- Book Title Page
- Preface
- New and Changed Information
- Overview
- Using the Cisco NX-OS Setup Utility
- Using PowerOn Auto Provisioning
- Understanding the Command-Line Interface
- Configuring Terminal Settings and Sessions
- Basic Device Management
- Using the Device File Systems, Directories, and Files
- Working with Configuration Files
- Index
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Fundamentals Configuration Guide, Release 7.x
- Updated:
- June 16, 2017
Chapter: Working with Configuration Files
- About Configuration Files
- Licensing Requirements for Configuration Files
- Managing Configuration Files
- Saving the Running Configuration to the Startup Configuration
- Copying a Configuration File to a Remote Server
- Downloading the Running Configuration From a Remote Server
- Downloading the Startup Configuration From a Remote Server
- Copying Configuration Files to an External Flash Memory Device
- Copying the Running Configuration from an External Flash Memory Device
- Copying the Startup Configuration From an External Flash Memory Device
- Copying Configuration Files to an Internal File System
- Rolling Back to a Previous Configuration
- Removing the Configuration for a Missing Module
- Erasing a Configuration
- Clearing Inactive Configurations
- Configuration Archive and Configuration Log
- Verifying the Device Configuration
- Examples of Working with Configuration Files
- Additional References for Configuration Files
Working with Configuration Files
This chapter contains the following sections:
- About Configuration Files
- Licensing Requirements for Configuration Files
- Managing Configuration Files
- Configuration Archive and Configuration Log
- Verifying the Device Configuration
- Examples of Working with Configuration Files
- Additional References for Configuration Files
About Configuration Files
Configuration files contain the Cisco NX-OS software commands used to configure the features on a Cisco NX-OS device. Commands are parsed (translated and executed) by the Cisco NX-OS software when the system is booted (from the startup-config file) or when you enter commands at the CLI in a configuration mode.
To change the startup configuration file, you can either save the running-configuration file to the startup configuration using the copy running-config startup-config command or copy a configuration file from a file server to the startup configuration.
Types of Configuration Files
The Cisco NX-OS software has two types of configuration files, running configuration and startup configuration. The device uses the startup configuration (startup-config) during device startup to configure the software features. The running configuration (running-config) contains the current changes that you make to the startup-configuration file. The two configuration files can be different. You might want to change the device configuration for a short time period rather than permanently. In this case, you would change the running configuration by using commands in global configuration mode but not save the changes to the startup configuration.
To change the running configuration, use the configure terminal command to enter global configuration mode. As you use the Cisco NX-OS configuration modes, commands generally are executed immediately and are saved to the running configuration file either immediately after you enter them or when you exit a configuration mode.
To change the startup-configuration file, you can either save the running configuration file to the startup configuration or download a configuration file from a file server to the startup configuration.
Licensing Requirements for Configuration Files
The following table shows the licensing requirements for this feature:
|
Product |
License Requirement |
|---|---|
|
Cisco NX-OS |
Configuration files require no license. Any feature not included in a license package is bundled with the nx-os image and is provided at no extra charge to you. For a complete explanation of the Cisco NX-OS licensing scheme, see the Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide. |
Managing Configuration Files
This section describes how to manage configuration files.
- Saving the Running Configuration to the Startup Configuration
- Copying a Configuration File to a Remote Server
- Downloading the Running Configuration From a Remote Server
- Downloading the Startup Configuration From a Remote Server
- Copying Configuration Files to an External Flash Memory Device
- Copying the Running Configuration from an External Flash Memory Device
- Copying the Startup Configuration From an External Flash Memory Device
- Copying Configuration Files to an Internal File System
- Rolling Back to a Previous Configuration
- Removing the Configuration for a Missing Module
- Erasing a Configuration
- Clearing Inactive Configurations
Saving the Running Configuration to the Startup Configuration
You can save the running configuration to the startup configuration to save your changes for the next time you that reload the device.
Copying a Configuration File to a Remote Server
You can copy a configuration file stored in the internal memory to a remote server as a backup or to use for configuring other Cisco NX-OS devices.
switch# copy running-config tftp://10.10.1.1/sw1-run-config.bak switch# copy startup-config tftp://10.10.1.1/sw1-start-config.bak
Downloading the Running Configuration From a Remote Server
You can configure your Cisco NX-OS device by using configuration files that you created on another Cisco NX-OS device and uploaded to a remote server. You then download the file from the remote server to your device using TFTP, FTP, Secure Copy (SCP), or Secure Shell FTP (SFTP) to the running configuration.
Ensure that the configuration file that you want to download is in the correct directory on the remote server.
Ensure that the permissions on the file are set correctly. Permissions on the file should be set to world-read.
