Cisco Catalyst 8000V Edge Software Installation And Configuration Guide

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Install the Virtual Machine Using Prism Element

Updated: March 5, 2026

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Overview

Provides information on installing Cisco Catalyst 8000V on Nutanix AHV hypervisor using Prism Element, a built-in, localized management interface for individual Nutanix clusters.

Nutanix Prism Element (PE) is the built-in, localized management interface for individual Nutanix clusters, running on every node. This interface provides configuration, monitoring, and VM management capabilities.

This document provides information on installing Cisco Catalyst 8000V on Nutanix AHV hypervisor using Prism Element. This installation method is suitable for single clusters with a localized management of hardware, storage, and networking within the cluster.

Configure disk properties

Perform these steps to configure the disk properties for a VM when installing Cisco Catalyst 8000V on Nutanix AHV using Prism Element.

Procedure

1.

Log in to the Controller VM Dashboard.
2.

Click Settings > Image Configuration and upload the Cisco Catalyst 8000V .iso image file and the bootstrap configuration file.
3.

In the VM dashboard, click the Create VM button.
4.

In the Add Disk pop-up window, configure these settings:

  1. Type: Select the type of storage device, DISK or CD-ROM, from the drop-down list. Choose Disk for harddisk, choose CDROM for .iso files, and choose CD-ROM for bootstrap configuration files.

  2. Operation: Specify the option to create a blank CD-ROM device or allocate space without specifying an image, or to clone from an image, from this drop-down list.

  3. Bus Type: Select the Bus Type from the drop-down list based on the Type option you chose.

  4. Image: Select the image that you have created by using the image service feature. This field is applicable only when Clone from Image Service is selected in Operation. This field specifies the image to copy.

  5. Logical Size (GIB): Enter the disk size in GiB.
5.

Click Add and proceed to the next task to create a vNIC.

Create a vNIC

Perform these steps to create a vNIC when installing Cisco Catalyst 8000V on Nutanix AHV hypervisor using Prism Element.

Before you begin

Ensure you complete the Add Disk procedure before performing this task.

Procedure

1.

Navigate to the Create vNIC pop-up window and configure the settings specified here.
2.

From the Subnet Name drop-down list, choose the target VLAN.
3.

From the Network Connection State drop-down list, choose the state for the network that you want it to operate in after VM creation. The available options are Connected and Disconnected.
4.

Review all the settings. Then, click Add to create the network interface for the VM.

Repeat this task to create additional interfaces, if required.

Create the VM

Provides instructions for creating a VM during the installation of Cisco Catalyst 8000V on Nutanix AHV hypervisor using Prism Element.

After you add the network interfaces, the system displays the Create VM pop-up window. Use the displayed options to create the VM.

Procedure

1.

Review the Network Adapters (NIC). Add, edit, or delete a NIC, if required.
2.

To configure affinity policy for this VM, click Set Affinity.
3.

In the Set VM Host Affinity pop-up window, select the host or hosts on which you want to configure the affinity for this VM.
4.

To customize the VM by using a custom script, select the Custom Script check box. Paste the script in this field.
5.

Upload the user data to a storage system. Upload it from your local device, or copy and paste the content of the script in the provided text box.
6.

Click Save to create the VM.
7.

In the web console, choose VM > Power On to boot the VM.

After the VM is created and powered on successfully, you can access the VM from the console by navigating to VM > Launch Console.