The propagation of a geomagnetic sudden impulse (si) and the magnetic field pulsations excited by it in the magnetosphere is traced from the bow shock in the solar wind, through the magnetosphere, to the ground. Within the magnetosphere the impulse appears as a compressive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) impulse that travels rapidly (~1500 km/s) tailward. A resonant oscillation observed both in space and on the ground is excited near geostationary orbit. The effect of the si is enhanced by a factor of at least 5 on the ground near the geomagnetic equator. We suggest that discontinuities in the solar wind may be a more important source of exciting dayside pulsations than has been commonly assumed.