Cisco distributes the CSR 1000v in two primary formats:
The OVA includes:
Important: Cisco now requires a Smart License for production use, but the OVA can run in evaluation mode for 90 days. cisco csr1000v ova
Why deploy the CSR1000v OVA instead of a physical router?
Router(config)# ip domain-name example.com
Router(config)# crypto key generate rsa modulus 2048
Router(config)# line vty 0 4
Router(config-line)# transport input ssh
Router(config-line)# login local
Router(config-line)# exit
Router(config)# username admin privilege 15 secret YourSecretPassword
Warning: Downloading an OVA from unofficial sources is illegal and dangerous. Cisco enforces licensing via cryptographically signed tokens. Cisco distributes the CSR 1000v in two primary formats:
The CSR1000v is a virtualized version of Cisco’s enterprise-class IOS XE routing platform. It provides the same features as a physical ISR (Integrated Services Router) or ASR (Aggregation Services Router), but runs as a virtual machine (VM) on commodity x86 hardware.
Use cases include:
Map the OVA’s four interfaces to your port groups:
| OVA Interface | Typical Purpose | vSwitch Port Group | |---------------|----------------|--------------------| | GigabitEthernet1 | Management | Management VLAN | | GigabitEthernet2 | Outside (WAN) | WAN VLAN | | GigabitEthernet3 | Inside (LAN) | LAN VLAN | | GigabitEthernet4 | Optional/DMZ | DMZ VLAN | The OVA includes:
Note: Interface numbering always starts at GigabitEthernet1 in the OVA.
After deploying the OVA, the router is "vanilla." You need to configure it to accept network traffic.