Configuration persistence during mode switch

Updated: July 7, 2026

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Configuration retention and erasure when switching a device between Autonomous and Controller modes.

Describes configuration retention and erasure when switching a device between Autonomous and Controller modes.

Table 1. Mode switch behavior
Current configuration mode	Switching to	Behavior
Autonomous	Controller	Erases the contents of NVRAM and the startup configuration. Device reverts to a day zero configuration. The previous running configuration is stored in bootflash. The configuration is not restored. Note When you switch from Autonomous mode to Controller mode, and switch back to Autonomous mode, the Cisco IOS XE configuration is not restored because the startup configuration is empty. You can manually restore the configuration from a backup.
Controller	Autonomous	Erases the ConfD configuration database (CDB) contents, for subsequent mode switches, and the Cisco IOS XE configuration is not restored, as the startup configuration is empty. You can manually restore the configuration from a backup.

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