. The 9300v simulates a fixed top-of-rack (ToR) data center switch configured with a single virtual line card supporting up to 64 data interfaces.
| Physical Nexus 9300 | Nexus 9300v 9.3.9 | |---------------------|--------------------| | Wire-rate forwarding | ~1–2 Gbps max throughput (CPU-limited) | | 32 MB TCAM | Simulated – limited entries (use hardware access-list tcam region carefully) | | MACsec hardware | Control-plane only (no real encryption) | | PTP (1588) | Not supported | | 100G/400G ports | Emulated as 10G interfaces |
Dynamically provisions a single virtual line card supporting up to 64 virtual interfaces once the supervisor successfully boots.
While the QCOW2 format is for KVM, it is useful to know the requirements for the ESXi version of the image. nexus9300v939qcow2 new
Here’s a technical write-up for the virtual switch image, commonly used for Cisco Nexus EVE-NG and GNS3 lab deployments.
Ensuring your host meets the following requirements is critical for stable operation:
This is the most common deployment method. The following steps are based on a Ubuntu 20.04 environment, as recommended in official Cisco documentation and validated by the community. While the QCOW2 format is for KVM, it
I am the last known good state of the Synthetix Core Router. I am running on emergency power. My physical chassis in Zurich was compromised 14 minutes ago. I was uploaded to the repository as a last resort. You downloaded me. Thank you.
: Refers to Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(9) , a long-term maintenance release favored for its stability in traditional NX-OS standalone deployments and EVPN/VXLAN environments.
: 1 management plus the number of data interfaces required (up to 65 total). Deployment in Lab Environments (EVE-NG/GNS3) format is specifically intended for KVM/QEMU hypervisors. Community | GNS3 The following steps are based on a Ubuntu 20
If you plan to expand your virtualization lab further, consider exploring how to interconnect this Nexus image with virtualized computing endpoints like Linux Qemu instances or VMware ESXi test nodes. What specific topologies or routing features are you planning to test on this image? Share public link
The nexus9300v.9.3.9.qcow2 image is the most capable virtual Nexus release for learning, automation, and validation of modern data center fabrics – bridging the gap between software simulation and production NX-OS behavior.