If you need a packet filtering setup for control plane access or a VXLAN EVPN configuration example using this image, just ask.
vqfx202r110reqemuqcow2 (often formatted as vqfx-20.2R1.10-re-qemu.qcow2) is a virtual disk image file used to run the Routing Engine (RE) of a Juniper Networks vQFX virtual switch. 🛠️ File Overview Virtual Appliance: Juniper vQFX (Virtual QFX 10000).
Switch Role: Routing Engine (RE). Controls the software and control plane.
Junos OS Version: 20.2R1.10 (Release 20.2, Maintenance Release 1, Spin 10). Hypervisor Format: QEMU Copy-On-Write version 2 (.qcow2). 🏗️ Architecture & Requirements
To emulate a physical Juniper switch, the vQFX architecture requires two separate virtual machines linked together: vqfx202r110reqemuqcow2
Routing Engine (RE): Handled by this vqfx-20.2R1.10-re-qemu.qcow2 image. It runs the Junos OS control plane.
Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE): Handled by a separate image (e.g., vqfx-20.2R1-pfe-qemu.qcow2). It runs the data plane simulation. 💡 Baseline Deployment Specifications
According to official deployment registries like the GNS3 Registry: RAM: 1024 MB. vCPUs: 2. Disk Interface: IDE.
Network Adapters: Typically requires up to 12 adapters (mapping to management and switch ports). ⚠️ Known Behaviors & Gotchas If you need a packet filtering setup for
Software Version Discrepancy: The public evaluation files labeled 20.2 on the Juniper Download Portal have historically been reported to actually boot up as Junos 19.4R1.10 once loaded.
Safe Shutdowns: Because Junos OS runs a live FreeBSD-based file system, clicking "Stop" abruptly in your lab hypervisor can corrupt the image. Always shut it down gracefully from the CLI using request system power-off. 🔌 Supported Lab Platforms
This specific .qcow2 image is widely supported across network simulation environments: Guide: Importing Juniper vMX and vQFX into CML2.4
The vQFX image attempts to mimic the hardware QFX5100/5110/5200 series as closely as possible. Juniper Networks’ vQFX is the virtualized version of
| Problem | Solution |
|---------|----------|
| Boot loops / kernel panic | Increase RAM to 4GB+, ensure CPU has VT-x |
| No console output | Add console=ttyS0 to kernel args (advanced) |
| SSH fails after commit | Check show system services – ensure ssh is present |
| Interface ge-0/0/0 missing | Use model=virtio and PCI slot ≥ 0x06 |
| Slow performance | Enable KVM hardware acceleration: --virt-type kvm |
Juniper Networks’ vQFX is the virtualized version of the QFX Series switches, which are top-of-rack and spine switches used in data center fabrics. vQFX allows network engineers and DevOps teams to run QFX software in a virtual machine (VM) for:
vQFX typically runs on KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) or VMware.
