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4.0 Network Services and Security

Secure File Transfer (SFTP & SCP) Practice Questions

New in CCNA v2.0

Managing configuration and software files with SCP and SFTP, and why TFTP is not secure.

CCNA v2.0 objective 4.2 · objective map

Author-reviewed by LabFabric · 25 September 2026 · Report a content issue

One solved question, so you can see how these are marked

Which protocol pair provides encrypted file transfer to and from a network device by running over SSH?

SCP and SFTP

SCP and SFTP both run inside an SSH session, so credentials and file contents are encrypted. TFTP and FTP send data and, for FTP, credentials in clear text.

Every question in the set below is marked like this. The answers stay hidden until you pick one.

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All 7 Secure File Transfer (SFTP & SCP) questions in this set

Answers and explanations appear when you work through the set above.

  1. Which transport port do SCP and SFTP use?

    • TCP 22
    • UDP 69
    • TCP 21
    • UDP 514

  2. Why is TFTP a poor choice for copying a device configuration across an untrusted network?

    • It has no authentication or encryption, so file contents can be read or modified in transit
    • It can only transfer files smaller than 1 KB
    • It requires SSH keys on both ends
    • It works only over IPv6

  3. Which command copies the running configuration of an IOS device to a file on an SCP server?

    • copy running-config scp://[email protected]/r1-config.txt
    • copy running-config tftp:192.0.2.10
    • backup config scp 192.0.2.10
    • upload scp running-config 192.0.2.10

  4. An engineer wants an IOS router to act as an SCP server. Which command enables it, given that SSH is already working?

    • ip scp server enable
    • ip ssh scp on
    • scp-server enable
    • service scp

  5. Which prerequisite is needed before 'crypto key generate rsa' can create the default SSH host key on an IOS device, so that it can accept SSH sessions and SCP transfers?

    • A non-default hostname and a configured domain name
    • A configured SNMP community string
    • A DHCP pool on the management VLAN
    • An active NTP association

  6. After copying a new IOS image to flash, which command helps confirm the file arrived intact by comparing its hash with the vendor's published value?

    • verify /md5 flash:image.bin
    • show file hash tftp
    • dir /crc all
    • boot verify flash

  7. Which statement about SFTP is correct?

    • SFTP is a separate file-transfer protocol that runs over an SSH connection, and it is not the same as FTP over TLS
    • SFTP is simply FTP with the port number changed to 22
    • SFTP sends the password in clear text but encrypts the file
    • SFTP uses UDP so it is faster than SCP