This article explains how to transfer an installation package from PC/Laptop to a Juniper Networks switch via WinSCP while located in a remote place.

You are unable to transfer the installation package to a Juniper switch using a USB drive as it is in a remote site far away from your current location. At this moment, you need to transfer the file from your PC/Laptop to the switch via WinSCP to perform software upgrade via SSH/Telnet.

Make sure that your PC/Laptop can reach the switch, you may test with ping, although WinSCP requires SSH service for which you want to make sure that the same is configured on the switch and you can successfully connect via SSH.

{master:0}

root@s02-37> show configuration | display set | display inheritance | match ssh
set system services ssh root-login allow
set system services netconf ssh

Download the desired install package from Juniper Downloads https://support.juniper.net/support/downloads/.

Install and open the WinSCP application on your PC/Laptop. Once opened, you will be prompted to input the hostname/IP address, username, and password to login to the switch file system on WinSCP.

Once you have accessed the switch on WinSCP, you open the /var/tmp/ directory on the right-hand side which corresponds to the switch. Then drag and drop the file from your PC/Laptop to your switch and wait for the file transfer to complete.

Now, you will want to make sure that the file is not corrupted or incomplete by confirming that the checksum matches the one illustrated on Juniper Downloads Site. Note that there is a “Checksum” link which will display MD5 among other checksum options for comparison.

Query the checksum from the switch using the command “> file checksum md5 /var/tmp/filename.tgz” and compare that with the one gathered from Juniper Downloads. Below is an example of this output:

{master:0}

user@switch> file checksum md5 /var/tmp/jinstall-ex-4200-15.1R7.9-domestic-signed.tgz

MD5 (/var/tmp/jinstall-ex-4200-15.1R7.9-domestic-signed.tgz) = 9196b44f4ebf9d0b80957d0f96d0f6a4

You may proceed to upgrade the switch at this point.

06/22/2023 - KB created