User's Manual
20-30
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.
The download algorithm verifies that the image is appropriate for the access point model and that enough 
DRAM is present, or it aborts the process and reports an error. If you specify the /overwrite option, the 
download algorithm removes the existing image on the Flash device whether or not it is the same as the 
new one, downloads the new image, and then reloads the software.
Step 6
archive download-sw /overwrite /reload 
rcp:[[[//[username@]location]/directory]/image-na
me.tar] 
Download the image file from the RCP 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, specify the username. For the RCP 
copy request to execute successfully, an account must 
be defined on the network server for the remote 
username. For more information, see the “Preparing to 
Download or Upload an Image File by Using RCP” 
section on page 20-27.
• For @location, specify the IP address of the RCP 
server.
• For /directory/image-name.tar, specify the directory 
(optional) and the image to download. Directory and 
image names are case sensitive.
Step 7
archive download-sw /leave-old-sw /reload 
rcp:[[[//[username@]location]/directory]/image-na
me.tar]
Download the image file from the RCP 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, specify the username. For the RCP 
copy request to execute, an account must be defined on 
the network server for the remote username. For more 
information, see the “Preparing to Download or Upload 
an Image File by Using RCP” section on page 20-27.
• For @location, specify the IP address of the RCP 
server.
• For /directory]/image-name.tar, specify the directory 
(optional) and the image to download. Directory and 
image names are case sensitive.
Command Purpose










