-dev:amd64 (1:1.1.3-0ubuntu6) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libxcb1-dev:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../7-libxcb1-dev_1.15-1ubuntu2_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libxcb1-dev:amd64 (1.15-1ubuntu2) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libxcb-xinerama0-dev:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../8-libxcb-xinerama0-dev_1.15-1ubuntu2_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libxcb-xinerama0-dev:amd64 (1.15-1ubuntu2) ...
Selecting previously unselected package packettracer.
Preparing to unpack .../9-Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb ...
Unpacking packettracer (8.2.2) ...
Setting up libpthread-stubs0-dev:amd64 (0.4-1build3) ...
Setting up libxcb-xinerama0:amd64 (1.15-1ubuntu2) ...
Setting up dialog (1.3-20240101-1) ...
Setting up xorg-sgml-doctools (1:1.11-1.1) ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.39-0ubuntu8.3) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.12.0-4build2) ...
Processing triggers for shared-mime-info (2.4-4) ...
Processing triggers for sgml-base (1.31) ...
Setting up x11proto-dev (2023.2-1) ...
Setting up libxau-dev:amd64 (1:1.0.9-1build6) ...
Setting up libxdmcp-dev:amd64 (1:1.1.3-0ubuntu6) ...
Setting up libxcb1-dev:amd64 (1.15-1ubuntu2) ...
Setting up libxcb-xinerama0-dev:amd64 (1.15-1ubuntu2) ...
Setting up packettracer (8.2.2) ...
gtk-update-icon-cache: No theme index file.
N: Download is performed unsandboxed as root as file '/home/petru/Downloads/Packet_Tracer822_amd64_signed.deb' couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)
petru@ubuntu2404:~/Downloads$
Install Cisco Packet Tracer
Install Cisco Packet Tracer

Read the Software License Agreement and press <Ok>.

Read the Software License Agreement and press <Ok>.
Read the Software License Agreement and press <Ok>.

Accept the terms of this EULA (End-User License Agreement) and pres <Yes>.

Accept the EULA
Accept the EULA

Build your first lab in Cisco Packet Tracer

Start the Cisco Packet Tracer, log in with your Networking Academy account or Skills For All account.

Open Cisco Packet Tracer
Open Cisco Packet Tracer
Log in with your Networking Academy account or Skills For All account
Log in with your Networking Academy account or Skills For All account

Now you can start building your first lab.

Build your first lab
Build your first lab

That’s it! You have learned how to install Cisco Packet Tracer on Ubuntu 23.10 or 24.04. If you found this blog post helpful, please like and subscribe for more tutorials.

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