Working with the Flash File System

Information About the Flash File System

The flash file system is a single flash device on which you can store files. It also provides several commands to help you manage software bundles and configuration files. The default flash file system on the device is named flash:.

As viewed from the active device, flash: refers to the local flash device, which is the device attached to the same device on which the file system is being viewed.

Only one user at a time can manage the software bundles and configuration files.

Displaying Available File Systems

To display the available file systems on your device, use the show file systems privileged EXEC command as shown in this example for a standalone device: 

Device# show file systems
Size(b) Free(b) Type Flags Prefixes
- - opaque rw system:
- - opaque rw tmpsys:
1651314688 1559785472 disk rw crashinfo:
* 11353194496 9693396992 disk rw flash:
8049967104 7959392256 disk ro webui:
- - opaque rw null:
- - opaque ro tar:
- - network rw tftp:
2097152 2080848 nvram rw nvram:
- - opaque wo syslog:
- - network rw rcp:
- - network rw http:
- - network rw ftp:
- - network rw scp:
- - network rw https:
- - opaque ro cns:
This example displays the usbflash1 filesystem format.
Device#show usbflash1: filesys
Filesystem: usbflash1
Filesystem Path: /vol/usb1
Filesystem Type: ext4
Mounted: Read/Write
Table 1. show file systems Field Descriptions

Field

Value

Size(b)

Amount of memory in the file system in bytes.

Free(b)

Amount of free memory in the file system in bytes.

Type

Type of file system.

disk—The file system is for a flash memory device, USB flash, and crashinfo file.

network—The file system for network devices; for example, an FTP server or and HTTP server.

nvram—The file system is for a NVRAM device.

opaque—The file system is a locally generated pseudo file system (for example, the system) or a download interface, such as brimux.

unknown—The file system is an unknown type.

Flags

Permission for file system.

ro—read-only.

rw—read/write.

wo—write-only.

Prefixes

Alias for file system.

crashinfo:—Crashinfo file.

flash:—Flash file system.

ftp:—FTP server.

http:—HTTP server.

https:—Secure HTTP server.

nvram:—NVRAM.

null:—Null destination for copies. You can copy a remote file to null to find its size.

rcp:—Remote Copy Protocol (RCP) server.

scp:—Session Control Protocol (SCP) server.

system:—Contains the system memory, including the running configuration.

tftp:—TFTP network server.

usbflash0:—USB flash memory.

usbflash1:—External USB flash memory.

ymodem:—Obtain the file from a network machine by using the Ymodem protocol.

Setting the Default File System

You can specify the file system or directory that the system uses as the default file system by using the cd filesystem: privileged EXEC command. You can set the default file system to omit the filesystem: argument from related commands. For example, for all privileged EXEC commands that have the optional filesystem: argument, the system uses the file system specified by the cd command.

By default, the default file system is flash:.

You can display the current default file system as specified by the cd command by using the pwd privileged EXEC command.

Displaying Information About Files on a File System

You can view a list of the contents of a file system before manipulating its contents. For example, before copying a new configuration file to flash memory, you might want to verify that the file system does not already contain a configuration file with the same name. Similarly, before copying a flash configuration file to another location, you might want to verify its filename for use in another command. To display information about files on a file system, use one of the privileged EXEC commands listed in the following table.

Table 2. Commands for Displaying Information About Files

Command

Description

dir [/all] [filesystem:filename]

Displays a list of files on a file system.

show file systems

Displays more information about each of the files on a file system.

show file information file-url

Displays information about a specific file.

show file descriptors

Displays a list of open file descriptors. File descriptors are the internal representations of open files. You can use this command to see if another user has a file open.

