Introduction to “asav9-16-4-76.qcow2” Software

This QCOW2 format virtual machine image contains Cisco ASAv 9.16(4)76 – the enterprise-grade virtual firewall optimized for KVM-based cloud environments. Released in Q3 2024 as a long-term support (LTS) version, this build introduces hardware-accelerated cryptographic operations through Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT) integration, making it suitable for PCI-DSS compliant environments requiring high-throughput VPN termination.

Designed for OpenStack deployments and private cloud architectures, the software provides full ASA feature parity including 200Gbps threat inspection capacity when deployed on certified NFVI platforms. The package includes pre-configured Libvirt XML templates for rapid deployment on Red Hat Virtualization 4.4+ and Ubuntu Cloud 22.04 LTS environments.

Key Features and Improvements

​​Virtualization Enhancements​​

• 40% faster live migration through QEMU 6.2+ dirty page tracking optimization
• SR-IOV support for Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx NICs (200GbE throughput)
• NUMA-aware vCPU allocation for latency-sensitive workloads

​​Security Updates​​

• Patched CVE-2024-20353 TLS session ticket vulnerability
• FIPS 140-3 Level 1 compliance for government deployments
• Quantum-resistant encryption trial support (CRYSTALS-Kyber algorithm)

​​Management Optimizations​​

• 50% faster REST API responses through JSON parsing optimizations
• Ansible 2.15+ module enhancements for zero-touch provisioning
• Native Prometheus metrics exporter for cloud-native monitoring

Compatibility and Requirements

​​Critical Compatibility Notes​​:

• Requires QEMU 5.2+ with KVM acceleration
• Incompatible with Hyper-V Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV)
• SR-IOV configurations need Intel XXV710 NIC firmware v8.30+

asav9-18-4-40.vhd.bz2 Cisco ASAv for Microsoft Azure 9.18(4)40 Hyper-V Image Download Link

Introduction to “asav9-18-4-40.vhd.bz2” Software

This compressed VHD package contains the Generation 2 Hyper-V virtual hard disk for Cisco ASAv 9.18(4)40, specifically optimized for Azure Stack HCI deployments. Released in Q1 2025, this build introduces native integration with Azure Arc for centralized policy management across hybrid cloud environments.

The image supports Azure Accelerated Networking with 100Gbps burst capabilities, making it suitable for East-West traffic inspection in large-scale Kubernetes clusters. Pre-configured with Azure Custom Script Extension support, the package enables automated deployment through ARM templates with zero manual configuration.

Key Features and Improvements

​​Cloud Integration​​

• Azure Monitor integration for flow analytics visualization
• Automated scaling through Azure VM Scale Sets (up to 100 instances)
• Native Key Vault integration for certificate management

​​Performance Enhancements​​

• 60% faster IPsec throughput using AVX-512 vectorization
• Azure Premium SSD v2 latency optimization (sub-1ms packet processing)
• SmartNIC offloading for Azure Boost-enabled hosts

​​Security Updates​​

• Microsoft Pluton TPM 2.0 root of trust integration
• Azure Confidential Computing support for encrypted memory regions
• Automated security patch rollout through Update Management Center

Compatibility and Requirements

​​Critical Compatibility Notes​​:

• Requires Hyper-V 2022 with shielded VM capabilities
• Incompatible with Azure Gen1 VMs
• Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) requires CSV cache disabled

Obtain the Software Packages

Enterprise customers can access both virtualization packages through Cisco’s authorized partner portal. For verified downloads of “asav9-16-4-76.qcow2” (SHA-256: 9a8ef…c44b2) and “asav9-18-4-40.vhd.bz2” (SHA-256: d5f01…a9e33), visit https://www.ioshub.net and search using the exact filenames in the Virtual Firewall section. Both packages include cloud-init configurations and platform-specific optimization guides.