Ensure that your device has a route to the remote server. Your device and the remote server must be in the same subnetwork if you do not have a router or a default gateway to route traffic between subnets.
Check connectivity to the remote server using the ping or ping6 command.
Downloading the Startup Configuration From a Remote Server
You can configure your Cisco NX-OS device by using configuration files that you created on another Cisco NX-OS device and uploaded to a remote server. You then download the file from the remote server to your device using TFTP, FTP, Secure Copy (SCP), or Secure Shell FTP (SFTP) to the startup configuration.
 Caution | This procedure disrupts all traffic on the Cisco NX-OS device. |
Log in to a session on the console port.
Ensure that the configuration file that you want to download is in the correct directory on the remote server.
Ensure that the permissions on the file are set correctly. Permissions on the file should be set to world-read.
Ensure that your device has a route to the remote server. Your device and the remote server must be in the same subnetwork if you do not have a router or a default gateway to route traffic between subnets.
Check connectivity to the remote server using the ping or ping6 command.
Copying Configuration Files to an External Flash Memory Device
You can copy configuration files to an external flash memory device as a backup for later use.
Insert the external Flash memory device into the active supervisor module.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 |
dir
{usb1: |
usb2:}[directory/]
Example: switch# dir usb1: | (Optional)
Displays the files on the external flash memory device. |
| Step 2 |
copy
running-config {usb1: |
usb2:}[directory/]filename
Example: switch# copy running-config usb1:dsn-running-config.cfg |
Copies the running configuration to an external flash memory device. The filename argument is case sensitive. |
| Step 3 |
copy
startup-config {usb1: |
usb2:}[directory/]filename
Example: switch# copy startup-config usb1:dsn-startup-config.cfg |
Copies the startup configuration to an external flash memory device. The filename argument is case sensitive. |
Copying the Running Configuration from an External Flash Memory Device
You can configure your device by copying configuration files created on another Cisco NX-OS device and saved to an external flash memory device.
Insert the external flash memory device into the active supervisor module.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 |
dir
{usb1:
|
usb2:}[directory/]
Example: switch# dir usb1: | (Optional)
Displays the files on the external flash memory device. |
| Step 2 |
copy {usb1: |
usb2:}[directory/]filename
running-config
Example: switch# copy usb1:dsn-config.cfg running-config |
Copies the running configuration from an external flash memory device. The filename argument is case sensitive. |
| Step 3 |
show
running-config
Example: switch# show running-config | (Optional)
Displays the running configuration. |
| Step 4 |
copy running-config
startup-config
Example: switch# copy running-config startup-config | (Optional)
Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration. |
| Step 5 |
show
startup-config
Example: switch# show startup-config | (Optional)
Displays the startup configuration. |
Copying the Startup Configuration From an External Flash Memory Device
You can recover the startup configuration on your device by downloading a new startup configuration file saved on an external flash memory device.
Insert the external flash memory device into the active supervisor module.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 |
dir
{usb1: |
usb2:}[directory/]
Example: switch# dir usb1: | (Optional)
Displays the files on the external flash memory device. |
| Step 2 |
copy {usb1:
|
usb2:}[directory
/]filename
startup-config
Example: switch# copy usb1:dsn-config.cfg startup-config |
Copies the startup configuration from an external flash memory device. The filename argument is case sensitive. |
| Step 3 |
show
startup-config
Example: switch# show startup-config | (Optional)
Displays the startup configuration. |
Copying Configuration Files to an Internal File System
You can copy configuration files to the internal memory as a backup for later use.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 |
copy
running-config [filesystem:][directory/] | [directory/]filename
Example: switch# copy running-config bootflash:sw1-run-config.bak |
Copies the running-configuration file to internal memory. The filesystem, directory, and filename arguments are case sensitive. |
| Step 2 |
copy
startup-config [filesystem:][directory/] | [directory/]filename
Example: switch# copy startup-config bootflash:sw1-start-config.bak |
Copies the startup-configuration file to internal memory. The filesystem, directory, and filename arguments are case sensitive. |
Rolling Back to a Previous Configuration
Problems, such as memory corruption, can occur that make it necessary for you to recover your configuration from a backed up version.
 Note | Each time that you enter a copy running-config startup-config command, a binary file is created and the ASCII file is updated. A valid binary configuration file reduces the overall boot time significantly. A binary file cannot be uploaded, but its contents can be used to overwrite the existing startup configuration. The write erase command clears the binary file. |
| Command or Action | Purpose | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | write erase
Example: switch# write erase |
Clears the current configuration of the switch. | ||
| Step 2 | reload
Example: switch# reload |
Restarts the device. You will be prompted to provide an nx-os image file for the device to boot and run. | ||
| Step 3 |
copy
configuration-file
running-configuration
Example: switch# copy bootflash:start-config.bak running-configuration |
Copies a previously saved configuration file to the running configuration.
| ||
| Step 4 | copy running-config startup-config
Example: switch# copy running-config startup-config |
Copies the running configuration to the start-up configuration. |
Removing the Configuration for a Missing Module
When you remove an I/O module from the chassis, you can also remove the configuration for that module from the running configuration.
