Hone

Lessons · Network switches · the order a restore goes in

Check, restore, verify, then save

Saving is the last step of a swap, and it is last on purpose: until you write it, a reload is a free undo.

Hone is a place to practise programming. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.

What it is for

A restore that is wrong in a way you cannot immediately fix is recoverable while nothing has been saved. Save first and the half-finished restore becomes what the switch boots as.

How to think about it

Check the new box's software and ports, put the configuration on, read it back, and only then write it to startup-config.

Worked example

enable
In, on the replacement.
show version
What it runs, and how many ports it has.
show inventory
Which box this is, for the ticket.
configure terminal
Stand in for the restore.
hostname IDF3
As if the file had landed.
end
Out.
show running-config | include hostname
Read it back before committing to it.
copy running-config startup-config
And only now, save.

Your turn

Commit the verified configuration so the switch boots as it.

copy running-config 

The trap

Saving as you go. It is a good habit everywhere except the twenty minutes when you are still finding out whether it worked.

Practise the order a restore goes in on HoneA question on it now, a coding challenge where there is one, and it is remembered for review. Free, no email needed.