How to backup IOS images from Autonomous Access Points

Rajesh Premachandran · ‎07-02-2009

Introduction
Backup an IOS image using TFTP
Backup an IOS image using FTP
Backup an IOS image using RCP
Preparing to Download or Upload an Image File by Using TFTP
Reference

Introduction

You can backup the IOS image on the access point using TFTP, FTP, or a RCP server. You can use this uploaded image for future downloads to the same access point or another of the same type. The protocol you use depends on which type of server you are using. The FTP and RCP transport mechanisms provide faster performance and more reliable delivery of data than TFTP. These improvements are possible because FTP and RCP are built on and use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) stack, which is connection-oriented.

The next section discusses the steps involved in performing the backup using the different methods.

Backup an IOS image using TFTP

Complete these steps to backup the IOS image on an Autonomous Access Point to a TFTP server.

Step 1: Ensure the TFTP server is properly configured. Ensure that the access point has a route to the TFTP server. The access point and the TFTP server must be in the same subnetwork if you do not have a router to route traffic between subnets. Check connectivity to the TFTP server by using the ping command. Ensure that the image to be downloaded is in the correct directory on the TFTP server.

There are many freeware TFTP servers on the internet. Cisco recommends the shareware TFTP utility available at http://tftpd32.jounin.net

Step 2: Log into the access point through a Telnet session.

Step 3: Execute the following command from the privileged EXEC mode.

archive upload-sw tftp:[[//location]/directory]/image-name.tar

For //location, specify the IP address of the TFTP server.

For /directory/image-name.tar, specify the directory (optional) and the name of the software image to be uploaded. Directory and image names are case sensitive. The image-name.tar is the name of the software image to be stored on the server.

The archive upload-sw privileged EXEC command builds an image file on the server by uploading these files in order: info, the Cisco IOS image, the HTML files, and info.ver. After these files are uploaded, the upload algorithm creates the tar file format.

Backup an IOS image using FTP

The FTP protocol requires a client to send a remote username and password on each FTP request to a server. When you copy an image file from the access point to a server by using FTP, the Cisco IOS software sends the first valid username in this list.

The upload feature is available only if the HTML pages associated with the Cluster Management Suite (CMS) have been installed with the existing image.

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, complete these steps in order to backup the IOS image on an Autonomous Access Point to a TFTP server.

Step 1: Verify that the FTP server is properly configured.

Step 2: Log into the access point through a Telnet session.

Step 3: Enter global configuration mode. This step is required only if you override the default remote username or password (see Steps 4, 5, and 6).

configure terminal

Step 4: The username and password must be associated with an account on the FTP server. If you are writing to the server, the FTP server must be properly configured to accept the FTP write request from you.

Use the ip ftp username and ip ftp password commands to specify a username and password for all copies. 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. To configure the username for the FTP session, enter the following command.

ip ftp username username

Step 5: To configure the password for the FTP session, enter the following command.

ip ftp password password

Step 6: Execute the following command to backup the IOS image to the FTP server.

archive upload-sw ftp:[[//[username[:password]@]location]/directory]/image-name.tar

For //username:password, specify the username and password. These must be associated with an account on the FTP server.

For @location, specify the IP address of the FTP server.

For /directory/image-name.tar, specify the directory (optional) and the name of the software image to be uploaded. Directory and image names are case sensitive. The image-name.tar is the name of the software image to be stored on the server.

The archive upload-sw command builds an image file on the server by uploading these files in order: info, the Cisco IOS image, the HTML files, and info.ver. After these files are uploaded, the upload algorithm creates the tar file format.

Backup an IOS image using RCP

RCP provides another method of downloading and uploading image files between remote hosts and the access point. Unlike TFTP, which uses User Datagram Protocol (UDP), a connectionless protocol, RCP uses TCP, which is connection-oriented.

The upload feature is available only if the HTML pages associated with the Cluster Management Suite (CMS) have been installed with the existing image.

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, complete these steps in order to backup the IOS image on an Autonomous Access Point to a RCP server:

Step 1: Verify that the RCP server is properly configured

Step 2: Log into the access point through a Telnet session.

Step 3: Enter global configuration mode. This step is required only if you override the default remote username (see Steps 4 and 5). configure terminal

Step 4: Specify the remote username.

ip rcmd remote-username username

Step 5: Execute the following command to backup the IOS image to the RCP server.

archive upload-sw rcp:[[[//[username@]location]/directory]/image-name.tar]

For //username, specify the username; for the RCP copy request to execute, an account must be defined on the network server for the remote username.

