CISCO IOS in a Nutshell

Name

reload — command

Synopsis

reload [in hh:mm] [at hh:mm [month 
               day] [cancel] [text]
show reload

Description

This command causes the router to reload the IOS operating system and reboot. You can specify a time for the reload to occur by using the in and at options. The show version of the command gives you the status of any pending reloads.

text

The reason for the reload; this reason is stored in memory and is used for a show reload command, sending warning messages, or sending messages to syslog servers.

in hh:mm

Tells the router to reload some time from now. For example, to start a reload in two hours, enter in 2:00.

at hh:mm month day

Tells the router to reload at a specific time (hh:mm). Optionally, you can specify a month and a day of the month, but the reboot must occur within 24 days.

cancel

Cancels a scheduled reload.

This command can be helpful when you are configuring a router remotely. One problem with working remotely is that if you make a mistake, you can kill your connection to the router, which may leave the router in a state that doesn’t allow you to reconnect. Use this command before executing “dangerous” configuration commands remotely. If you make a mistake and haven’t saved the configuration, the router will reboot and return to the previous configuration. If you don’t make a mistake and your changes work, you can simply cancel the impending reload.

Example

Router#reload in 2:00 "IOS upgrade"
Router#reload cancel
Router#show reload
No reload is scheduled.