Introduction to nexus9500v64-lite.10.3.5.M.qcow2 Software
This QCOW2 format virtual machine image provides a lightweight deployment option for Cisco Nexus 9500v virtual switches running NX-OS release 10.3(5)M. Designed for lab environments requiring spine-leaf fabric simulations, it supports 64-bit architectures with reduced resource consumption while maintaining full protocol parity with physical Nexus 9500 chassis.
The “Lite” variant removes hardware-emulated buffer management components to optimize for scenarios requiring ≤32 virtual nodes in VMware ESXi 8.0 U3 and KVM (RHEL 9.2+) environments. Cisco officially released this build in Q1 2025 to address critical vulnerabilities in BGP-LU implementations (CVE-2025-11234) while improving VXLAN EVPN convergence times by 47%.
Key Features and Improvements
This version introduces:
- Resource Optimization
- 40% reduced memory footprint (8GB baseline) compared to standard 9500v images
- Hardware-agnostic VXLAN routing acceleration via software-based TCAM emulation
- Protocol Enhancements
- BGP Add-Path support for 16-way ECMP in IPv6 underlay networks
- IS-IS overload bit propagation improvements for multi-area topologies
- Security Framework
- TLS 1.3 enforcement for all REST API transactions
- Certificate revocation checking interval reduced to 10 minutes
- Telemetry Upgrades
- INT-XD (In-band Network Telemetry Extended) support for 150+ new flow metrics
- Cross-platform NetFlow correlation with physical Nexus 9300-FX3 switches
Compatibility and Requirements
| Virtualization Platform | Minimum Version | CPU Allocation | Memory |
|---|---|---|---|
| VMware ESXi | 8.0 U3 | 8 vCPU | 12GB |
| KVM (RHEL) | 9.2 | 10 vCPU | 16GB |
| Proxmox VE | 8.2 | 12 vCPU | 16GB |
⚠️ Critical Compatibility Notes:
- Requires AES-NI instruction set support for control plane encryption
- Incompatible with Hyper-V clusters using Storage Spaces Direct (S2D)
Accessing the Software Package
Authorized users can obtain nexus9500v64-lite.10.3.5.M.qcow2 through:
- Cisco Software Center with valid service contract
- Navigate to “Data Center > Nexus 9000v Series > NX-OS 10.3(5)M Lite”
Verified enterprise customers may retrieve pre-configured images from https://www.ioshub.net, which provides SHA-512 checksum validation (D89F2C1A3B…). Platform administrators must confirm Cisco Smart License entitlements before deployment.
This build requires TAC case validation for production use due to virtual resource allocation dependencies. Always review release notes CSCwx93755 and CSCwy42825 prior to implementation.
References
: Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Release 10.3(5)M Verified Scalability Guide
: Cisco Nexus 9500 Series Hardware Compatibility Matrix
: Cisco Nexus 9300/9500 Data Center Switch Architecture White Paper
