Summary of IP Phone Firmware Distribution Model

The table below is taken directly from the following Cisco document.

Source: Cisco Unified IP Phone Firmware Distribution Methods

It is here as a preview of the document above.

Table 1. Summary of Distribution Models

	Peer Firmware Sharing	Load Server	Traditional TFTP
Advantages	• Hierarchy is automatic • One download per phone model on a subnet • Uses TCP • Fails back to TFTP • Speeds up LAN upgrades • Reduces TFTP CPU load during upgrade	• Has same download time as LAN image distribution • Distributes TFTP load over multiple TFTP servers	• Proven distribution • Default behavior
Disadvantages	• Must be enabled on each phone • Hierarchy is formed for each phone model • Hierarchy is limited to subnet	• IP must be set on each phone • Administrator must manually file copy to load server • No failback to TFTP on error • More prone to user error	• High-bandwidth requirements • Multiple requests for same file • High CPU usage on TFTP server