Cisco IOS

[esh778001]

Hello Cisco

I have a question.

I would like to know the differences between Cisco's IOS bin files, tar files.

Have a nice day. Thank you

[Leo Laohoo]

I would like to know the differences between Cisco's IOS bin files, tar files.

BIN files are what Cisco appliances read.  TAR files are compressed files with the BIN files inside the TAR files.  

Think of the TAR file as the average ZIP or RAR file.

[Philip D'Ath]

A bin file contains the executable code use to run the platform (weather it be a switch or router).

A tar file is bit like a zip file (it is a collection of files).  One switch platforms and access points the tar archives usually contain both the executable code (a bin file) and all the files required for the web interface.