This image, which is the QEMU Copy On Write (qcow2) format, allows organizations to deploy the full-featured Palo Alto Networks firewall within Linux-based virtualization environments, such as , Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) , OpenStack , or Ubuntu KVM .
qm create $VM_ID --name $VM_NAME --agent enabled=1 --machine q35 --bios seabios --cpu x86-64-v2-AES --cores 2 --memory $VM_MEMORY --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0,tag=10 --net1 virtio,bridge=vmbr0,tag=20
To use the PA-VM-KVM-10.1.0.qcow2 file, you'll need to have a KVM hypervisor installed on your host machine. Here are the general steps:
Run the following command to create and start the virtual machine. Replace the bridge names ( br-mgmt , br-untrust , br-trust ) with your actual KVM network bridge configurations. pa-vm-kvm-10.1.0.qcow2
Gaining official access as a student or for a personal lab project is difficult. A Palo Alto Networks community manager advised: "...keep in mind that I absolutely would recommend that you search for the file and validate via GNS3's correct MD5 hash to ensure it hasn't been tampered with. Nope that would be a terrible idea...". This is a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment that the file is widely shared within the simulation and lab community. If obtained from unofficial sources, you must verify its integrity using the official MD5 checksum: 8266fd412a22694749f2cd4afcd5fa33 .
This command creates the VM shell with two virtual network interfaces.
Why would someone want this file? The answer lies in the environments where it's used. This image, which is the QEMU Copy On
: Represents PAN-OS software version 10.1.0, which introduced various enhancements in decryption, credential phishing prevention, and simplified management.
This version introduced several management and security enhancements: PA-VM - GNS3
Understanding the naming convention and format of the image file helps prevent deployment errors. : Indicates the VM-Series virtual firewall platform. Replace the bridge names ( br-mgmt , br-untrust
The PA-VM-KVM-10.1.0.qcow2 file has several use cases:
Scaling up my virtual lab with Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 10.1! 🛡️
Indicates it is optimized for the Kernel-based Virtual Machine hypervisor.