User's Manual
20-25
Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Aironet Access Points
OL-11350-01
Chapter 20 Managing Firmware and Configurations
 Working with Software Images
Note To avoid an unsuccessful download, use the archive download-sw /safe command, which downloads 
the image first and does not delete the current running version until the download succeeds.
Step 3
configure terminal Enter global configuration mode.
This step is required only if you override the default remote 
username or password (see Steps 4, 5, and 6). 
Step 4
ip ftp username username (Optional) Change the default remote username.
Step 5
ip ftp password password (Optional) Change the default password.
Step 6
end Return to privileged EXEC mode. 
Step 7
archive download-sw /overwrite /reload 
ftp:[[//username[:password]@location]/directory]
/image-name.tar
Download the image file from the FTP server to the access 
point, and overwrite the current image.
• The /overwrite option overwrites the software image in 
Flash with the downloaded image.
• The /reload option reloads the system after downloading 
the image unless the configuration has been changed and 
not saved.
• For //username[:password], specify the username and 
password; these must be associated with an account on the 
FTP server. For more information, see the “Preparing to 
Download or Upload an Image File by Using FTP” section 
on page 20-23.
• For @location, specify the IP address of the FTP server.
• For directory/image-name.tar, specify the directory 
(optional) and the image to download. Directory and 
image names are case sensitive.
Step 8
archive download-sw /leave-old-sw /reload 
ftp:[[//username[:password]@location]/directory]
/image-name.tar
Download the image file from the FTP server to the access 
point, and keep the current image.
• The /leave-old-sw option keeps the old software version 
after a download.
• The /reload option reloads the system after downloading 
the image unless the configuration has been changed and 
not saved.
• For //username[:password], specify the username and 
password. These must be associated with an account on 
the FTP server. For more information, see the “Preparing 
to Download or Upload an Image File by Using FTP” 
section on page 20-23.
• For @location, specify the IP address of the FTP server.
• For directory/image-name.tar, specify the directory 
(optional) and the image to download. Directory and 
image names are case sensitive.
Command Purpose