Note | You can only remove the configuration for an empty slot in the chassis. |
Remove the I/O module from the chassis.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 |
show
hardware
Example: switch# show hardware | (Optional)
Displays the installed hardware for the device. |
| Step 2 |
purge module
slot
running-config
Example: switch# purge module 3 running-config |
Removes the configuration for a missing module from the running configuration. |
| Step 3 |
copy running-config
startup-config
Example: switch# copy running-config startup-config | (Optional)
Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration. |
Erasing a Configuration
You can erase the configuration on your device to return to the factory defaults.
You can erase the following configuration files saved in the persistent memory on the device:
The write erase command erases the entire startup configuration, except for the following:
To remove the boot variable definitions and the IPv4 configuration on the mgmt0 interface, use the write erase boot command.
Note | After you enter the write erase command, you must reload the ASCII configuration twice to apply the breakout configuration. |
| Command or Action | Purpose | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1 |
write
erase [boot
|
debug]
Example: switch# write erase Warning: This command will erase the startup-configuration. Do you wish to proceed anyway? (y/n) [n] y |
Erases configurations in persistent memory. The default action erases the startup configuration. The boot option erases the boot variable definitions and the IPv4 configuration on the mgmt0 interface. The debug option erases the debugging configuration.
|
Clearing Inactive Configurations
You can clear inactive QoS and/or ACL configurations.
| Command or Action | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | show running-config
type inactive-if-config
Example: # show running-config ipqos inactive-if-config | (Optional)
Displays any inactive access control list (ACL) or quality of service (QoS) configurations. The values for the type argument are aclmgr and ipqos. |
| Step 2 |
clear inactive-config
policy
Example: # clear inactive-config qos clear qos inactive config Inactive if config for QoS manager is saved at/bootflash/qos_inactive_if_config.cfg for vdc default you can see the log file @ show inactive-if-config log |
Clears inactive configurations. The values for the policy argument are qos and acl. The following describes the values: |
| Step 3 | show inactive-if-config log
Example: # show inactive-if-config log | (Optional)
Displays the commands that were used to clear the inactive configurations. |
Configuration Archive and Configuration Log
This section contains information on configuration archive and configuration log.
- Information About Configuration Archive
- Configuring the Characteristics of the Configuration Archive
- Information About Configuration Log
- Displaying Configuration Log Entries
Information About Configuration Archive
The configuration archive is intended to provide a mechanism to store, organize, and manage an archive of the configuration files to enhance the configuration rollback capability provided by the configure replace command. Before configuration archiving was introduced, you could save copies of the running configuration using the copy running-config destination-url command, storing the replacement file either locally or remotely. However, this method lacked any automated file management. The configuration replace and configuration rollback provides the capability to automatically save copies of the running configuration to the configuration archive. These archived files serve as checkpoint configuration references and can be used by the configure replace command to revert to the previous configuration states.
The archive config command allows you to save configurations in the configuration archive using a standard location and filename prefix that is automatically appended with an incremental version number (and optional timestamp) as each consecutive file is saved. This functionality provides a means for consistent identification of saved configuration files. You can specify how many versions of the running configuration are kept in the archive. After the maximum number of files are saved in the archive, the oldest file is automatically deleted when the next, most recent file is saved. The show archive command displays information for all configuration files saved in the configuration archive.
The configuration archive, wherein the configuration files are stored and are available for use with the configure replace command, can be located on the following file systems: bootflash, FTP, and TFTP.
Note | The TFTP and FTP for this feature use VRF management. |
Configuring the Characteristics of the Configuration Archive
Before using the archive config command, the configuration archive must be configured. Complete the following steps to configure the characteristics of the configuration archive:
| Command or Action | Purpose | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | switch#
configure terminal
Example: switch# configure terminal |
Enters the global configuration mode. | ||
| Step 2 | switch(config)#
archive
Example: switch(config)# archive |
Enters the archive configuration mode.
| ||
| Step 3 | switch(config-archive)#
path
url
Example: switch(config-archive)# path bootflash:myconfig |
Specifies the location and the filename prefix for the files in the configuration archive.
| ||
| Step 4 | switch(config-archive)#
maximum
number
Example: switch(config-archive)# maximum 14 |
(Optional) Sets the maximum number of archive files of the running configuration to be saved in the configuration archive.
| ||
| Step 5 | switch(config-archive)#
time-period
minutes
Example: switch(config-archive)# time-period 10 |
(Optional) Sets the time increment for automatically saving an archive file of the current running configuration in the configuration archive.
