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Wipeout Data From Cisco

Describes the processes of wiping out data from cisco Routers and switches(not liable for risk involved,make sure that these are devices you want to discard)

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enebelic4493
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141 views

Wipeout Data From Cisco

Describes the processes of wiping out data from cisco Routers and switches(not liable for risk involved,make sure that these are devices you want to discard)

Uploaded by

enebelic4493
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How do I wipe data from Cisco routers and

switches before discarding them?

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As your organization’s network continues to grow, you might find
that you’ve outgrown your routers and switches, and you need to
deploy new ones. But what do you do with the old devices?
I recently discussed how to wipe data from PCs before donating
them to make sure you don’t inadvertently pass on corporate data.
But this best practice doesn’t just apply to hard drives. You
must also take steps to clear information from all other network
devices before donating or selling them to make sure you don’t
donate your corporate secrets along with the hardware.
Wiping the configuration of your network devices is the best way
to keep a black hat from gaining easy access to your network
infrastructure. Let’s look at how you can do this for
both Cisco routers and switches.

Clear the configuration of your router


When it comes to clearing your Cisco router, you have two
acceptable options. While most network administrators are familiar
with both methods, they typically use them for different tasks.

The first method involves setting the configuration register to


0×2142. Most admins use this method to recover a password, but you
can recover a password and wipe the configuration at the same
time.
Follow these steps:
1. Log on to the router, and enter the privileged EXEC
mode by entering enable and then entering the
enable password command.
2. Enter configure terminal to go to Global
Configuration Mode.
3. Enter config-register 0×2142. (This causes the
router to ignore the startup configuration on the
next reload.)
4. Enter end, and reload the router by entering reload
at the Router# prompt.
5. The system will ask whether you want to save the
configuration. Enter no, and confirm the reload at
the next prompt.
6. After the router has reloaded, the system will ask
whether you want to enter the initial configuration
dialog. Enter no.
7. Change the configuration register setting to 0×2102
by entering enable and configure terminal to go
back to Global Configuration Mode and then entering
config-register 0×2102.
8. Enter end, and then enter write memory to overwrite
the existing startup configuration with the current
blank running configuration.
9. Enter reload to reload the router and complete the
wiping operation.

However, if you already know the password to the router, you can
use the second method. Follow these steps:
1. Log on to your router, and enter the privileged EXEC mode by entering
enable and then entering the enable password
command.
2. Enter configure terminal to go to Global
Configuration Mode.
3. Enter config-register 0×2102.
4. Enter end, and then enter the write erase command
to delete the current startup configuration on the
router.
5. Enter reload to reload the router. When the system
asks whether you want to save the configuration,
enter no.

When the router reloads, it will reset back to the original


factory defaults.

Clear the configuration of your switch

If your Cisco switch runs the CatOS, the procedure to wipe the
configuration is relatively quick. Follow these steps:

1. Log on to your switch, and enter the privileged


EXEC mode by entering enable and then entering the
enable password command.
2. Enter clear config all to reset the entire system.
You don’t need to reload the switch because
processing the command wipes the switch. If you’ve
set a boot option, you need to change that option
using the set boot command.
If your switch runs Cisco IOS, it maintains a running
configuration file and a startup configuration file, both of
which you need to clear. Follow these steps:

1. Log on to your switch, and enter the privileged


EXEC mode by entering enable and then entering the
enable password command.
2. Enter write erase, which erases the NVRAM file
system and removes all files.
3.At the prompt, confirm that you want to erase all
files.
4. Enter reload, and enter no when prompted whether to
save the configuration. (Otherwise, the switch will
reload the current running configuration.)
5.Confirm that you want to reload the switch, and
your switch configuration is almost clean.

It’s almost clean, but not quite. Most people forget to clear any
VLAN information they’ve created for their switches. Depending on
the hardware version of your switch and the software version of
your OS, the command for this varies. For more information, check
out Cisco’s “Resetting Catalyst Switches to Factory Defaults”
documentation, which walks you through the commands for clearing
VLAN information from your switch.

Final thoughts
PCs aren’t the only hardware you need to worry about wiping before
donating — you should apply this best practice to any network
device you’re discarding. Don’t donate information about your
networks: Clean any network devices before getting rid of them
just as you would a hard drive on a computer.

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