MicroVMs: Firecracker-backed nodes from the marketplace
MicroVM sits between a Docker container and a full QEMU VM - real hardware-level isolation (Firecracker microVMs, the same technology behind AWS Lambda) at close to container boot speed. netplex. ships a curated marketplace of ready-to-run MicroVM images - no kernel or rootfs to source yourself.
Open Library → MicroVM. The host status card confirms Firecracker is actually installed and reachable - if it isn't, the tab tells you exactly that instead of silently failing later when you try to start a node.
Below it, the Marketplace - Alpine, Ubuntu, Debian, Python and more, each already pulled and ready. Drag one onto the canvas like any other device; it boots as a real Firecracker microVM, not a simulation.
MicroVM is the middle ground: pick it when a lab needs real kernel-level isolation per node (multi-tenant grading, security exercises) but a full QEMU vendor VM is more than the exercise calls for. See "What netplex. can run: the runtimes" for how it compares to Docker, QEMU, LXC and Namespace.