Installing a TFTP Server on a Windows Computer

Though I'm a huge advocate of linux operating systems, I realize not everyone is in a position to make the switch. As thus, today I will be detailing how to set up a TFTP server on a Microsoft Windows based computer. This guide serves as an accompaniment to my guide to updating Cisco IOS software. Please note, there are undoubtedly a variety of ways to set up a windows TFTP server, I just found this way to be the easiest.

I used a Windows XP box (technically a virtual machine, but the process is the same on a dedicated Windows computer) for my install, but the process should be more or less the same on all versions of Windows.

First, download the tftpd32 program from http://tftpd32.jounin.net/tftpd32_download.html. This is a nice little open-source TFTP server for windows.
I chose the installer version, but if you prefer to download the smaller zip version, it's the same thing once you extract the zip archive.

Next, begin the installer by opening the .exe file. You'll get a license agreement, etc, etc. Continue to click next until the process completes.

The program is located is Start > All Programs > tftpd32 > tftpd32.exe

The first time you start the TFTP server, windows firewall should pop up. Click unblock to allow tftpd32 to work.

Voilà! You're finished.

Either copy the files you wish to serve via TFTP to C:\Program Files\Tftpd32 or browse to a different directory of your choosing. Just point the TFTP client at the address listed in 'server interfaces' and your TFTP server is up and running.