The .bin file extension is used for a variety of Cisco software, and knowing exactly what you have is the first and most critical step. You cannot simply use qemu-img convert on a random Cisco .bin file and expect a working virtual machine. The process depends entirely on the file's origin and architecture.
If it says data or x86 boot sector , it might already be a disk image. More often, it will be a compressed archive.
cp /path/to/$IMAGE_NAME /mnt/boot/ cat > /mnt/boot/extlinux.conf << EOF DEFAULT cisco LABEL cisco KERNEL /boot/$IMAGE_NAME APPEND console=ttyS0,9600n8 EOF convert cisco bin to qcow2
First, check if the .bin is a plain binary or an installer:
-f raw : Specifies the source format (force detection as a raw disk image). If your source file came from a VMware package and ends in .vmdk , change this to -f vmdk . -O qcow2 : Specifies the desired output format (QCOW2). vios-image.img : The path to your extracted source file. If it says data or x86 boot sector
qemu-img create -f qcow2 "$QCOW2_FILE" "$DISK_SIZE"
Physical BIN files are compressed. You must uncompress them using a tool like unzip or standard extraction utilities, as Dynamips executes the raw image. If your source file came from a VMware package and ends in
Alternatively, use iol or dynamips converters, but those target .qcow2 directly.
To peek inside:
Name your node and allocate the required RAM and CPU architectures.
Disclaimer: Ensure you have the proper licenses from Cisco Systems to use and run their virtual software images.