For example, to display a list of all files in a file system, use the dir privileged EXEC command: 


Device# dir flash:
DDirectory of bootflash:/

616513  drwx             4096  Jul 15 2015 07:11:35 +00:00  .installer
608402  -rw-            33818  Sep 25 2015 11:41:35 +00:00  bootloader_evt_handle.log
608403  drwx             4096  Feb 27 2017 13:56:47 +00:00  .ssh
608410  -rw-                0   Jun 5 2015 10:16:17 +00:00  dc_stats.txt
608411  drwx            20480  Sep 23 2015 11:50:13 +00:00  core
624625  drwx             4096  Sep 23 2015 12:29:27 +00:00  .prst_sync
640849  drwx             4096  Feb 27 2017 13:57:30 +00:00  .rollback_timer
608412  drwx             4096  Jun 17 2015 18:12:47 +00:00  orch_test_logs
608413  -rw-         33554432  Sep 25 2015 11:43:15 +00:00  nvram_config
608417  -rw-               35  Sep 25 2015 20:17:42 +00:00  pnp-tech-time
608439  -rw-           214054  Sep 25 2015 20:17:48 +00:00  pnp-tech-discovery-summary
608419  drwx             4096  Jul 23 2015 07:50:25 +00:00  util
616514  drwx             4096  Mar 18 2015 11:09:04 +00:00  onep
608442  -rw-              556  Mar 18 2015 11:19:34 +00:00  vlan.dat
608448  -rw-          1131779  Mar 28 2015 13:13:48 +00:00  log.txt
616516  drwx             4096   Apr 1 2015 09:34:56 +00:00  gs_script
616517  drwx             4096   Apr 6 2015 09:42:38 +00:00  tools
608440  -rw-              252  Sep 25 2015 11:41:52 +00:00  boothelper.log
624626  drwx             4096  Apr 17 2015 06:10:55 +00:00  SD_AVC_AUTO_CONFIG
608488  -rw-            98869  Sep 25 2015 11:42:15 +00:00  memleak.tcl
608437  -rwx            17866  Jul 16 2015 04:01:10 +00:00  ardbeg_x86
632745  drwx             4096  Aug 20 2015 11:35:09 +00:00  CRDU
632746  drwx             4096  Sep 16 2015 08:57:44 +00:00  ardmore
608418  -rw-          1595361   Jul 8 2015 11:18:33 +00:00  system-report_RP_0_20150708-111832-UTC.tar.gz
608491  -rw-         67587176  Aug 12 2015 05:30:35 +00:00  mcln_x86_kernel_20170628.SSA
608492  -rwx         74880100  Aug 12 2015 05:30:57 +00:00  stardust.x86.idprom.0718B

11250098176 bytes total (9128050688 bytes free)
Device#

Changing Directories and Displaying the Working Directory

Follow these steps to change directories and to display the working directory:

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

enable

Example:


Device> enable

Enables privileged EXEC mode.

  • Enter your password if prompted.

Step 2

dir filesystem:

Example:


Device# dir flash:

Displays the directories on the specified file system.

For filesystem:, use flash: for the system board flash device.

Step 3

cd directory_name

Example:


Device# cd new_configs

Navigates to the specified directory.

The command example shows how to navigate to the directory named new_configs.

Step 4

pwd

Example:


Device# pwd

Displays the working directory.

Step 5

cd

Example:


Device# cd

Navigates to the default directory.

Creating Directories

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to create a directory:

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

dir filesystem:

Example:


Device# dir flash:

Displays the directories on the specified file system.

For filesystem:, use flash: for the system board flash device.

Step 2

mkdir directory_name

Example:


Device# mkdir new_configs

Creates a new directory. Directory names are case sensitive and are limited to 45 characters between the slashes (/); the name cannot contain control characters, spaces, slashes, quotes, semicolons, or colons.

Step 3

dir filesystem:

Example:


Device# dir flash:

Verifies your entry.

Removing Directories

To remove a directory with all its files and subdirectories, use the delete /force /recursive filesystem:/file-url privileged EXEC command.

Use the /recursive keyword to delete the named directory and all subdirectories and the files contained in it. Use the /force keyword to suppress the prompting that confirms a deletion of each file in the directory. You are prompted only once at the beginning of this deletion process.

For filesystem , use flash: for the system board flash device. For file-url , enter the name of the directory to be deleted. All of the files in the directory and the directory are removed.


Caution
When directories are deleted, their contents cannot be recovered.

Copying Files

To copy a file from a source to a destination, use the copy source-url destination-url privileged EXEC command. For the source and destination URLs, you can use running-config and startup-config keyword shortcuts. For example, the copy running-config startup-config command saves the currently running configuration file to the NVRAM section of flash memory to be used as the configuration during system initialization.

