, a virtualized version of the Catalyst 9000 series switch running Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.1
The identifier cat9kv-prd-17.12.01-prd9.qcow2 refers to a specific virtual disk image for the Cisco Catalyst 9000v (Cat9kv) virtual switch, running Cisco IOS XE version cat9kvprd171201prd9qcow2 best
The keyword refers to a specific virtual machine image for the Cisco Catalyst 9000v (Cat9kv) virtual switch. Running on the Cisco IOS XE Dublin 17.12.1 software, this image is widely considered the "best" choice for modern network labs because it is an Extended Maintenance Release (EMR) , offering a long support lifecycle and a highly stable feature set for virtualization environments like EVE-NG , GNS3 , and Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) . Why 17.12.1 is the Optimal Choice for Network Labs , a virtualized version of the Catalyst 9000