Cisco Catalyst 8000V Edge Software Installation And Configuration Guide

Deploy the OVA file Using vSphere

Updated: March 5, 2026

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Overview

Guidelines when deploying the OVA file
Deploy the OVA to the VM
Configure the bootstrap properties

Overview

Provides information about deploying the OVA file using vSphere, guidelines for the deployment, and configuring the bootstrap settings for the deployment.

The VMware vSphere Web Client is a web application that runs on x86 hardware with virtualization extensions and provides access to the VMware vCenter Server.

You can use the VMware vSphere Client or the vSphere Web Client to deploy the .ova installation file. First, download the .ova file from the Cisco Software Download page and then use this file for deployment.

Use the VMware vSphere Web Client software to:

Create, configure, and manage VMs on the vCenter Server.
Start or stop a Cisco Catalyst 8000V instance.

Guidelines when deploying the OVA file

These restrictions apply when you deploy the .ova file by using vSphere.

If you change the virtual CPU configuration, you must reboot the Cisco Catalyst 8000V instance. However, changing the RAM allocation does not require a reboot.
When you deploy the OVA, the VM requires two virtual CD/DVD drives, one for the OVF environment file and one for the .iso file.
You can use the OVA package to select the virtual CPU configuration.

Deploy the OVA to the VM

Perform these steps to deploy a .ova file to the VM.

Procedure

	1.	Log in to the VMware vSphere client and choose File > Deploy OVF Template.
	2.	In the OVA Wizard, point the source to the Cisco Catalyst 8000V OVA to be deployed and click Next .
	3.	The system displays the OVF Template Details, which contain information about the OVA. Review this information, and click Next.
	4.	In the Name and Inventory Location field, specify the name for the VM and click Next .
	5.	From the Deployment Configuration drop-down list, choose the desired hardware configuration profile and click Next.
	6.	In the Storage field, choose the Datastore to use for the VM and click Next.
	7.	In the Disk Format field, choose one of these disk format options and click Next. Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed Thick Provision Eager Zeroed Note The Thin Provision option is not supported. The Thick Provision Eager Zeroed option takes longer to install but provides better performance.
	8.	In the Network Mapping area, allocate one or more virtual network interface card (vNIC) on the destination network using the drop-down list. Select the network mappings for the 3 default vNICs created during the OVA deployment. You can choose which vNIC will map to the router’s management interface when setting the bootstrap properties.
	9.	Select the vNIC to connect at Power On and click Next. When the Cisco Catalyst 8000V installation using the OVA is complete, two additional vNICS are allocated. Cisco Catalyst 8000V supports up to ten vNICs. You must manually create additional vNICs on the VM.

What to do next

Proceed to configure the bootstrap properties for the VM. After you change the bootstrap properties, the system treats the VM as new. When the VM restarts, it removes all pre-existing network configuration.

Configure the bootstrap properties

Before you begin

Perform the Deploy the OVA to the VM task.

Perform this task to configure the bootstrap properties for the OVA file deployment and to complete the deployment. The bootstrap properties are optional when you create the VM. You can set these properties to provision the VM before starting it.

Procedure

In the VMWare vSphere client, navigate to the VM properties page.

Configure these bootstrap properties for the VM.

Table 1. OVA Bootstrap Properties
Property	Description
Bootstrap Properties
Console	Configures the console mode. Possible values are virtual and serial.
Login Username	Sets the login username for the router.
Login Password	Sets the login password for the router.
Management Interface	Designates the management interface for the Cisco Catalyst 8000V instance. The format must be GigabitEthernetx or GigabitEthernetx.xxx. Note The GigabitEthernet0 interface is no longer supported.
Management vLAN	Configures the dot1Q VLAN interface. The management interface must be configured using the GigabitEthernetx.xxx format.
Management Interface IPv4 Address/Mask	Configures the IPv4 address and subnet mask for the management interface.
Management IPv4 Default Gateway	Configures the IPv4 management default gateway address. If using DHCP, enter “dhcp” in the field.
Management IPv4 Gateway	Configures the IPv4 management default gateway address. If using DHCP, enter “dhcp” in the field.
Management IPv4 Network	Configures the IPv4 network (such as “192.168.2.0/24” or “192.168.2.0 255.255.255.0”) that the management gateway should route to. If a default route (0.0.0.0/0) is desired, you can leave this field blank.
PNSC IPv4 Address	Configures the IP address of the Cisco Prime Network Services Controller. This setting is used if you plan to remotely manage the Cisco Catalyst 8000V instance using the Cisco Prime Network Services Controller.
Router name	Configures the hostname of the router.
Resource Template	Configures the Resource Template. Possible values: default, service_plane_medium, service_plane_heavy
Features
Enable SCP Server	Enables the IOS SCP feature.
Enable SSH Login and Disable Telnet Login	Enables remote login using SSH and disables remote login via Telnet. Requires that the login username and password are set.
Additional Configuration Properties
Enable Password	Configures the password for privileged (enable) access.
Domain Name	Configures the network domain name.
License Boot Level	Configures the license technology level that is available when the Cisco Catalyst 8000V instance boots. The available license levels are: network-essentials network-advantage network-premier Note For details on Cisco DNA licenses, see Cisco DNA Software for SD-WAN and Routing.

Note

After you make any change to the bootstrap properties, the system assumes that you are starting with a fresh VM. So when the VM restarts, all pre-existing networking configuration is removed.

You can also configure advanced properties after the router boots.

After you configure the router properties, click Next. The system displays the Ready to Complete page with the settings to be used when the OVA is deployed.

Select Power On After Deployment to automatically power on the VM.

Click Finish to deploy the OVA.

The OVA deploys the .iso file. If you select Power on After Deployment, the VM is automatically powered on. After the VM is powered on, the Cisco Catalyst 8000V instance begins the installation and boot process. If a bootstrap configuration file is included in the OVA, the router configuration is automatically enabled.

What to do next

To learn about the next steps, see Configure Console Access.

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