New Features Application Notes 19
WARNING: For network security, do not include security sensitive information such as passwords. The ASCII text file is not encyrpted, which means the passwords are readable by anyone who has access to the file.
When the router is booted and the BOOT.CFG file is detected in the configuration directory, all existing configuration files (except CCSMACRO and IOXM) in the configuration directory are deleted. The configuration commands in the BOOT.CFG file are then executed. If a configuration command fails to execute successfully, it does not stop, but continues with the next configuration command. Just as when you enter a configuration command on the command line, new encoded configuration files are created. As long as the file BOOT.CFG is detected in the configuration directory, this operation is repeated every time the router is rebooted.
To suspend this operation and use the encoded configuration files when the router is rebooted, the BOOT.CFG file can be renamed (ReName command is now supported by LoadConfigs) as the last command in the BOOT.CFG file.
To minimize the impact of executing configuration commands at boot time, the configuration commands are not displayed. However, as with normal LoadConfigs operations, a log file is created, which contains the configuration commands that were executed along with any comments from the BOOT.CFG file and system messages that may have been generated.
If the router has intelligent I/O modules (6 port Ethernet, ATM module, Multiport BRI modules), they are loaded before any of the commands are executed. The "System Initialized and Running" message is not displayed (that is, no user interaction is possible) until after all of the commands in the BOOT.CFG file have executed. If the ASCII boot feature has been invoked, a message appears as part of the SysconF command Boot Statistics information to indicate this.
Configuration changes executed after the router is booted are not automatically captured in the BOOT.CFG file and would be lost if the router was rebooted. Also, the execution of the ASCII boot feature does not affect any macros that have been defined or the SysconF configuration.
After booting with the boot.cfg file, any changes made to the device via telnet, console, SNMP, or web interface are not saved to the boot.cfg file. It is recommended that you make all changes in the boot.cfg file directly.