About This Document

Overview of Cisco Catalyst 8000V Virtual Routers

Describes the capabilities and benefits of Cisco Catalyst 8000V. Explains the operating modes and router interfaces for Cisco Catalyst 8000V.

Installation Overview

Provides an overview of the Cisco Catalyst 8000V Edge Software installation process, covering supported hypervisors and public cloud platforms, various operating modes like Autonomous and SD-WAN, and the general workflow required for successful deployment.

Compatibility Matrix for Cisco Catalyst 8000V in Public and Sovereign IaaS Clouds

Provides the hardware and software compatibility requirements for the Cisco Catalyst 8000V, including supported hypervisors, public cloud platforms, and the specific virtual machine resource allocations (vCPU, RAM, and disk) required for various performance tiers and network interfaces.

Install Cisco Catalyst 8000V in VMware ESXi Environment

Provides detailed instructions for deploying the Cisco Catalyst 8000V on VMware ESXi, covering various installation methods such as using OVA templates or manual setup via ISO/BIN images, along with the necessary virtual machine hardware and network configuration steps.

Install Cisco Catalyst 8000V in KVM Environment

Provides comprehensive instructions for installing the Cisco Catalyst 8000V in KVM environments, including prerequisites, supported Linux distributions, and step-by-step procedures for deploying the software using tools like virt-install and virt-manager.

Install Cisco Catalyst 8000V in Nutanix AHV Hypervisor

Provides a comprehensive guide for deploying and managing Cisco Catalyst 8000V virtual machines in the Nutanix AHV hypervisor. This document covers installation prerequisites, supported configurations, various deployment methods—including Prism Central, Prism Element, CLI, and REST API—as well as procedures for verifying, editing, and cloning VM instances.

Install Cisco Catalyst 8000V in NFVIS Environment

Outlines the procedures for deploying the Cisco Catalyst 8000V within a Cisco NFVIS environment, including image registration, resource provisioning, and step-by-step installation on platforms such as the Cisco Enterprise Network Compute System (ENCS).

Install Cisco Catalyst 8000V in OpenStack Environment

Explains Cisco Catalyst 8000V deployment in an OpenStack environment, detailing the necessary prerequisites, image registration, flavor creation, and the specific steps required to launch and configure the virtual router instance.

Day 0 Configuration

Explains the methods for Day 0 bootstrap configuration of Cisco Catalyst 8000V, detailing how to automate the initial setup using configuration files, virtual CD-ROMs, or cloud-init custom data across various deployment environments.

Security-Enhanced Linux

Introduces the mandatory access control architecture used to safeguard system integrity and prevent unauthorized resource access. It describes how to configure different security modes and troubleshoot policy violations using system logs.

Map Network Interfaces to VM Network Interfaces

Explains how the Cisco Catalyst 8000V maps its internal Cisco IOS XE network interfaces to the virtual network adapters of the host virtual machine, detailing the interface ordering and mapping logic across different hypervisor environments.

Configure VRF Route Sharing

Describes how to configure Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) sharing on Cisco Catalyst 8000V, detailing the methods for route leaking and communication between different VRF instances to enable shared services and reachability.

Configure Console Access

Describes the process of booting Cisco Catalyst 8000V for the first time, including instructions on how to access the console, monitor the boot sequence, and perform the initial login to verify that the virtual router is operational.

Upgrade the Cisco IOS XE Software

Outlines the procedures for upgrading the Cisco Catalyst 8000V software, covering the steps for both Autonomous and Controller modes, image acquisition, and the CLI commands required to perform a successful software update.

Configure vCPU Distribution

Explains how to configure and optimize virtual CPUs (vCPUs) for Cisco Catalyst 8000V, detailing the relationship between vCPU allocation and router performance as well as the steps to modify CPU resources within the hypervisor environment.

Manage the device using Web User Interface

Describes the configuration and functionality of management interfaces on the router detailing the use of the dedicated management port, the Mgmt-intf VRF, and how to isolate management traffic from data traffic.

Access and Use the GRUB Mode

Explains how to access the GRUB bootloader menu on the Cisco Catalyst 8000V, detailing the steps to interrupt the boot sequence for troubleshooting, password recovery, or modifying boot parameters.

Bridge Domain Interfaces

Provides instructions for configuring logical interfaces that connect Layer 2 bridged networks with Layer 3 routed environments. It covers Ethernet virtual circuits, MAC address assignment, and the encapsulation methods required for efficient packet forwarding.

Support for software media termination point

Describes how to configure VRF Route Sharing on the router to enable traffic forwarding and shared services across hybrid cloud environments, specifically focusing on VxLAN peers and BGP EVPN integration.

Radio Aware Routing

Explains how to configure the Resource Allocation and Reporting (RAR) functionality on the router, detailing how the router monitors and reports on the underlying virtual machine's resource allocation to ensure performance and license compliance.