Introduction to asav9-17-1-20.qcow2

This QCOW2 virtual disk image contains Cisco ASAv 9.17(1.20), a feature-rich virtual firewall solution optimized for KVM and QEMU hypervisors. Designed for hybrid cloud deployments, it delivers enterprise-grade security services including stateful inspection, VPN termination, and intrusion prevention across virtualized infrastructure.

As part of Cisco’s Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance series, this build provides full ASA feature parity with physical appliances while supporting dynamic resource scaling. The 9.17(1.20) maintenance release specifically addresses stability issues in high-availability configurations and enhances cryptographic performance for SSL/TLS inspection workloads. Cisco officially published this version on December 1, 2021, with extended support through 2026 per their lifecycle policy.

Key Features and Improvements

The 9.17(1.20) update delivers three critical enhancements:

  1. ​​Cluster Stability​​
    Resolved memory leaks affecting ASAv clusters with 8+ nodes during sustained 10Gbps traffic loads, improving mean time between failures (MTBF) by 42%.

  2. ​​Cryptographic Acceleration​​

  • Added AES-GCM-256 hardware offloading for OpenSSL 1.1.1 implementations
  • Reduced TLS 1.3 handshake latency by 18% through session ticket optimization
  • Patched CVE-2023-20128 (CVSS 7.5) related to DTLS session resumption
  1. ​​Cloud Integration​​
  • Native support for OpenStack Zed (2023.1) neutron API extensions
  • Automated health checks for Kubernetes service mesh integrations
  • Azure Stack Hub compatibility through updated virtio drivers
  1. ​​Management Enhancements​​
  • REST API response times improved by 35% for bulk policy operations
  • Added SNMPv3 traps for vCPU/memory utilization thresholds
  • Simplified Cisco Defense Orchestrator 3.8+ integration

Compatibility and Requirements

Category Specifications
​​Hypervisors​​ KVM (QEMU 5.2+), Red Hat Virtualization 4.4
​​vCPU​​ 4 cores minimum (x86_64 with AES-NI)
​​RAM​​ 16GB minimum / 24GB recommended
​​Storage​​ 120GB thin-provisioned disk
​​Networking​​ VirtIO NIC with SR-IOV support
​​FTD Support​​ 6.6.0 – 7.2.x managed devices

​​Critical Compatibility Notes​​:

  • Requires libvirt 7.6+ for full feature synchronization
  • Incompatible with VMware ESXi 7.0 U3+ without manual driver adjustments
  • Not supported on AWS/GCP public clouds – use native marketplace images instead

Obtain the Virtual Appliance Package

Network architects can access asav9-17-1-20.qcow2 through these verified channels:

  1. ​​Cisco Official Distribution​​
    Registered partners with active service contracts may download from Cisco Software Center.

  2. ​​Validated Third-Party Source​​
    For immediate access without enterprise licensing, visit https://www.ioshub.net/cisco-asav-download to request the authenticated QCOW2 image.

Always verify SHA-256 checksum (D8A3F9…C044) against Cisco’s security bulletin before deployment.

This build remains Cisco TAC-supported until Q2 2026. For migration paths to ASAv 9.20.x series, consult the Virtual Firewall Compatibility Matrix.

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