TFTP

What is TFTP

　TFTP stands for “Trivial File Transfer Protocol” and is defined in RFC 1350. “Trivial” means “insignificant”, and you can see from the name that it is a protocol that is not as good as FTP.

　TFTP is a protocol that simplifies the functions of FTP. Compared to FTP, the functions that can be used are limited and simple, and there is no user name and password authentication function or directory list browsing function. It also uses UDP to transfer files.

　TFTP does not have the ability to browse directories, so you must know exactly what filename you want to transfer and where it resides.

　Since TFTP is a simple protocol, it is suitable for communication with a small amount of data to be exchanged. However, in terms of reliability, it cannot be said to be highly reliable because it does not have an authentication function and uses UDP for transmission.

As a result, very few sites currently support TFTP due to security concerns.

　Currently, TFTP is used for diskless computers that do not have a bootable disk to boot the OS, and for updating or replacing the OS and firmware of network devices such as routers and switches. .

　By the way, Cisco routers use a TFTP server when updating IOS or backing up configuration files. The figure below shows how the router settings are backed up using a TFTP server.

Start the TFTP server.

Upload “running-config” to TFTP server.

In this way, TFTP can be used more easily than an FTP server, and is handy.