Cisco software image purposes

Updated: October 7, 2026

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This reference describes the Cisco NCS 2000, Cisco Optical Site Manager, and Cisco Optical Network Controller software images used for installation, upgrade, and service-pack workflows.

Cisco NCS 2000, Cisco Optical Site Manager, and Cisco Optical Network Controller software packages are distributed through Cisco Software Download. Different image types are available depending on the target component and operation, such as installation or upgrade.

Cisco NCS 2000 software package

This software package is used for Cisco NCS 2000 Release 26.1.1.

Table 1. Cisco NCS 2000 software package
Package	File name	Usage
Cisco NCS 2000 software package	NCS 2000.S.K9.R2611.pkg	Use this package for node upgrades through CTC or EPNM. In releases 25.x and 26.x, only the Cisco NCS 2000 S package is provided.

Cisco Optical Site Manager software images

Cisco Optical Site Manager software is distributed as ISO images or service packs and differs based on the target platform.

Table 2. Cisco Optical Site Manager software images
Image type	File name	Download location	Usage and contents
Cisco Optical Site Manager 2000 image (.iso)	ncs2k-base-26.1.1.iso	Cisco Software Download page for Cisco NCS 2000	Use this image for Cisco Optical Site Manager 2000 installation and deployment on an SVO card. The image is a complete package that contains admin plane, Aggregator, Card Controller, and Cisco NCS 2000 package components.
Cisco Optical Site Manager 2000 service pack image (.tar)	ncs2k-base-26.1.1.P<index>.tar	Cisco Software Download page for Cisco NCS 2000	Use this image to deliver fixes or functionality on top of the Cisco Optical Site Manager release image. The service pack image is versioned as P2, P3, and so on, and contains only the Aggregator component.
Cisco Optical Site Manager 1000 image (.iso)	ncs1010-x64-26.1.1.iso	Cisco Software Download page for Cisco NCS 1010	Use this image for Cisco Optical Site Manager deployment on the Cisco NCS 1000 platform.

Note

The Cisco Optical Site Manager 1000 image package can be downloaded on the SVO card when a Cisco NCS 1000 TXP is onboarded to a Cisco Optical Site Manager 2000 instance that requires an upgrade.

Cisco Optical Network Controller software images

Cisco Optical Network Controller software is distributed through the Cisco Software Download page in multiple formats depending on the operation.

Table 3. Cisco Optical Network Controller software images
Image type	File extension	Operation	Usage
OVA	.ova	New deployment	Contains the full virtual machine template that is required to install Cisco Optical Network Controller in VMware environments.
KVM	.qcow2	New deployment	Use this image for new deployments on KVM platforms.
System Pack	.tar	Major software upgrade	Use this image for release-to-release upgrades.
Service pack	.tar	Minor update	Use this image for bug fixes and incremental features. The service pack acts as a roll-up package that includes multiple software maintenance updates (SMUs).

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