If you use vPC (virtual Port Channel), avoid version 7.0.3.I7.4 with feature vpc on more than two v9ks. Use 7.0.3.I7.6 or later for multi-chassis vPC. This image is best for standalone or VXLAN EVPN labs, not classic vPC.
Before deploying the image, you must understand the nomenclature. Cisco follows a strict pattern for virtual NX-OS images. nxosv9k-7.0.3.i7.4.qcow2
| Component | Meaning | Specifics of this version | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | nxosv9k | Product Family | Nexus 9000v (Virtual Switch for KVM/EVE-NG/VDC) | | 7.0.3 | Major Release Train | Long-lived 7.0(x) series; stable for DC features | | I7.4 | Maintenance Version | Gold Star (I7) build, specific patch level .4 | | .qcow2 | Disk Format | QEMU Copy-On-Write v2 (native for KVM/libvirt) | If you use vPC (virtual Port Channel), avoid version 7
Despite being virtual, nxosv9k-7.0.3.i7.4.qcow2 is resource-heavy. Before deploying the image, you must understand the
| Resource | Minimum | Recommended for lab |
|----------|---------|---------------------|
| vCPU | 4 | 4-6 |
| RAM | 8 GB | 12-16 GB |
| Disk (thin provisioned) | ~4 GB | 8 GB (for logs & crashes) |
| Hypervisors | KVM, Proxmox, VMware (with qemu-img conversion), EVE-NG, GNS3 |
Warning: The image does not run on VirtualBox or VMware Workstation without heavy tweaking (requires hardware virtualization nesting and often fails due to timer interrupts). Use KVM-based solutions.
If you need VMware ESXi compatibility:
qemu-img convert -f qcow2 -O vmdk nxosv9k-7.0.3.i7.4.qcow2 nxosv9k.vmdk