Is it only way to upgrade network devices firmware by TFTP?

[ericfjchen]

Why does many network devices support firmware upgraded by TFTP file transfer protocol through the Ethernet network?

[Mohamed Hamedi]

Newer firmware do support SFTP and FTP.
Not sure why it all started with TFTP though, could be an interesting historical story!

[Manfred Arndt]

Most network devices started using TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) a long time ago because it is so simple to implement and can easily fit into the boot loader.

This was back when memory was still expensive and you couldn't afford to put multiple software images in the box. Since TFTP can reside in the boot loader, this allows upgrading, even if main image is bad.

Nowaday's it has become standard expectation.

Note: TFTP is UDP based and therefore does not require a full TCP/IP stack.


ProCurve Switches also support software upgrade with SFTP and SCP, or over an RS-232 cable with Xmodem.