Memory regions in IPLink software
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IPLink Software Configuration Guide
6 • System image handling
the IPLink. The command syntax in IPLink software requires you to prefix
the file path on the TFTP server with tftp: followed by the absolute file path.
You need to start from the root directory of the TFTP server.
The three physical regions of memory are the remote tftp server’s memory, the Volatile memories, and the Per-
sistent memory in the IPLink. The remote tftp server has one logical region, tftp:, which can contain various
configuration files and batch files for system software upgrade/download. Within the IPLink the Volatile phys-
ical region contains one logical region, system:, which is random access memory (RAM). When no power is
applied to the IPLink, the system: region contains no data, no configuration—nothing; it is volatile. The sys-
tem: region contains the current running configuration, called running-config.
The third and last physical memory region is the Persistent portion. It has two logical regions called flash:
and nvram:.
•
The logical region flash: stores the application image, the driver images and the bootloader image. These
images are not lost when the IPLink is powered off.
•
The logical region nvram: stores the various configuration files. The factory default configuration file is
always present in nvram:, and can be restored as the running-config by pressing the reset button. For those
models that do not have a reset button, use the
copy
command. The startup-config and user-specific con-
figurations are also stored in nvram:.
The factory configuration is read-only. It is contained in the logical region nvram: of the IPLink. It is used—if
no user-specific configuration is available—to start-up IPLink software with a minimal functionality. This con-
figuration is named factory-config in IPLink software terminology.
On powering up an IPLink (or pressing the Reset button on applicable units) with no pre-configured user con-
figuration files, the default factory-config file is also the startup-config and the running-config. Upon changing
any configuration parameters, the changes are made to the running-config in the system: region of the Volatile
memory. Unless these changes are copied into startup-config or another user-named configuration file, all con-
figuration changes will be lost if the IPLink is powered down.
A dedicated user-specific configuration must be created and stored in the nvram: region of persistent memory.
In fact, you may create numerous user-specific configurations in the same IPLink, but if only one dedicated
user-specific config is required, you may save it in startup-config by using the
copy running-config startup-
config
command. Any future time you restart the IPLink, it will use this saved configuration. In other words,
the startup-config configuration file becomes your default operating configuration.
If you have created and saved numerous user-defined operating configuration files, you can change the startup
default configuration file simply by copying the selected config file into startup-config and rebooting
the IPLink.
Any configuration stored in logical region nvram: or system: can be copied to a remote server by using TFTP.
Operating configurations cannot be executed from the persistent memory, so the configuration used for oper-
ating the IPLink is copied into the volatile memory of the IPLink prior to normal operation. This procedure
takes place after the system bootstrap, where the application image (i.e. IPLink software) is started and a con-
figuration must be available. Shortly before IPLink software has completed all startup processes, the configura-
tion startup-config is copied from nvram: in persistent memory to the running-config configuration in system: in
volatile memory.
You can back up the running-config to nvram: or to a remote TFTP server with a user-defined name.