Network file system URLs include ftp:, rcp:, tftp:, scp:, http:, and https: and have these syntaxes:

  • ftp:[[//username [:password]@location]/directory]/filename

  • rcp:[[//username@location]/directory]/filename

  • tftp:[[//location]/directory]/filename

  • scp:[[//username [:password]@location]/directory]/filename

  • http:[[//username [:password]@location]/directory]/filename

  • https:[[//username [:password]@location]/directory]/filename


Note

The password must not contain the special character '@'. If the character '@' is used, the copy fails to parse the IP address of the server.

Local writable file systems include flash:.

Some invalid combinations of source and destination exist. Specifically, you cannot copy these combinations:

  • From a running configuration to a running configuration

  • From a startup configuration to a startup configuration

Deleting Files

When you no longer need a file on a flash memory device, you can permanently delete it. To delete a file or directory from a specified flash device, use the delete [/force] [/recursive] [filesystem:]/file-url privileged EXEC command.

Use the /recursive keyword for deleting a directory and all subdirectories and the files contained in it. Use the /force keyword to suppress the prompting that confirms a deletion of each file in the directory. You are prompted only once at the beginning of this deletion process. Use the /force and /recursive keywords for deleting old software images that were installed by using the archive download-sw command but are no longer needed.

If you omit the filesystem: option, the device uses the default device specified by the cd command. For file-url , you specify the path (directory) and the name of the file to be deleted.

When you attempt to delete any files, the system prompts you to confirm the deletion.


Caution
When files are deleted, their contents cannot be recovered.
This example shows how to delete the file myconfig from the default flash memory device:

Device# delete myconfig

Creating, Displaying and Extracting Files

You can create a file and write files into it, list the files in a file, and extract the files from a file as described in the next sections.

Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to create a file, display the contents, and extract it:

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

archive tar /create destination-url flash: /file-url

Example:


Device# archive tar /create 
tftp:192.168.10.30/saved. 
flash:/new-configs

Creates a file and adds files to it.

For destination-url, specify the destination URL alias for the local or network file system and the name of the file to create:

  • Local flash file system syntax:

    flash:

  • FTP syntax:

    ftp:[[//username[:password]@location]/directory]/-filename.

  • RCP syntax:

    rcp:[[//username@location]/directory]/-filename.

  • TFTP syntax:

    tftp:[[//location]/directory]/-filename.

For flash:/file-url , specify the location on the local flash file system in which the new file is created. You can also specify an optional list of files or directories within the source directory to add to the new file. If none are specified, all files and directories at this level are written to the newly created file.

Step 2

archive tar /table source-url

Example:


Device# archive tar /table
flash: /new_configs

Displays the contents of a file.

For source-url , specify the source URL alias for the local or network file system. The -filename. is the file to display. These options are supported:

  • Local flash file system syntax:

    flash:

  • FTP syntax:

    ftp:[[//username[:password]@location]/directory]/-filename.

  • RCP syntax:

    rcp:[[//username@location]/directory]/-filename.

  • TFTP syntax:

    tftp:[[//location]/directory]/-filename.

You can also limit the file displays by specifying a list of files or directories after the file. Only those files appear. If none are specified, all files and directories appear.

Step 3

archive tar /xtract source-url flash:/file-url [dir/file...]

Example:


Device# archive tar /xtract
tftp:/192.168.10.30/saved. 
flash:/new-configs

Extracts a file into a directory on the flash file system.

For source-url , specify the source URL alias for the local file system. The -filename. is the file from which to extract files. These options are supported:

  • Local flash file system syntax:

    flash:

  • FTP syntax:

    ftp:[[//username[:password]@location]/directory]/-filename.

  • RCP syntax:

    rcp:[[//username@location]/directory]/-filename.

  • TFTP syntax:

    tftp:[[//location]/directory]/-filename.

For flash:/file-url [dir/file...] , specify the location on the local flash file system from which the file is extracted. Use the dir/file... option to specify a list of files or directories within the file to be extracted. If none are specified, all files and directories are extracted.

Step 4

more [ /ascii | /binary | /ebcdic] /file-url

Example:


Device# more
flash:/new-configs

Displays the contents of any readable file, including a file on a remote file system.