| ||
| Step 6 | switch# write-memory |
Enables the command. It is disabled by default. Entering this command causes an archive to occur when the command copy r s is performed. | ||
| Step 7 | switch#
archive config
Example: switch# archive config |
Saves the current running configuration file to the configuration archive.
| ||
| Step 8 | switch#show archive log config all Example: switch# show archive log config all INDEX LINE USER LOGGED COMMAND 1 console0 user01 | logging console 1 2 console0 user01 | logging monitor 2 3 console0 user02 | system default switchport shutdown 4 console0 user02 | interface mgmt0 5 console0 user02 | no shutdown |
Displays the configuration log entries for all the users. |
Information About Configuration Log
The configuration change logging tracks the changes that are made to the running configuration by using the data in the accounting log. This configuration log tracks the changes that are initiated only through the CLI. Only complete commands that result in the invocation of action routines are logged. The following types of entries are not logged:
The configuration log tracks the changes that are initiated only through the CLI. For each configuration command that is executed, the following information is logged:
-
A configuration change sequence number
-
The line from which the command was executed
-
The name of the user that executed the command
-
The command that was executed
You can display the information from the configuration log by using the show archive log config all command
For each configuration command that is executed, the following information is logged:
-
The command that was executed
-
The name of the user that executed the command
-
A configuration change sequence number
You can display the information from the configuration log by using the show archive log config command.
Displaying Configuration Log Entries
To display the configuration log entries, the configuration change logging provides the show archive log config all command.
| Step 1 | switch#
show archive log config all
Displays the configuration log entries for all users Example: switch# show archive log config all INDEX LINE USER LOGGED COMMAND 1 console0 user01 | logging console 1 2 console0 user01 | logging monitor 2 3 console0 user02 | system default switchport shutdown 4 console0 user02 | interface mgmt0 5 console0 user02 | no shutdown |
| Step 2 | switch# show archive log config user username
Displays the configuration log entries for the specified username. Example: The following example displays the configuration log entries for a specified username. switch# show archive log config user user02 INDEX LINE USER LOGGED COMMAND 3 console0 user02 | system default switchport shutdown 4 console0 user02 | interface mgmt0 5 console0 user02 | no shutdown |
| Step 3 | switch# show archive log config user
username
first-index
start-number [last-index
end-number ]
Displays the configuration log entries by the index numbers. If you specify a number for the optional last-index, all the log entries with the index numbers in the range from the value entered for the start-number through the end-number for the specified user are displayed. Example: The following example displays the configuration log entry numbers 4 and 5 for a user with the username, user02. The range for the first-index and last-index is 1 to 2000000000. switch# show archive log config user user02 first-index 4 last-index 5 Last Log cleared/wrapped time is : Wed Oct 19 00:53:08 2016 INDEX LINE USER LOGGED COMMAND 4 console0 user02 | interface mgmt0 5 console0 user02 | no shutdown |
Verifying the Device Configuration
To verify the configuration after bootstrapping the device using POAP, use one of the following commands:
|
Command |
Purpose |
|---|---|
|
show running-config |
Displays the running configuration. |
|
show startup-config |
Displays the startup configuration. |
Examples of Working with Configuration Files
This section includes examples of working with configuration files.
Copying Configuration Files
This example shows how to overwrite the contents of an existing configuration in NVRAM:
switch# copy nvram:snapshot-config nvram:startup-config
Warning: this command is going to overwrite your current startup-config.
Do you wish to continue? {y/n} [y] y
Note | This command does not apply to Cisco Nexus 9300-EX Series switches. |
This example shows how to copy a running configuration to the bootflash: file system:
switch# copy system:running-config bootflash:my-config
Backing Up Configuration Files
This example shows how to back up the startup configuration to the bootflash: file system (ASCII file):
switch# copy startup-config bootflash:my-config
This example shows how to back up the startup configuration to the TFTP server (ASCII file):
switch# copy startup-config tftp://172.16.10.100/my-config
This example shows how to back up the running configuration to the bootflash: file system (ASCII file):
switch# copy running-config bootflash:my-config
Rolling Back to a Previous Configuration
To roll back your configuration to a snapshot copy of a previously saved configuration, you need to perform the following steps:
-
Clear the current running image with the write erase command.
-
Restart the device with the reload command.
-
Copy the previously saved configuration file to the running configuration with the copy configuration-file running-configuration command.
-
Copy the running configuration to the start-up configuration with the copy running-config startup-config command.
Additional References for Configuration Files
This section includes additional information related to managing configuration files.
Related Documents for Configuration Files
|
Related Topic |
Document Title |
|---|---|
|
Licensing |
Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide |
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