Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Virtual Getting Started Guide

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Deploy the Firewall Management Center Virtual

Updated: February 5, 2026

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Overview

Learn how to deploy Management Center Virtual on VMware using an OVF template by configuring host, storage, disk format, network mappings, and initial settings to complete the installation and prepare the virtual appliance for operation.

You can use the VMware vSphere vCenter, vSphere Client, vSphere Web Client, or the ESXi hypervisor (for standalone ESXi deployment) to deploy the Firewall Management Center Virtual. You can deploy with either a VI or ESXi OVF template:

  • If you deploy using a VI OVF template, the appliance must be managed by VMware vCenter.

  • If you deploy using a ESXi OVF template, the appliance can be managed by VMware vCenter or deployed to a standalone ESXi host. In either case, you must configure System-required settings after installation.

After you specify settings on each page of the wizard, click Next to continue. For your convenience, the final page of the wizard allows you to confirm your settings before completing the procedure.

Procedure

1.

From the vSphere Client, choose File > Deploy OVF Template.

2.

From the drop-down list, select the OVF template you want to use to deploy your Firewall Management Center Virtual:

  • Cisco_Secure_FW_Mgmt_Center_Virtual_VMware-VI-X.X.X-xxx.ovf
  • Cisco_Secure_FW_Mgmt_Center_Virtual_VMware-ESXi-X.X.X-xxx.ovf
  • Cisco_Secure_FW_Mgmt_Center_Virtual_VMware-X.X.X-xxx-disk1.vmdk

where X.X.X-xxx is the version and build number of the installation package you downloaded from Cisco.com.
3.

View the OVF Template Details page and click Next.
4.

If license agreements are packaged with the OVF template (VI templates only), the End User License Agreement page appears. Agree to accept the terms of the license and click Next.
5.

(Optional) Edit the name and select the folder location within the inventory where the Firewall Management Center Virtual will reside, and click Next.

Note

When the vSphere Client is connected directly to an ESXi host, the option to select the folder location does not appear.
6.

Select the host or cluster on which you want to deploy theFirewall Management Center Virtual and click Next.
7.

Navigate to, and select the resource pool where you want to run the Firewall Management Center Virtual and click Next.

This page appears only if the cluster contains a resource pool.
8.

Select a storage location to store the virtual machine files, and click Next.

On this page, you select from datastores already configured on the destination cluster or host. The virtual machine configuration file and virtual disk files are stored on the datastore. Select a datastore large enough to accommodate the virtual machine and all of its virtual disk files.
9.

Select the disk format to store the virtual machine virtual disks, and click Next.

When you select Thick Provisioned, all storage is immediately allocated.

Note

We recommend using the Thick Provisioned disk format to ensure optimal performance.
10.

Associate the Firewall Management Center Virtual management interface with a VMware network on the Network Mapping screen.

Select a network by right-clicking the Destination Networks column in your infrastructure to set up the network mapping and click Next.
11.

If user-configurable properties are packaged with the OVF template (VI templates only), set the configurable properties and click Next.
12.

Review and verify the settings on the Ready to Complete window.
13.

(Optional) Check the Power on after deployment option to power on the Firewall Management Center Virtual, then click Finish.

Note: If you choose not to power on after deployment, you can do so later from the VMware console; see Initializing a Virtual Appliance.
14.

After the installation is complete, close the status window.
15.

After you complete the wizard, the vSphere Web Client processes the VM; you can see the “Initialize OVF deployment” status in the Global Information area Recent Tasks pane.

When it is finished, you see the Deploy OVF Template completion status.

The Firewall Management Center Virtual instance then appears under the specified data center in the Inventory. Booting up the new VM could take up to 30 minutes.

Depending on the OVF template used, an ISO image _ovfenv-<hostname>.iso is mounted on the VMware vSphere vCenter, vSphere Client, vSphere Web Client, or the ESXi hypervisor (for standalone ESXi deployment) after the Firewall Management Center Virtual is deployed. This ISO image has OVF environment variables such as IP address netmask, hostnames, HA Roles, and so on. These variables are generated by vSphere and are used during the boot process.

You can also unmount the image after the Firewall Management Center Virtual VM has booted. However, the image will be mounted every time the Firewall Management Center Virtual is powered on or off, even if Connect at power on in the VMware vSphere Network Adapter Configuration is unchecked.

Note

To successfully register the Firewall Management Center Virtual with the Cisco Licensing Authority, the Firewall Management Center requires Internet access. You might need to perform additional configuration after deployment to achieve Internet access and successful license registration.

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