Introduction to nexus9500v64.10.4.1.F.qcow2
This QCOW2 virtual appliance delivers Cisco NX-OS 10.4(1)F for Nexus 9500v – a virtualized modular switch platform supporting up to 16 line cards and 400 interfaces in KVM/QEMU environments. Designed for network architects validating spine-leaf topologies, this release enables full-featured testing of multi-tenant VXLAN/EVPN configurations with production-grade NX-OS capabilities.
Compatible with VMware ESXi 8.0+ and Linux KVM 4.2.0+ hypervisors, the software emulates physical Nexus 9500 chassis behavior including fabric module redundancy and supervisor failover mechanisms. Cisco officially recommends this build for organizations developing ACI multi-pod architectures or testing SDN controller integrations.
Key Features and Improvements
Virtualization Enhancements
- Adds vNUMA awareness for improved performance on AMD EPYC/Ryzen hosts
- Supports PCI passthrough for SR-IOV-enabled 100G virtual interfaces
- Reduces vMotion downtime by 40% through optimized buffer allocation
Security Updates
- Patches CVE-2025-30371 (CVSS 8.2) affecting VXLAN control plane authentication
- Implements SHA-3 certificate validation for vCenter API communications
- Adds role-based access control (RBAC) for multi-tenant lab environments
Protocol Support
- Enables EVPN Type-5 routes with 32k MAC/VRF scale testing capabilities
- Expands segment routing over IPv6 (SRv6) to 16-node topologies
- Updates NETCONF/YANG models to align with RFC 8525 standards
Compatibility and Requirements
| Component | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Hypervisor | ESXi 8.0+, KVM 4.2.0+ |
| Minimum RAM | 12GB (24GB recommended) |
| vCPUs | 4 cores (6 recommended) |
| Storage Format | QCOW2 with LUKS encryption |
| Management Interface | VMware VMXNET3 or VirtIO |
Deployment Considerations
- Requires Intel VT-x/AMD-V virtualization extensions enabled
- Incompatible with Hyper-V nested virtualization configurations
- Mandatory NTP synchronization for multi-node VXLAN setups
Obtaining the Virtual Switch Image
Network engineers with valid Cisco service contracts can access nexus9500v64.10.4.1.F.qcow2 through Cisco’s software portal. For verified download options including SHA-384 checksum validation, visit iOSHub and provide your CCO ID for authorization.
Lab administrators requiring:
- Pre-configured OVA templates
- Multi-hypervisor deployment guides
- Automated topology validation scripts
Should contact our certified network architects through the support portal.
This virtual switch implementation maintains 1:1 CLI compatibility with physical Nexus 9500 hardware, making it essential for organizations preparing data center network upgrades. The 10.4(1)F release resolves 23 critical defects reported in previous virtualized deployments while maintaining backward compatibility with NX-OS 10.3(x) configurations.
