Preparing To Download Or Upload An Image File By Using Rcp - Cisco IE-4000 Software Configuration Manual

Working with the Cisco IOS File System, Configuration Files, and Software Images
Working with Software Images
You download a switch image file from a server to upgrade the switch software. You can overwrite the current image with
the new one or keep the current image after a download.
You upload a switch image file to a server for backup purposes. You can use this uploaded image for future downloads
to the same switch or another of the same type.
Note: Instead of using the copy privileged EXEC command or the archive tar privileged EXEC command, we recommend
using the archive download-sw and archive upload-sw privileged EXEC commands to download and upload software
image files.

Preparing to Download or Upload an Image File By Using RCP

RCP provides another method of downloading and uploading image files between remote hosts and the switch. Unlike
TFTP, which uses User Datagram Protocol (UDP), a connectionless protocol, RCP uses TCP, which is
connection-oriented.
To use RCP to copy files, the server from or to which you will be copying files must support RCP. The RCP copy
commands rely on the rsh server (or daemon) on the remote system. To copy files by using RCP, you do not need to
create a server for file distribution as you do with TFTP. You only need to have access to a server that supports the remote
shell (rsh). (Most UNIX systems support rsh.) Because you are copying a file from one place to another, you must have
read permission on the source file and write permission on the destination file. If the destination file does not exist, RCP
creates it for you.
RCP requires a client to send a remote username on each RCP request to a server. When you copy an image from the
switch to a server by using RCP, the Cisco IOS software sends the first valid username in this list:

The username specified in the archive download-sw or archive upload-sw privileged EXEC command if a
username is specified.

The username set by the ip rcmd remote-username username global configuration command if the command is
entered.

The remote username associated with the current TTY (terminal) process. For example, if the user is connected to
the router through Telnet and was authenticated through the username command, the switch software sends the
Telnet username as the remote username.

The switch hostname.
For the RCP copy request to execute successfully, an account must be defined on the network server for the remote
username. If the server has a directory structure, the image file is written to or copied from the directory associated with
the remote username on the server. For example, if the image file resides in the home directory of a user on the server,
specify that user's name as the remote username.
Before you begin downloading or uploading an image file by using RCP, do these tasks:

Ensure that the workstation acting as the RCP server supports the remote shell (rsh).

Ensure that the switch has a route to the RCP server. The switch and the server must be in the same subnetwork if
you do not have a router to route traffic between subnets. Check connectivity to the RCP server by using the ping
command.

If you are accessing the switch through the console or a Telnet session and you do not have a valid username, make
sure that the current RCP username is the one that you want to use for the RCP download. You can enter the show
users privileged EXEC command to view the valid username. If you do not want to use this username, create a new
RCP username by using the ip rcmd remote-username username global configuration command to be used during
all archive operations. The new username is stored in NVRAM. If you are accessing the switch through a Telnet
session and you have a valid username, this username is used, and there is no need to set the RCP username. Include
the username in the archive download-sw or archive upload-sw privileged EXEC command if you want to specify
a username only for that operation.
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