2-1
2 TFTP Configuration

Introduction to TFTP

Compared with FTP, TFTP (trivial file transfer protocol) features simple interactive access interface and
no authentication control. Therefore, TFTP is applicable in the networks where client-server interactions
are relatively simple. TFTP is implemented based on UDP. It transfers data through UDP port 69. Basic
TFTP operations are described in RFC 1986.
TFTP transmission is initiated by clients, as described in the following:
z To download a file, a client sends Read Request packets to the TFTP server, then receives data
from the TFTP server, and sends acknowledgement packets to the TFTP server.
z To upload a file, a client sends Write Request packets to the TFTP server, then sends data to the
TFTP server, and receives acknowledgement packets from the TFTP server.
The device can act as a TFTP client only.
When you download a file that is larger than the free space of the device’s flash memory:
z If the TFTP server supports file size negotiation, file size negotiation will be initiated between the
device and the server and the file download operation will be aborted if the free space of the
device’s flash memory is found to be insufficient.
z If the TFTP server does not support file size negotiation, the device will receive data from the
server until the flash memory is full. If there is more data to be downloaded, the device will prompt
that the space is insufficient and delete the data partially downloaded. File download fails.
TFTP-based file transmission can be performed in the following modes:
z Binary mode for program file transfer.
z ASCII mode for text file transfer.
Before performing TFTP-related configurations, you need to configure IP addresses for the TFTP client
and the TFTP server, and make sure a route exists between the two.

TFTP Configuration

Complete the following tasks to configure TFTP:
Task Remarks
Basic configurations on a TFTP client
TFTP Configuration: The
Device Operating as a TFTP
Client Specifying the source interface or source
IP address for an FTP client Optional