: A comprehensive pre-compiled package that includes the latest images like Cisco XRV9K Nexus OS (Titanium) for SD-WAN labs 2. Streamlined Deployment Workflow
: The safest and most stable images come directly from vendors like Cisco (CML/VIRL) Community Repositories : Sites like GitHub (hegdepavankumar)
: Download KVM-based images (.qcow2) directly from the Palo Alto customer portal .
: A popular one-stop repository providing free images for Cisco, Fortigate, Palo Alto, and Sophos. eveng qemu images download better
Never mix them up. Download Juniper’s vmx-bundle and extract carefully.
Then add a new node in EVE‑NG, boot from the ISO, and install the operating system as you would on bare metal. This method is time‑consuming but guarantees a clean, trusted image.
: Use a valid service contract on the Cisco Software Central portal to pull .qcow2 or .vmdk files for corporate virtualization. Look for platforms like Cisco ASAv , Catalyst 8000v , or vIOS . : A comprehensive pre-compiled package that includes the
via the EVE-NG CLI. It’s significantly faster than downloading to your PC and then uploading to the server. 3. Mastering the "Golden Rules" of Naming
From Arista’s portal, get vEOS-lab-4.28.0F.vmdk .
Raw vendor images (like .vmdk or .vhd) often require complex conversion using qemu-img . Better images come ready-to-use in .qcow2 format. Never mix them up
: The most cost-effective legal method is purchasing a Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) subscription. This provides access to official IOSv, IOSvL2, and ASAv images that can be extracted and used in EVE-NG.
ln -s /opt/unetlab/addons/qemu/Ubuntu-20.04 /opt/unetlab/tmp/lab-name/Ubuntu-20.04
| Source Type | Examples | Why Better | |-------------|----------|-------------| | Official vendor evaluation images | Cisco (CML), Arista vEOS, Juniper vJunos-switch | Legal, clean, version-stable | | EVE-NG Community shared images (via their official download portal) | www.eve-ng.net/index.php/downloads/ | Verified for EVE-NG compatibility | | Automation scripts (e.g., eve-ng-image-downloader on GitHub) | EVE-NG image downloader scripts | CLI-driven, multi-image batch downloads |
Quick tips:
Custom installations require you to set root passwords, generate SSH keys, and enable management interfaces. Downloaded images typically feature standardized documentation detailing the exact default usernames and passwords (e.g., admin/admin or cisco/cisco ), alongside pre-enabled SSH or HTTP services. 📊 Feature Comparison: Manual vs. Downloaded Images Feature Metric Manual ISO Installation Pre-Made QEMU Download 45 to 90 minutes per image 5 to 10 minutes total Storage Usage Large (includes installer remnants) Compressed and lean Console Access Manual GRUB / serial edits needed Out-of-the-box Telnet/VNC Error Rate High due to manual syntax errors Low; verified by the community ⚠️ Best Practices for Sourcing QEMU Images