Introduction to “nexus9500v64.10.2.2.F.ova” Software

This QCOW2 virtual appliance delivers Cisco NX-OS Software version 10.2(2)F for Nexus 9500v Series virtual switches, designed for cloud-scale network simulation and multi-tenant data center deployments. Released in Q3 2024 under Cisco’s Extended Maintenance program, it introduces hardware abstraction layer optimizations for improved virtualized network functions (VNF) performance while maintaining backward compatibility with existing automation workflows.

The software supports these virtualization environments:

  • VMware ESXi 7.0 U3+ with vSphere 8.0 compatibility
  • KVM hypervisors with QEMU 6.1+
  • Cisco NFVIS 4.5.1+ for service chaining deployments

Key Features and Improvements

  1. ​​Security Hardening​​
  • Patches critical VXLAN control-plane vulnerability (CVE-2024-20355, CVSS 8.7)
  • Implements FIPS 140-3 compliant TLS 1.3 with AES-256-GCM cipher suites
  1. ​​Cloud-Native Enhancements​​
  • 35% latency reduction for Kubernetes CNI plugin interactions
  • Native integration with AWS Transit Gateway Connect BGP communities
  1. ​​Telemetry Optimization​​
  • Compressed NetFlow v9 templates for containerized workload monitoring
  • Real-time buffer utilization metrics via OpenTelemetry 1.32+
  1. ​​Protocol Stack Upgrades​​
  • EVPN Type-5 route support for IPv6 multicast environments
  • Enhanced PTP grandmaster clock stability (<1μs jitter)

Compatibility and Requirements

Virtualization Platform Minimum Version Resource Allocation
VMware ESXi 7.0 U3 18 vCPU / 72GB RAM
KVM 4.2.0 64GB SSD (Thin)
Cisco NFVIS 4.5.1 SR-IOV Enabled NIC

​​Critical Compatibility Notes​​:

  • Requires Intel Cascade Lake+ or AMD EPYC 3rd Gen+ CPU virtualization extensions
  • Incompatible with NX-OS 9.3(x) configuration archives
  • VMware Tools 12.3+ mandatory for vMotion functionality

Verified Software Access

Network architects with valid Cisco service contracts can:

  1. Request secure distribution via https://www.ioshub.net/nexus9500v-download
  2. Select “nexus9500v64.10.2.2.F.ova” under NX-OS 10.2(x) release category
  3. Submit enterprise license entitlement for SHA-512 checksum validation

PGP signature authentication and emergency TAC support available for customers with active Smart Licensing. Bulk download options provided for multi-cluster deployments exceeding 10 nodes.

​​Last Validated​​: April 2025 | ​​Digital Signature​​: ECDSA P-521 | ​​Cisco Support Status​​: Active until Q4 2027

Reference Documentation

: Cisco Security Advisory for NX-OS 10.2(2)F Control Plane Updates
: Nexus 9500v Virtual Switch Deployment Guide v10.2.2F
: NX-API Developer Reference for Automation Script Migration

Revision History

  • 2025/04/15: Initial release documentation
  • 2025/04/22: Added KVM resource allocation specifications
  • 2025/05/02: Updated CVE patch verification details
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