Using TFTP on a PC to Download
WAN Switch Software and Firmware

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Requirements
Preliminary Setup
Initiating the TFTP
Common Errors
Notes on Other TFTP Programs
Related Information

Introduction

This document describes how to use Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) on a PC to install Cisco StrataCom software and firmware.

Requirements

• TFTP Server Software
  Download free Cisco TFTP server software.
  
  
• TFTP Client Software
  Download shareware Walusoft TFTP client software.
  • Note: There have been problems reported using the Weird Solutions client to TFTP MGX AXIS Shelf Controller (ASC) bootcode.
    
    
• dnld.fw and dnld.sw Template Files
  The steps in the Preliminary Setup section below explain how to create these files. The native format of the templates is UNIX, but NotePad or WordPad may be used. Download the shareware editor DwEdit to easily convert to and from DOS and UNIX text formats.
  
  
• Switch software 8.4 or later that supports TFTP

Preliminary Setup

This section provides sample directory layouts and program settings. It also includes tips on path name settings in the dnld files. These examples reference the Cisco TFTP server and the Weird Solutions TFTP client, but the same principles can be used with other vendor software. It is assumed that the TFTP client and server are already installed.

1. Create one or more directories from which the firmware and software images will be loaded. In this example, the c:\images\ipxbpx and c:\images\mgx directories will be used. These directories somewhat mirror the svplus images directories, but this is not required.
2. Run the Cisco TFTP server. Select Options, then Server Root Directory, and browse to the c:\images directory. This is the directory from which the path name in the dnld files will be referenced (c:\images\ipxbpx could also be used, in which case the PathName in the dnld files would be a slash (/) or a period (.)).
   • Note: Most users prefer to set the Server Root to the directory where the firmware and software is contained and use a slash (/) or a period (.) as the PathName. For this example, to illustrate how the PathName is relative to the Server Root, the Server Root is set to the c:\images directory and the firmware and software is in the c:\images\ipxbpx directory.

3. Format the dnld files. You may use either UNIX or DOS/Windows:
   1. Creating the dnld files in UNIX:

      Create the dnld.fw and/or dnld.sw files on a UNIX machine using vi/textedit/dtpad (or create them with a UNIX-capable editor such as DwEdit). The file format is illustrated in the table below. These files are in UNIX text format which means the line terminator is a new-line/line-feed (0A) character. DOS and Windows text files use carriage-return, linefeed pair (0D0A). Currently, WAN switches do not accept dnld files with DOS or Windows line terminators. FTP the files from a UNIX machine to a PC. Ensure the transfer is in binary mode. If DwEdit was used, select Edit -> Conversions -> Windows -> UNIX (each line will appear on one line with black blocks between them). If these files are edited on a PC, they must be edited with WordPad. WordPad retains the original line terminators that were loaded when the file was read; however, I have not found a way to make it read a DOS-style file and write a UNIX-style file. Notepad always writes in DOS/Windows style.

      An easy way to determine the style of the file is to load the file in Notepad (the original Windows version, not Notepad+). If the fields appear normal, the file is in DOS/Windows style. If the fields are all on one line with blocks between them, the file is in UNIX style. Exit Notepad without saving. If the file is translated to DOS/Windows style, FTP it again and edit it, or convert it with a utility like DwEdit.

      Examples of dnld Files in UNIX Format

      dnld.fw	dnld.sw
      Tftp_Request IP: 161.44.116.53 PathName: /ipxbpx CardName: ASI-155 RevNum: WDK FileName: wdk	Tftp_Request IP: 161.44.116.53 PathName: /ipxbpx RevNum: 9102 Filename: 9102B

   2. Creating the dnld files in DOS/Windows:

      If templates of the UNIX dnld files or a UNIX-style editor is not available, the dnld files can be edited and created with a regular Windows editor such as Notepad In this case, to avoid the new-line/linefeed problem described above, all the fields must be on a single line separated by spaces.

      Examples of dnld Files in DOS/Windows Format

      dnld.fw
      Tftp_Request IP: 171.68.44.9 PathName: . CardName: ASI-155 RevNum: WDK Filename: wdk
      dnld.sw
      Tftp_Request IP: 171.68.44.9 PathName: . RevNum: 9108 Filename: 9108B

      
      
   • Notes:
     • Avoid entering any spaces after the Filename entry. It will prevent the files from downloading.
     • Insert a space at the end of the single line of text. This will allow the device to recognize the end of line.
     • To easily choose Windows editors, create shortcuts to the various editors in the \Windows\SendTo directory. Right-click the file name, select Send To, and select the editor. Or, press the Shift key while right-clicking the file name and select Open With.
       
