Table 18: Data Erased and Retained During Factory Reset
Data Retained
Data Erased
Data from Remote field-replaceable units (FRUs).
All Cisco IOS images, including the current boot
image
Value of the configuration register.
Crash information and logs
Contents of USB.
User data, and startup and running configuration
Credentials like Secure Unique Device Identifier
(SUDI) certificates, Public key infrastructure (PKI)
keys.
Credentials like FIPS-related keys
Licenses
On board Failure Logging (OBFL) logs
ROMMON variables added by the user.
The Factory Reset process is used in the following two scenarios:
• Return Material Authorization (RMA) for a device—If you have to return a device to Cisco for RMA,
remove all the customer-specific data before obtaining an RMA certificate for the device.
• Recovering the compromised device—If the key material or credentials that are stored on a device is
compromised, reset the device to factory configuration, and then reconfigure the device.
The device reloads to perform factory reset which results in the switch entering the ROMMON mode. After
a factory reset, the device clears all its environment variables including the
MAC_ADDRESS
and the
SERIAL_NUMBER
which are required to locate and load the software. Perform a reset in ROMMON mode
to automatically set the environment variables.
After the system reset in ROMMON mode is complete, you can add the Cisco IOS image either through a
USB or TFTP.
How to Perform a Factory Reset
To perform a factory reset, complete this procedure:
Procedure
Purpose
Command or Action
Enables privileged EXEC mode.
enable
Step 1
Example:
Enter your password, if prompted.
Device>
enable
Resets the device to its configuration at the time of its
shipping.
factory-reset
{
all
|
config
|
boot-vars
}
Example:
Step 2
No system configuration is required to use the
factory reset
command.
Device#
factory-reset all
System Management Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE Fuji 16.8.x (Catalyst 9500 Switches)
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Performing Factory Reset
How to Perform a Factory Reset
