Configuring SSH File Transfer Protocol

Secure Shell (SSH) includes support for SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), which is a new standard file transfer protocol introduced in SSHv2. This feature provides a secure and authenticated method for copying device configuration or device image files.

Prerequisites for SSH File Transfer Protocol

  • SSH must be enabled.

  • The ip ssh source-interface interface-type interface-number command must be configured.

Restrictions for SSH File Transfer Protocol

  • The SFTP server is not supported.

  • SFTP boot is not supported.

  • The sftp option in the install add command is not supported.

Information About SSH Support over IPv6

SSH File Transfer Protocol Overview

The SFTP client functionality is provided as part of the SSH component and is always enabled on the corresponding device. Therefore, any SFTP server user with the appropriate permission can copy files to and from the device.

An SFTP client is VRF-aware; you can configure the secure FTP client to use the virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) associated with a particular source interface during connection attempts.

How to Configure SSH File Transfer Protocol

The following sections provide information about the various tasks that comprise an SFTP configuration.

Configuring SFTP

Perform the following steps:

Before you begin

To configure a Cisco device for SFTP client-side functionality, the ip ssh source-interface interface-type interface-number command must be configured first.

SUMMARY STEPS

  1. enable
  2. configure terminal
  3. ip ssh source-interface interface-type interface-number
  4. exit
  5. show running-config
  6. debug ip sftp

DETAILED STEPS

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

enable

Example:


Device> enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

configure terminal

Example:


Device# configure terminal

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 3

ip ssh source-interface interface-type interface-number

Example:


Device(config)# ip ssh source-interface GigabitEthernet 1/0/1

Defines the source IP for the SSH session.

Step 4

exit

Example:


Device(config)# exit

Exits global configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Step 5

show running-config

Example:


Device# show running-config

(Optional) Displays the SFTP client-side functionality.

Step 6

debug ip sftp

Example:


Device# debug ip sftp

(Optional) Enables SFTP debugging.

Performing an SFTP Copy Operation

SFTP copy takes the IP or hostname of the corresponding server if Domain Name System (DNS) is configured. To perform SFTP copy operations, use the following commands in privileged EXEC mode:

Command

Purpose

Device# copy ios-file-system:file sftp://user:pwd@server-ip//filepath

Or

Device# copy ios-file-system: sftp:

Copies a file from the local Cisco IOS file system to the server.

Specify the username, password, IP address, and filepath of the server.

Device# copy sftp://user:pwd@server-ip //filepath ios-file-system:file

Or

Device# copy sftp: ios-file-system:

Copies the file from the server to the local Cisco IOS file system.

Specify the username, password, IP address, and filepath of the server.

Configuration Examples for SSH Support over IPv6

Example: Configuring SSH File Transfer Protocol

The following example shows how to configure the client-side functionality of SFTP:

Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# ip ssh source-interface gigabitethernet 1/0/1
Device(config)# exit

Additional References for SSH File Transfer Protocol

Related Documents

Related Topic

Document Title

Secure Shell Version 1 and 2 Support

Security Configuration Guide

Technical Assistance

Description Link

The Cisco Support website provides extensive online resources, including documentation and tools for troubleshooting and resolving technical issues with Cisco products and technologies.

To receive security and technical information about your products, you can subscribe to various services, such as the Product Alert Tool (accessed from Field Notices), the Cisco Technical Services Newsletter, and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds.

Access to most tools on the Cisco Support website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

http://www.cisco.com/support

Feature History for SSH File Transfer Protocol

This table provides release and related information for features explained in this module.

These features are available on all releases subsequent to the one they were introduced in, unless noted otherwise.

Release

Feature

Feature Information

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.10.1

SSH File Transfer Protocol

SSH includes support for SFTP, a new standard file transfer protocol introduced in SSHv2.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform and software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn.