moving ios image thru console

Sa'ad

Hi all, does anyone know of a way to move an IOS image from a router to a tftp server while using the console port? I ask this because I was reading O'Reilly's new Cisco IOS cookbook and in chapter one they talk about copying an IOS image to a router through the console or aux port, but they don't mention whether the opposite is duable. So I was just curious to find this out, I tried googling it but didn't get much useful results.

Thanks in advance!

mikej412

The IOS transfer through the console would be using XMODEM to the directly attached PCs communication software -- so not TFTP.

You'd want to check the XMODEM command line options to see if there is the send option on the router side.

I'd guess there should be a way to do it.... but its so slow (even when you do increase the console speed) that the IOS programmers may claimed it took too much code to program so that they wouldn't have to test it.

georgemc

I've copied an image to a router from a PC via the console port before but I don't remember ever doing it from the router to the PC via the console port. That said, I do believe it's possible because due to space considerations you have to make a backup copy of your current IOS prior to deleting it and replacing it in flash with your new IOS image.

Try experimenting with something like "copy flash xmodem" or ymodem, zmodem, etc. Use the ? to see what options are available. Just as a warning, if it does work it will be very slow and take a long time.

You can experiment we increasing the speed on the console port. You have to adjust the console port on the router first; when you do this the router will stop responding due to the speed mismatch. Then adjust the speed in Hyperterminal or whatever other terminal program you are using. Just remember that after a certain point the number of bit errors outweighs that benefits of the speed increase and you transfer will about.

I remember having to load an image on a Lightstream 1010(Cisco ATM switch) once at 11 o'clock at night with the transfer constantly erroring out. Ended up having to set the speed for 1200bps to complete the transfer, and it ended up taking over 9 hours.

Let us know if/how it works out for you.


Georgemc

Sa'ad

Thanks for your feedback fellows.