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Catalyst 2950 Desktop Switch Software Configuration Guide
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Appendix B Working with the IOS File System , Configura tion Files, an d Software Ima g es
Working w ith Configuration Files
This example shows how to store a startup configuration file on a server by using FTP to copy the file:
Switch# configure terminal
Switch(config)# ip ftp username netadmin2
Switch(config)# ip ftp password mypass
Switch(config)# end
Switch# copy nvram:startup-config ftp:
Remote host[]? 172.16.101.101
Name of configuration file to write [switch2-confg]?
Write file switch2-confg on host 172.16.101.101?[confirm]
![OK]

Copying Configuration Files By Using RCP

The Re mote C opy Pr otoc ol ( RCP) provide s ano t her m eth od of download ing, up load ing, a nd c opying
configurati on files be tween r emot e ho sts a nd the swi tch . Un like TF TP, whi ch us es U ser D a tagram
Protocol (UDP), a connectionless protocol, RCP uses TCP, which is connection-oriented.
To use R CP to copy files, the server from or to which y ou will be c opying files must support RCP. The
RCP copy comman ds rely on th e rsh server (or daemo n) on the rem ote system. To copy files by using
RCP, you do not need to create a server for f ile distribution as you do with TFTP. You only need to have
access to a server that supp orts the re mote shel l (rsh). (M ost UNIX system s support rsh.) Beca use 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.
The RCP requires a client to send a remote username with each RCP request to a server. When you copy
a configuration fil e fro m the switc h to a ser ver, the Cisco I OS softw a re send s the first val id us ern am e in
this list:
•The username specified in the copy command if a username is specified.
•The username set by the ip rcmd remote-username username global conf igur ation comm and if th e
comm an d is co nfigur ed .
•The r emot e use rn am e as so ci at ed wit h th e curr ent T TY ( te r mina l) proc es s . For ex am ple, if t h e u ser
is connected to the router through Telnet and was authenticated through the username command,
the switch software sends the Telnet userna me as the remote userna me.
•The switc h host name.
For a suc cessf ul R CP c opy re quest , you m ust define a n acc oun t on the net work s erver f or the re mot e
username. If the server has a directory structure, the configuration file is written to or copied from the
directory associated with the remote username on the server. For example, if the configuration file is in
the home directory of a user on the server, specify that user's name as the remote username.
This section includes this information:
•Preparing to Download or Upload a Configuration File By Using RCP, page B-17
•Downloading a Configuration Fi le By Using RCP, page B-17
•Uploading a Configuration File By Usin g RCP, pa ge B-18