Lesson No. 5 What is Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)

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This tutorial is all about TFTP. here we go:

What is Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), TFTP Server Products

First Definition:

Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is an Internet software utility for transferring files that is simpler to use than the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) but less capable. It is used where user authentication and directory visibility are not required. TFTP uses the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) rather than the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). TFTP is described formally in Request for Comments (RFC) 1350.

Second Definition:

Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is a file transfer protocol, which is the basic form of File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) has a very simple design and it requires only a very small amount of memory. Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is mainly used for network booting of computers and network infrastructure devices such as routers and switches. Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is used in Cisco networking environment to back up IOS, configuration files, Network Booting and for an IOS upgrade.

Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is a simple file transfer protocol and it is implemented on top of the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). The standard UDP port number for Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is 69.

Many Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server software products for windows Operating System are available for free download on the Internet. Some are listed below.

• Solarwinds Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server

• tftpd32 Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server

• Open Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server

Purpose of TFTP

TFTP was developed in the 1970s for computers lacking sufficient memory or disk space to provide full FTP support. Today, TFTP is also found on both consumer broadband routers and commercial network routers. Home network administrators sometimes use TFTP to upgrade their router firmware, while professional administrators may also use TFTP to distribute software across corporate networks.

How TFTP Works

Like FTP, TFTP uses client and server software to make connections between two devices. From a TFTP client, individual files can be copied (uploaded) to or downloaded from the server. TFTP uses UDP for transporting data.

TFTP Clients and Servers

TFTP Clients and Servers Command line TFTP clients are included in current versions of Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. Some TFTP clients with graphical interfaces are also available for free download on the Internet.

Microsoft Windows does not ship with a TFTP server, but several free Windows TFTP servers are available online. Linux and Mac OS X systems typically use the tftpd TFTP server, although it may be disabled by default. Networking experts recommend configuring TFTP servers carefully to avoid potential security issues.

TFTP vs. FTP

TFTP differs from FTP in these key respects:

• original versions of TFTP only allowed transferring files up to 32 megabytes in size (some newer TFTP servers remove this restriction)
•  unlike FTP, TFTP has no login feature (it does not prompt for user name and password)
• TFTP uses UDP port 69 to establish network connections while FTP uses TCP ports 20 and 21 Because TFTP is implemented using UDP, it generally works only on local area networks (LANs).