Ignore Startup Configurations

In Cisco switches, the "ignore startup-config" command can be used in the configuration to instruct the switch to ignore the startup configuration file during boot-up. This command is useful in scenarios where you want to temporarily bypass the startup configuration, perhaps to troubleshoot or recover access to the switch.

Fig 1: Ignore Startup Configurations

Here's the command and its usage but it is a model specific command :

Switch# configure terminal

Switch(config)# system ignore startup-config

This command is typically used when you're in the global configuration mode. When configured, the switch will ignore the startup configuration stored in NVRAM during the boot process. However, please note that this command should be used with caution, as it essentially disregards the saved configuration on the device.

Once the switch has booted with the startup configuration ignored, you can make changes to the configuration as needed. Remember to save the new configuration if you want it to persist across reboots:

Switch# copy running-config startup-config

And after you're done, you can remove the "ignore startup-config" behavior by reverting the command:

Switch(config)# no system ignore startup-config