For @location, specify the IP address of the RCP server.

For /directory]/image-name.tar, specify the directory (optional) and the name of the software image to be uploaded. Directory and image names are case sensitive.

The image-name.tar is the name of software image to be stored on the server.

The archive upload-sw privileged EXEC command builds an image file on the server by uploading these files in order: info, the Cisco IOS image, the HTML files, and info.ver. After these files are uploaded, the upload algorithm creates the tar file format.

Preparing to Download or Upload an Image File by Using TFTP

Before you begin downloading or uploading an image file by using TFTP, perform these tasks:

•Ensure that the workstation acting as the TFTP server is properly configured. On a Sun workstation, make sure that the /etc/inetd.conf file contains this line:

 tftp dgram udp wait root /usr/etc/in.tftpd in.tftpd -p -s /tftpboot

Make sure that the /etc/services file contains this line:

 tftp 69/udp

Note
You must restart the inetd daemon after modifying the /etc/inetd.conf and /etc/services files. To restart the daemon, either stop the inetd process and restart it, or enter a fastboot command (on the SunOS 4.x) or a reboot command (on Solaris 2.x or SunOS 5.x). For more information on the TFTP daemon, refer to the documentation for your workstation.

Ensure that the access point has a route to the TFTP server. The access point and the TFTP server must be in the same subnetwork if you do not have a router to route traffic between subnets. Check connectivity to the TFTP server by using the ping command.
Ensure that the image to be downloaded is in the correct directory on the TFTP server (usually /tftpboot on a UNIX workstation).
For download operations, ensure that the permissions on the file are set correctly. The permission on the file should be world-read.
Before uploading the image file, you might need to create an empty file on the TFTP server. To create an empty file, enter the touch filename command, where filename is the name of the file you will use when uploading the image to the server.
During upload operations, if you are overwriting an existing file (including an empty file, if you had to create one) on the server, ensure that the permissions on the file are set correctly. Permissions on the file should be world-write.

Reference

Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Aironet Access Points - Managing Firmware and Configurations

Amit Sangwan · ‎01-06-2019

@Rajesh Premachandran wrote:
Introduction
Backup an IOS image using TFTP
Backup an IOS image using FTP
Backup an IOS image using RCP
Preparing to Download or Upload an Image File by Using TFTP
Reference

