diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 32e74a97253268594e1d25ca2eee9d0430075f9e..6bc9584ac5bc5400f512a32e566f4401f5cf194f 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -85,6 +85,13 @@ dev-env-start: generate-gnmi-target-certs generate-gosdn-certs containerize-gosd
 dev-env-stop:
 	./scripts/simple-dev-setup.sh --mode stop --topology dev_env_data/clab/basic_two_gnmi_targets.yaml
 
+basic-compose-up: generate-certs containerize-gosdn containerize-plugin-registry
+	docker-compose -f dev_env_data/docker-compose/basic_docker-compose.yml down
+	docker-compose -f dev_env_data/docker-compose/basic_docker-compose.yml up -d
+
+basic-compose-down:
+	docker-compose -f dev_env_data/docker-compose/basic_docker-compose.yml down
+
 generate-certs: generate-gnmi-target-certs generate-gosdn-certs
 
 integration-tests: generate-certs containerize-gosdn containerize-plugin-registry
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7500a5f5a2e1d2e78e39f6d60472a71dd1a05a1b..c413c1f318154d7de8cc29b81972514b000bb592 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -136,11 +136,32 @@ system.
 
 With the help of [containerlab](https://containerlab.dev/) we provide simple test environments to play around with.
 
+```sh
+# start containerlab
+make containerlab-slim-start
+
+# stop the containerlab topology
+make containerlab-slim-stop
+```
+
+If you don't want to install containerlab, you can also use a docker-compose config. For most tasks it works as well, but it is missing the static IP and link configurations.
+
+```sh
+# start the environment
+make basic-compose-up
+
+# stop the environment
+make basic-compose-down
+```
+
+
+### Labs
+
 The environment Lab 01 contains two [Arista
 cEOS](https://www.arista.com/en/products/software-controlled-container-networking),
 a goSDN, a gNMI target, a plugin-registry, a MongoDB and a RabbitMQ.
 
-The environment Lab 00 contains two gNMI targets used as switches, s goSDN, two Linux servers, a plugin-registry, a MongoDB and a RabbitMQ. Lab 00 is lighter than Lab 01.
+The environment Lab 00 contains two gNMI targets used as switches, goSDN, two Linux servers, a plugin-registry, a MongoDB and a RabbitMQ. Lab 00 is lighter than Lab 01.
 
 > If you're a member of the danet group you should have access to the
 > containers repo. Don't forget to `sudo docker login
@@ -153,14 +174,6 @@ The environment Lab 00 contains two gNMI targets used as switches, s goSDN, two
 > cEOS image by yourself. Don't forget to change the image name (line `11` in
 > the `gosdn.clab.yml` file) to the local one you've downloaded.
 
-```sh
-# starts the containerlab topology which contains two Arista cEOS, an cSBI orchestrator, a goSDN controller and gNMI target.
-make containerlab-start
-
-# stop the containerlab topology
-make containerlab-stop
-```
-
 ### Additional services
 
 There are optional and mandatory services that can be used with the controller. They can be started via the provided `docker-compose.yml`: