Cisco Nexus 9000v Vagrant box

A procedure for creating a Cisco Nexus 9000v Vagrant box for the libvirt provider.

Prerequisites

• Git
• Python >= 3.8
• Ansible >= 2.11.0
• libvirt with client tools
• QEMU
• Expect
• Telnet
• Vagrant >= 2.2.10, != 2.2.16
• vagrant-libvirt

Steps

0. Verify the prerequisite tools are installed.

$ which git python ansible libvirtd virsh qemu-system-x86_64 expect telnet vagrant
$ vagrant plugin list
vagrant-libvirt (0.9.0, global)

1. Install the ovmf package.

Ubuntu 18.04

$ sudo apt install ovmf

Arch Linux

$ sudo pacman -S edk2-ovmf

2. Log in and download the Cisco Nexus 9000/3000 Virtual Switch for KVM disk image file from your Cisco account. Save the file to your Downloads directory.

3. Copy (and rename) the disk image file to the /var/lib/libvirt/images directory. Use one of the following examples corresponding to the file version you downloaded:

7.0(3)I7(10)

$ sudo cp $HOME/Downloads/nxosv-final.7.0.3.I7.10.qcow2 /var/lib/libvirt/images/cisco-nxosv.qcow2

9300v 9.3(7)

$ sudo cp $HOME/Downloads/nexus9300v.9.3.7.qcow2 /var/lib/libvirt/images/cisco-nxosv.qcow2

9500v64 10.1(2)

$ sudo cp $HOME/Downloads/nexus9500v64.10.1.2.qcow2 /var/lib/libvirt/images/cisco-nxosv.qcow2

9300v64 10.2(3)(F) lite

$ sudo cp $HOME/Downloads/nexus9300v64-lite.10.2.3.F.qcow2 /var/lib/libvirt/images/cisco-nxosv.qcow2

4. Modify the file ownership and permissions. Note the owner may differ between Linux distributions.

Ubuntu 18.04

$ sudo chown libvirt-qemu:kvm /var/lib/libvirt/images/cisco-nxosv.qcow2
$ sudo chmod u+x /var/lib/libvirt/images/cisco-nxosv.qcow2

Arch Linux

$ sudo chown libvirt-qemu:libvirt-qemu /var/lib/libvirt/images/cisco-nxosv.qcow2
$ sudo chmod u+x /var/lib/libvirt/images/cisco-nxosv.qcow2

5. Create the boxes directory.

$ mkdir -p $HOME/boxes

6. Start the vagrant-libvirt network (if not already started).

$ virsh -c qemu:///system net-list
$ virsh -c qemu:///system net-start vagrant-libvirt

7. Clone this GitHub repo and cd into the directory.

$ git clone https://github.com/mweisel/cisco-nxos9kv-vagrant-libvirt
$ cd cisco-nxos9kv-vagrant-libvirt

8. Get the path to your OVMF (x64) firmware image and runtime variables template.

Ubuntu 18.04

$ dpkg -L ovmf | grep -E 'OVMF_(CODE|VARS)\.fd'

Arch Linux

$ pacman -Ql edk2-ovmf | grep -E 'x64/OVMF_(CODE|VARS)\.fd'

9. Modify the OVMF paths.

Ubuntu 18.04

$ vim files/cisco-nxosv.xml

<domain type='kvm'>
  <name>cisco-nxosv</name>
  <memory unit='KiB'>10485760</memory>
  <vcpu placement='static'>2</vcpu>
  <os>
    <type arch='x86_64'>hvm</type>
    <loader readonly='yes' secure='no' type='rom'>/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE.fd</loader>
    <nvram template='/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_VARS.fd'/>
    <boot dev='hd'/>
  </os>
...

$ vim files/create_box.sh

...

  config.vm.provider :libvirt do |domain|
    domain.cpus = 2
    domain.features = ['acpi']
    domain.loader = '/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE.fd'
    domain.memory = 8192
    domain.disk_bus = 'sata'
    domain.disk_device = 'sda'
    domain.disk_driver :cache => 'none'
    domain.nic_model_type = 'e1000'
    domain.graphics_type = 'none'
  end
...

Arch Linux

$ vim files/cisco-nxosv.xml

<domain type='kvm'>
  <name>cisco-nxosv</name>
  <memory unit='KiB'>10485760</memory>
  <vcpu placement='static'>2</vcpu>
  <os>
    <type arch='x86_64'>hvm</type>
    <loader readonly='yes' secure='no' type='rom'>/usr/share/edk2-ovmf/x64/OVMF_CODE.fd</loader>
    <nvram template='/usr/share/edk2-ovmf/x64/OVMF_VARS.fd'/>
    <boot dev='hd'/>
  </os>
...

$ vim files/create_box.sh

...

  config.vm.provider :libvirt do |domain|
    domain.cpus = 2
    domain.features = ['acpi']
    domain.loader = '/usr/share/edk2-ovmf/x64/OVMF_CODE.fd'
    domain.memory = 8192
    domain.disk_bus = 'sata'
    domain.disk_device = 'sda'
    domain.disk_driver :cache => 'none'
    domain.nic_model_type = 'e1000'
    domain.graphics_type = 'none'
  end
...

10. Modify/Verify the variable values in the boot_image.exp script file. Use the following table and examples for guidance:

Disk image	nxos	is_64bit	is_lite
nxosv-final.7.0.3.I7.10.qcow2	7.0.3.I7.10	0	0
nexus9300v.9.3.7.qcow2	9.3.7	0	0
nexus9500v64.10.1.2.qcow2	10.1.2	1	0
nexus9300v64-lite.10.2.3.F.qcow2	10.2.3.F	1	1

$ vim files/boot_image.exp

7.0(3)I7(10)

set timeout 360
set prompt "(>|#) $"
set nxos "7.0.3.I7.10"
set is_64bit 0
set is_lite 0
log_file -noappend "~/nxosv-console.explog"

...

9300v 9.3(7)

set timeout 360
set prompt "(>|#) $"
set nxos "9.3.7"
set is_64bit 0
set is_lite 0
log_file -noappend "~/nxosv-console.explog"

...

9500v64 10.1(2)

set timeout 360
set prompt "(>|#) $"
set nxos "10.1.2"
set is_64bit 1
set is_lite 0
log_file -noappend "~/nxosv-console.explog"

...

9300v64 10.2(3)(F) lite

set timeout 360
set prompt "(>|#) $"
set nxos "10.2.3.F"
set is_64bit 1
set is_lite 1
log_file -noappend "~/nxosv-console.explog"

...

11. Run the Ansible playbook.

$ ansible-playbook main.yml

12. Copy (and rename) the Vagrant box artifact to the boxes directory.

7.0(3)I7(10)

$ cp cisco-nxosv.box $HOME/boxes/cisco-nexus9000v-7.0.3.I7.10.box

9300v 9.3(7)

$ cp cisco-nxosv.box $HOME/boxes/cisco-nexus9300v-9.3.7.box

9500v64 10.1(2)

$ cp cisco-nxosv.box $HOME/boxes/cisco-nexus9500v-10.1.2.box

9300v64 10.2(3)(F) lite

$ cp cisco-nxosv.box $HOME/boxes/cisco-nexus9300v-10.2.3.F-lite.box

13. Copy the box metadata file to the boxes directory.

7.0(3)I7(10)

$ cp ./files/cisco-nexus9000v.json $HOME/boxes/

9300v 9.3(7)

$ cp ./files/cisco-nexus9300v.json $HOME/boxes/

9500v64 10.1(2)

$ cp ./files/cisco-nexus9500v.json $HOME/boxes/

9300v64 10.2(3)(F) lite

$ cp ./files/cisco-nexus9300v-lite.json $HOME/boxes/

14. Change the current working directory to boxes.

$ cd $HOME/boxes

15. Substitute the HOME placeholder string in the box metadata file.

7.0(3)I7(10)

$ awk '/url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9000v.json
"url": "file://HOME/boxes/cisco-nexus9000v-VER.box"

$ sed -i "s|HOME|${HOME}|" cisco-nexus9000v.json

$ awk '/url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9000v.json
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9000v-VER.box"

9300v 9.3(7)

$ awk '/url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9300v.json
"url": "file://HOME/boxes/cisco-nexus9300v-VER.box"

$ sed -i "s|HOME|${HOME}|" cisco-nexus9300v.json

$ awk '/url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9300v.json
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9300v-VER.box"

9500v64 10.1(2)

$ awk '/url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9500v.json
"url": "file://HOME/boxes/cisco-nexus9500v-VER.box"

$ sed -i "s|HOME|${HOME}|" cisco-nexus9500v.json

$ awk '/url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9500v.json
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9500v-VER.box"

9300v64 10.2(3)(F) lite

$ awk '/url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9300v-lite.json
"url": "file://HOME/boxes/cisco-nexus9300v-VER-lite.box"

$ sed -i "s|HOME|${HOME}|" cisco-nexus9300v-lite.json

$ awk '/url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9300v-lite.json
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9300v-VER-lite.box"

16. Also, substitute the VER placeholder string with the Cisco NX-OS version.

7.0(3)I7(10)

$ awk '/VER/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9000v.json
"version": "VER",
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9000v-VER.box"

$ sed -i 's/VER/7.0.3.I7.10/g' cisco-nexus9000v.json

$ awk '/\<version\>|url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9000v.json
"version": "7.0.3.I7.10",
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9000v-7.0.3.I7.10.box"

9300v 9.3(7)

$ awk '/VER/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9300v.json
"version": "VER",
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9300v-VER.box"

$ sed -i 's/VER/9.3.7/g' cisco-nexus9300v.json

$ awk '/\<version\>|url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9300v.json
"version": "9.3.7",
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9300v-9.3.7.box"

9500v64 10.1(2)

$ awk '/VER/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9500v.json
"version": "VER",
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9500v-VER.box"

$ sed -i 's/VER/10.1.2/g' cisco-nexus9500v.json

$ awk '/\<version\>|url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9500v.json
"version": "10.1.2",
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9500v-10.1.2.box"

9300v64 10.2(3)(F) lite

$ awk '/VER/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9300v-lite.json
"version": "VER",
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9300v-VER-lite.box"

$ sed -i 's/VER/10.2.3.F/g' cisco-nexus9300v-lite.json

$ awk '/\<version\>|url/{gsub(/^ */,"");print}' cisco-nexus9300v-lite.json
"version": "10.2.3.F",
"url": "file:///home/marc/boxes/cisco-nexus9300v-10.2.3.F-lite.box"

17. Add the Vagrant box to the local inventory.

7.0(3)I7(10)

$ vagrant box add --box-version 7.0.3.I7.10 cisco-nexus9000v.json

9300v 9.3(7)

$ vagrant box add --box-version 9.3.7 cisco-nexus9300v.json

9500v64 10.1(2)

$ vagrant box add --box-version 10.1.2 cisco-nexus9500v.json

9300v64 10.2(3)(F) lite

$ vagrant box add --box-version 10.2.3.F cisco-nexus9300v-lite.json

Debug

View the telnet session output for the expect task:

$ tail -f ~/nxosv-console.explog

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details