Don’t download fresh for every lab rebuild. Create an offline SMB/NFS share:
# On your EVE-NG server
mkdir /opt/unetlab/repo
# Symbolic link to active QEMU folder
ln -s /opt/unetlab/repo/cisco-iosv-17.13.01 /opt/unetlab/addons/qemu/
Now you only need to fixpermissions once per repo update.
Conclusion
Downloading and updating EVE-NG images has evolved. The days of hunting broken Google Drive links are over. By using CML/Cisco Modelling Labs as your source, leveraging community updater scripts, and strictly following the virtioa.qcow2 naming convention, you can maintain a production-grade virtual lab that mirrors real-world network stacks. Download Eve-ng Images -UPD-
Next Read: How to Optimize EVE-NG for 50+ Concurrent Nodes using ZFS and LZ4 Compression.
Have an image source we missed? Join the EVE-NG Professionals Slack channel to contribute.
After uploading any image, always run:
/opt/unetlab/wrappers/unl_wrapper -a fixpermissions
Test node creation:
Common fixes:
hda.qcow2 file into this folder.Before you start downloading images, ensure your EVE-NG server is ready: Don’t download fresh for every lab rebuild
Assuming you have successfully downloaded your images from the sources above, here is the updated method to get them into EVE-NG (Community or Professional).
Before we dive into the download process, it is crucial to understand a legal reality: EVE-NG does not provide proprietary images.
The EVE-NG team provides the emulator (the sandbox). You must provide the sand. The images (IOS, IOS-XE, NX-OS, vEOS, vSRX) are copyrighted by their respective vendors. Consequently, when you look for "EVE-NG images download," you are looking for files that legally require a support contract or a trial account with the manufacturer. Now you only need to fixpermissions once per repo update
The good news: Updated workflows in 2026 have made this significantly easier than in 2020. Vendors now offer free trial periods for virtual images.