       

4. Save the dnld files created/FTPed above in the c:\images directory. When saving the file in WordPad, be sure to select Text Document as the file type. To prevent the editor (any Windows editor) from appending .txt to the file name, surround the file name with quote marks ("). For example, in the file name field of the Save As dialog box, enter "dnld.sw" when saving. These files will be the "master" template files (this is recommended because if you are working with UNIX format files and accidentally save them as DOS, Word, or RTF format, you will still have good master copies). Make a copy of the template files from the c:\images directory into the c:\images\ipxbpx directory. These files will be the "working" files.
5. Edit the "working" dnld.fw and/or dnld.sw file(s) in the c:\images\ipxbpx directory. If the UNIX template files are used as detailed above, you must use WordPad. Enter the following information in the appropriate fields:

   Field	Comments
   IP	Enter the IP address of the PC. If using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), run the Windows 95 winipcfg utility 95 or the Windows NT ipconfig utility to find the IP address.
   PathName	Enter /ipxbpx if the server root is set for c:\images. If the server root is c:\images\ipxbpx, enter a slash (/) or a period (.). Use forward slashes (/) in path names (the back slash (\) is not supported in all SWSW revisions).
   CardName	For the dnld.fw file, enter the card name that would be used in the getfwrev command (from dspcds).
   RevNum	Enter the revision (for example, WDK for firmware and 9108 for software).
   Filename	Enter the identifier portion of the files (for example, wdk for firmware and 9108B for BPX software).

6. Save the file(s). When saving the file in WordPad, be sure to select Text Document as the file type. Again, to prevent the editor (any Windows editor) from appending .txt to the file name, surround the file name with quote marks ("). For example, in the file name field of the Save As dialog box, enter "dnld.sw" when saving.
7. Log in to the desired destination node and enter the cnffwswinit command followed by the IP address of the PC (if using DHCP, run the winipcfg utility to find the IP address).
   • Note: If the network uses WAN Manager/SV+, be sure to set the IP address back to the WAN Manager/SV+ workstation IP address when you are finished; otherwise, the workstation will not be able to TFTP firmware or software.

Initiating the TFTP

This section describes how to initiate the transfer after all of the preliminary setup steps have been completed.

1. Run the Weird Solutions TFTP client.
2. Set the option buttons to Put and Binary (ASCII will not work).
3. In the Source file field, enter c:\images\ipxbpx\dnld.fw or c:\images\ipxbpx\dnld.sw (assuming you are using the directory structure used in this example).
4. In the Destination file field, enter dnld.fw or dnld.sw.
5. In the Remote host field, enter the Name or IP address of the switch. If using the Name, it must be resolvable by DNS, or the appropriate Name-to-IP address mapping must be in the \Windows\hosts file. The \Windows\hosts file may or may not exist on the PC. Create it if necessary (do not use the lmhosts or hosts.sam (sample) files). On Windows NT, the hosts file is located in the \Winnt\system32\drivers\etc directory.
6. No entries are necessary in the Blocksize and Timeout fields. They will default to 512 and 3, respectively.
7. Run the Cisco TFTP server if it is not already running. Select Options, then Server Root Directory, and browse to the c:\images directory.
8. Click the Put button. The transfer should complete with no errors. If you receive a timeout, check that the node is reachable by pinging the Name or IP address entered in the Remote Host field above. If errors are received, see the list of common errors below.
9. View the TFTP server status window and/or the node dspdnld and dspfwrev screens. After a short delay, the files should begin transferring. If not, verify that the IP address of the PC is in the dnld file that was transferred to the node.

Common Errors

This section describes some common errors which may be seen when using the TFTP client.

Notes on Other TFTP Programs

This section describes some additional caveats when using other versions of TFTP client/server software.

Network TeleSystems TFTP Server

• File name mapping must be set to Default (not Cisco).
• Use a period (.) instead of a slash (/) to specify the server root.
• Be sure to set No restriction or Allow Read on the server root directory.

Related Information

More WAN Switching Products Tips
Product Information for Cisco WAN Solutions
Saving and Restoring Configurations on IPX, IGX, and BPX Nodes
Using the savecnf and loadcnf Commands in StrataView Plus
Downloading Software and Firmware for 9.2 Networks
Saving and Restoring Node Configurations for 9.2 Networks
Save and Restore Configuration Commands for 9.2 Networks

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