Download the for the Catalyst 9000v from the GNS3 Marketplace .
The file cat9kv-prd-17.12.01prd9.qcow2 appears to be a production-ready virtual machine image for the Cisco Cat9K platform, with software version 17.12.01prd9 . Its intended use is likely for deploying virtualized Cat9K switches or testing/validating the software version in a controlled environment. As with any software image, verifying its integrity and authenticity is crucial before deployment.
: QEMU Copy-On-Write 2 format, optimized for KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and OpenStack hypervisors. 2. Platform Architecture & Key Features cat9kv-prd-17.12.01prd9.qcow2
Every segment of that string tells a story about the software lifecycle:
Complete implementations of BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, and IS-IS. Download the for the Catalyst 9000v from the
By utilizing this specific 17.12.01 production image, enterprise networks can confidently scale out hybrid-cloud deployments, spin up automated testing sandboxes, and orchestrate robust SD-WAN overlay paths using a predictable and well-documented virtual framework.
However, being a virtual switch, it has limitations in throughput (typically 1–10 Gbps depending on CPU) and does not support hardware-specific features like UADP ASIC offload. As with any software image, verifying its integrity
Understanding the naming convention of a Cisco virtual image ensures compatibility across target environments. Let’s break down cat9kv-prd-17.12.01prd9.qcow2 :
| Feature | UADP Emulation (25 ports) | Q200 Emulation (25 ports) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | 4 | 4 | | RAM Required | 18,432 MB (18 GB) | 12,288 MB (12 GB) | | Disk Space | ~4 GB (the image itself) + additional config space | ~4 GB | | Dataplane Throughput | Limited (~250 Kbps) in beta versions | Limited (~250 Kbps) | | Supported Hypervisor | KVM / QEMU (via EVE-NG, CML, containerlab) | KVM / QEMU |