Using reload to safely configure remote Cisco routers

Contributed by abanks February 10, 2004  
Tagged: Cisco router

Routers far away can be safely configured by using a reload command first. If the router becomes unreachable as a result of a typo or other misconfiguration, you need only wait and the router will reload itself to the saved configuration permitting you to try, try again.

Before any configuration changes are made, issue a reload command to the remote router:reload in 30
orreload at 00:00
to reload at a specific time.

This command instructs the router to reboot in 30 minutes.

Proceed to configure the router as needed. As long as no configuration changes are saved, the router will revert to its previous configuration when it reloads.

If configuration changes are successful, reload cancel
will stop the pending reload.

If configuration changes cause a loss of connectivity, the local side can be easily reset to the previous configuration. When the router reloads, connectivity will be restored.