Load Remote Configuration File at Boot from TFTP Server

[Alan Harrylal]

Hello,

I am using some HP ProCurve 2510g switches and I need to know if there is a command for these switches that I can add to make them automatically check a TFTP server for their startup-config configuration files.

Notice I need them to get and load a remote config file at bootup from a TFTP server and NOT an IOS image.

Thanks in advance,

Alan

[Oleg Sukharev]

Hi,

You can use DCHP server to point the switch to TFTP server at bootup. Here is an example from ProCurve Series 2510G Switches Management and Configuration Guide (http://cdn.procurve.com/training/Manuals/2510G-MgmtCfg-Jun2008-59923095.pdf):

j2510Gswitch:\
ht=ether:\
ha=0030c1123456:\
ip=10.66.77.88:\
sm=255.255.248.0:\
gw=10.66.77.1:\
lg=10.22.33.44:\
T144=â switch.cfgâ :\
vm=rfc1048

where:
j2510Gswitch is a user-defined symbolic name to help you find the correct section of the bootptab file. If you have multiple switches that will be using Bootp to get their IP configuration, you should use a unique symbolic name for each switch.

ht is the â hardware typeâ . For the switches covered in this guide, set this to ether (for Ethernet). This tag must precede the ha tag.

ha is the â hardware addressâ . Use the switch's (or VLAN's) 12-digit MAC address.

ip is the IP address to be assigned to the switch (or VLAN).

sm is the subnet mask of the subnet in which the switch (or VLAN) is installed.

gw is the IP address of the default gateway.

lg TFTP server address (source of final configuration file)

T144 is the vendor-specific â tagâ identifying the configuration file to download.

vm is a required entry that specifies the Bootp report format. For the switches described in this guide, set this parameter to rfc1048.

HTH
Oleg

[Alan Harrylal]

Hi Oleg,

Thanks for your response. Is there a way to do it without the use of a DHCP server?

On a Cisco switch, there is a command called "boot network tftp: //tftp_server_ip/" which will tell the switch to get the from tftp_server_ip as soon as it boots up.

Is there a similar command for these HP ProCurve switches?

Thanks again for your help,

Alan

[Oleg Sukharev]

Please check command "auto-tftp" after going to global config level.

Usage: [no] auto-tftp [IP-ADDR FILENAME-STR]

Description: Enable/disable automatic OS image download via TFTP during
boot. The OS image will be downloaded if it has a different
version from the OS running on the switch. The command requires
the parameters to be specified when used without 'no'.

o IP-ADDR - specifies the TFTP server IP address to download
an OS image from.

o FILENAME-STR - specifies the file-name to download.


Oleg

[Alan Harrylal]

Yes, I was looking at that command but I don't need to download a new OS. However, if the OS on the switch is the same as the OS on the TFTP server then it does not download it from the TFTP server.

It will however download the configuration file from the TFTP server if the current one on the switch does not match the one on the TFTP server.

Am I correct in assuming this? If I am, that means if I make changes to the config on the switch, if the switch ever reboots, it will download the OLD config from the TFTP server since they don't match.....right?

Something to keep im mind. I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes.

I think you deserve Full points for this. Let me test and then i'll come back to close this thread.

Thanks!

Alan

[Alan Harrylal]

Oleg,

Sorry for the delay. I have note had a chance to test this yet, but I should be able to later on today.

I have not abandoned the thread.

I will definitely post my findings once I test.

Thanks,

Alan H.

[Alan Harrylal]

Oleg,

I thought that the auto-tftp command may have had a parameter for downloading the startup configuration for the switch as well, but this is only for the OS.

I wanted a way to automatically get the config from the TFTP server but I had to do it manually using the "copy tftp startup-config" command in global config mode.