Datasheet

16
Using the Flash Disk
OL-6452-04
Working with a Flash Disk
Step 6 Remove the Flash Disk from the PC Card slot and place it in an antistatic bag.
This completes the procedure for installing and removing a Flash Disk in a horizontally oriented system.
Proceed to the “Working with a Flash Disk” section on page 16.
Working with a Flash Disk
This section provides basic instructions for working with a Flash Disk in your system. Detailed
descriptions of more complex Flash Disk options and the Cisco IOS File System feature are beyond the
scope of this publication and can be found in the following Cisco IOS Release 12.x publications:
• Configuration Fundamentals Configuration Guide, in the chapter “File Management”
• Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference, in the chapter “File Management Commands”
Note These and all publications are available online, on the Documentation DVD, and on Cisco.com.
This section includes the following subsections:
• Software Command Overview, page 16
• Using Software Commands, page 18
• Enabling Booting from a Flash Disk, page 24
• Making a Flash Disk-Based Software Image the Bootable Software Image, page 25
You can only boot from a Cisco IOS software image stored in a Flash Disk using the following systems:
RSP8-based Cisco 7500 series systems, and NPE-300-based systems. (The NPE-300-based systems
include the Cisco 7204VXR and the Cisco 7206VXR routers.)
In all other systems, booting from Flash Disk-based Cisco IOS software images is not supported. You
can use Flash Disks for simple storage in all the systems listed in the “Hardware Requirements” section
on page 3.
Software Command Overview
This section lists some of the basic software commands you can use with the Flash Disk. Examples of
these commands are included in the sections that follow.
The Flash Disk and other memory devices and locations in your system are defined as file systems, which
are locations where you can store, use, or retrieve files and software images. (See the brief discussion
about the Cisco IOS File System feature in the “Product Description” section on page 9.)
You can use Flash Disks in either one or both of the PC Card slots on your system processor, or you can
use one Flash Disk in one PC Card slot and a linear Flash memory card in the adjacent PC Card slot.
Flash Disks in PC Card slots 0 and 1 are referred to as disk0: and disk1:, respectively, whereas linear
Flash memory cards in PC Card slots 0 and 1 are referred to as slot0: and slot1:, respectively.
The following partial output of the show file systems command shows a sample system with a
Flash Disk—called disk0:—installed in PC Card slot 0 and a linear Flash memory card—called
slot1:—installed in PC Card slot 1:
System# show file systems