Non-Plug and Play onboarding

Updated: October 12, 2026

Want to summarize with AI?

How to onboard devices to Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN without using Plug and Play (PnP).

Describes how to onboard devices to Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN without using Plug and Play (PnP).

New installation: Mode change device day zero scenario

A prerequisite for this process is a bootstrap file.

For software devices such as Cisco Catalyst 8000V Edge Software, and for OTP-authenticated devices such as the Cisco ASR1002-X, use the bootstrap file ciscosdwan_cloud_init.cfg. This file has OTP but no UUID validation.

Summary

Describes the process by which a new device determines which mode to use (Autonomous or Controller) and boots up.

Workflow

If a device is running a pre-17.2 universalk9 image on a new box, or for an existing box where you performed write erase and reload and loaded a Cisco IOS XE 17.2 or newer image, the device boots in day zero configuration and in Autonomous mode.
The device determines if a mode change is required, based on the bootstrap file, and boots up.
- If the ciscosdwan.cfg or ciscosdwan_cloud_init.cfg bootstrap files are available in the bootstrap location, mode change to Controller mode is initiated. After the device boots up in Controller mode, the configuration present in the configuration file is applied.
  
  The bootstrap file (ciscosdwan.cfg) is generated by Cisco SD-WAN Manager, and has a UUID, but no OTP.
- If a ciscortr.cfg bootstrap file or config-wizard is discovered, mode change is not initiated and the boot up continues in Autonomous mode.

Change a device to Autonomous mode

Use the controller-mode disable command only to temporarily change the device to Autonomous mode. Return the device to Controller mode using the same image.

Note

When the device mode is switched from Controller to Autonomous, all Yang-based configuration is preserved and can be reused if you switch back to controller mode.

Procedure

Use the controller-mode reset command to take the device back to the day zero configuration.
```
Device# controller-mode reset
```
Use the controller-mode disable command to switch the device to Autonomous mode.
```
Device# controller-mode disable
```

Change a device to Controller mode

Changing from Autonomous mode to Controller mode requires the device to perform an operation that expands the software package of the current running image. The expand operation requires bootflash space. When you execute the controller-mode enable command to change to Controller mode, there is a possibility that the router does not have enough bootflash space to expand the software package of the running image. The first step of the procedure addresses this.

Note

When the device mode is switched from Autonomous to Controller, the startup configuration and the information in NVRAM (certificates) are erased. This action is equivalent to running the write erase command.

Procedure

Check the available space on the device bootflash. Ensure that there is space equal to the size of the software image .bin file plus 100 MB.
Use the controller-mode enable command on the device to change to Controller mode.
The device verifies that the bootflash has sufficient space to expand the software image file.

If there is sufficient bootflash space, the device reboots in Controller mode and expands the software image.

If the bootflash does not have sufficient space, the command output indicates the space required and the device does not change to Controller mode.
Note
The device verifies that the bootflash has sufficient space to expand the software image file, from these releases:
- Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Release 17.12.5a and later maintenance releases of 17.12.x
- Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Release 17.15.2 and later maintenance releases of 17.12.x
- Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Release 17.16.1a and all later releases
In earlier releases, the controller-mode enable command does not first verify that the bootflash has sufficient space to expand the software image file. It first changes the device to Controller mode, then expands the file. Verify that the device expanded the image file.

Viewing the sdwaninstaller directory

Describes conditions in which you cannot view the contents of the sdwaninstaller directory.

You cannot view the contents of the bootflash:/.sdwaninstaller directory or .sdwanistallerfs file of a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN device in either of these conditions:

The device is in Controller mode, or
The device is in Autonomous mode and using Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Release 17.6.1a or later.

Directory, more, copy, and delete operations are not possible when the file and directory are hidden.

Need help?

Open a support case

(Requires a Cisco Service Contract)

The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using Inclusive Language.