Introduction
You can backup the IOS image on the access point using TFTP, FTP, or a RCP server. You can use this uploaded image for future downloads to the same access point or another of the same type. The protocol you use depends on which type of server you are using. The FTP and RCP transport mechanisms provide faster performance and more reliable delivery of data than TFTP. These improvements are possible because FTP and RCP are built on and use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) stack, which is connection-oriented.
The next section discusses the steps involved in performing the backup using the different methods.
Backup an IOS image using TFTP
Complete these steps to backup the IOS image on an Autonomous Access Point to a TFTP server.
Step 1: Ensure the TFTP server is properly configured. Ensure that the access point has a route to the TFTP server. The access point and the TFTP server must be in the same subnetwork if you do not have a router to route traffic between subnets. Check connectivity to the TFTP server by using the ping command. Ensure that the image to be downloaded is in the correct directory on the TFTP server.
There are many freeware TFTP servers on the internet. Cisco recommends the shareware TFTP utility available at http://tftpd32.jounin.net
Step 2: Log into the access point through a Telnet session.
Step 3: Execute the following command from the privileged EXEC mode.
archive upload-sw tftp:[[//location]/directory]/image-name.tar
For //location, specify the IP address of the TFTP server.
For /directory/image-name.tar, specify the directory (optional) and the name of the software image to be uploaded. Directory and image names are case sensitive. The image-name.tar is the name of the software image to be stored on the server.
The archive upload-sw privileged EXEC command builds an image file on the server by uploading these files in order: info, the Cisco IOS image, the HTML files, and info.ver. After these files are uploaded, the upload algorithm creates the tar file format.
Backup an IOS image using FTP
The FTP protocol requires a client to send a remote username and password on each FTP request to a server. When you copy an image file from the access point to a server by using FTP, the Cisco IOS software sends the first valid username in this list.
The upload feature is available only if the HTML pages associated with the Cluster Management Suite (CMS) have been installed with the existing image.
Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, complete these steps in order to backup the IOS image on an Autonomous Access Point to a TFTP server.
Step 1: Verify that the FTP server is properly configured.
Step 2: Log into the access point through a Telnet session.
Step 3: Enter global configuration mode. This step is required only if you override the default remote username or password (see Steps 4, 5, and 6).
configure terminal
Step 4: The username and password must be associated with an account on the FTP server. If you are writing to the server, the FTP server must be properly configured to accept the FTP write request from you.
Use the ip ftp username and ip ftp password commands to specify a username and password for all copies. 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. To configure the username for the FTP session, enter the following command.
ip ftp username username
Step 5: To configure the password for the FTP session, enter the following command.
ip ftp password password
Step 6: Execute the following command to backup the IOS image to the FTP server.
archive upload-sw ftp:[[//[username[:password]@]location]/directory]/image-name.tar
For //username:password, specify the username and password. These must be associated with an account on the FTP server.
For @location, specify the IP address of the FTP server.
For /directory/image-name.tar, specify the directory (optional) and the name of the software image to be uploaded. Directory and image names are case sensitive. The image-name.tar is the name of the software image to be stored on the server.
The archive upload-sw command builds an image file on the server by uploading these files in order: info, the Cisco IOS image, the HTML files, and info.ver. After these files are uploaded, the upload algorithm creates the tar file format.
Backup an IOS image using RCP
RCP provides another method of downloading and uploading image files between remote hosts and the access point. Unlike TFTP, which uses User Datagram Protocol (UDP), a connectionless protocol, RCP uses TCP, which is connection-oriented.
The upload feature is available only if the HTML pages associated with the Cluster Management Suite (CMS) have been installed with the existing image.
Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, complete these steps in order to backup the IOS image on an Autonomous Access Point to a RCP server:
Step 1: Verify that the RCP server is properly configured
Step 2: Log into the access point through a Telnet session.
Step 3: Enter global configuration mode. This step is required only if you override the default remote username (see Steps 4 and 5). configure terminal
Step 4: Specify the remote username.
ip rcmd remote-username username
Step 5: Execute the following command to backup the IOS image to the RCP server.
archive upload-sw rcp:[[[//[username@]location]/directory]/image-name.tar]
For //username, specify the username; for the RCP copy request to execute, an account must be defined on the network server for the remote username.
For @location, specify the IP address of the RCP server.
For /directory]/image-name.tar, specify the directory (optional) and the name of the software image to be uploaded. Directory and image names are case sensitive.
The image-name.tar is the name of software image to be stored on the server.
The archive upload-sw privileged EXEC command builds an image file on the server by uploading these files in order: info, the Cisco IOS image, the HTML files, and info.ver. After these files are uploaded, the upload algorithm creates the tar file format.
Preparing to Download or Upload an Image File by Using TFTP
Before you begin downloading or uploading an image file by using TFTP, perform these tasks:
•Ensure that the workstation acting as the TFTP server is properly configured. On a Sun workstation, make sure that the /etc/inetd.conf file contains this line:
 tftp dgram udp wait root /usr/etc/in.tftpd in.tftpd -p -s /tftpboot
Make sure that the /etc/services file contains this line:
 tftp 69/udp
Note
You must restart the inetd daemon after modifying the /etc/inetd.conf and /etc/services files. To restart the daemon, either stop the inetd process and restart it, or enter a fastboot command (on the SunOS 4.x) or a reboot command (on Solaris 2.x or SunOS 5.x). For more information on the TFTP daemon, refer to the documentation for your workstation.
Ensure that the access point has a route to the TFTP server. The access point and the TFTP server must be in the same subnetwork if you do not have a router to route traffic between subnets. Check connectivity to the TFTP server by using the ping command.
Ensure that the image to be downloaded is in the correct directory on the TFTP server (usually /tftpboot on a UNIX workstation).
For download operations, ensure that the permissions on the file are set correctly. The permission on the file should be world-read.
Before uploading the image file, you might need to create an empty file on the TFTP server. To create an empty file, enter the touch filename command, where filename is the name of the file you will use when uploading the image to the server.
During upload operations, if you are overwriting an existing file (including an empty file, if you had to create one) on the server, ensure that the permissions on the file are set correctly. Permissions on the file should be world-write.
Reference
Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Aironet Access Points - Managing Firmware and Configurations

Sir,

i want backup my ios file of autonomous ap 1852i using tftp. i followed your given procedure, i got stuck in 3rd Step,

archive upload-sw this command not working.

Thanks in Advance

Amit Sangwan

william666666 · ‎07-12-2023

This was very helpful getting software for my WAP from another AP when Cisco no longer offered the installer download.