Dell OS10 Factory Reset: Backup, Delete Files and Reload

2026年9月2日 LOG admin

Unlike Dell OS9, which offers the one-shot restore factory-defaults command, Dell PowerSwitch OS10 has no equivalent - resetting the switch to factory defaults is done manually from the Linux kernel by removing the startup configuration and the Redis database files. This guide explains the exact procedure documented in the Dell knowledge base, what to back up first (including VLT settings), and how to verify the switch came back clean.

What a Factory Reset Actually Changes

It helps to be precise about scope before wiping anything. On OS10 the running configuration is not a single flat file the way it is on OS9. The CLI keeps its state in a Redis database (/config/var/lib/redis/dump.rdb), and the boot-time configuration is a separate XML file (/config/etc/opt/dell/os10/db_init/startup.xml). Removing both means the switch boots with nothing configured: no hostname, no management IP, no VLANs, no VLT domain, no users other than the default admin account.

What a reset does not touch is equally important:

The OS image and boot loader — ONIE and the installed OS10 image remain. You are not reinstalling firmware, so the switch stays on the same release.
The license file — installed licenses survive; only the configuration that used them is gone.
Logs and support bundles — files under /var/log are not removed by deleting the two configuration files.
Console access — the serial console keeps working throughout because it does not depend on the configuration database.

Remote access does not survive. Every configured user is deleted with the configuration, so SSH and Telnet will not be there when the switch comes back. Plan on the local console for the whole procedure, and have a serial cable plus a terminal client ready before you start.

Before You Start: Back Up the Configuration

The reset wipes SSH and Telnet access because every configured user is deleted, so plan to work from the local console. Before wiping anything, save the current state:

OS10# show running-configuration
OS10# show running-configuration vlt
OS10# show vlan

Pay attention to VLT domain settings (backup destination, discovery interfaces, vlt-port-channel members), VLAN configurations, spanning-tree parameters and any LAG definitions - these are the settings you will have to rebuild after the reset.

Capture the rest of the picture while you are there, because these details are the ones people forget until they are rebuilding:

OS10# show version
OS10# show license status
OS10# show interface status
OS10# show port-channel summary
OS10# show lldp neighbors
OS10# show running-configuration interface ethernet 1/1/1

Two practical pieces of advice. First, copy the output off the box rather than relying on scroll-back — a terminal session limit of a few thousand lines will not hold a full running configuration on a busy core switch. Second, note the management interface numbering and its VRF, because on OS10 the OOB management port lives in its own VRF and gets its address from a separate configuration block that is easy to overlook when rebuilding.

Entering the Linux Shell and Deleting the Files

From the console, drop to the Linux prompt (the Dell KB shows the OS10 bash shell as root@Core01:~#) and remove the two files that hold the entire configuration:

root@Core01:~# rm -rf /config/etc/opt/dell/os10/db_init/startup.xml
root@Core01:~# rm -vf /config/var/lib/redis/dump.rdb

The startup.xml file is the startup configuration used on boot, and dump.rdb is the Redis database where OS10 stores the running configuration. Double-check both files are gone with ls before rebooting.

root@Core01:~# ls -l /config/etc/opt/dell/os10/db_init/
root@Core01:~# ls -l /config/var/lib/redis/

If you also want the switch to come back without its previous admin password, delete the account database at the same time — this is the difference between a configuration reset and a full password recovery. If you are only resetting configuration, leave it alone.

Reboot and Verify the Factory State

root@Core01:~# reboot

After the switch reloads, log in as the default admin user and confirm the configuration was cleared:

OS10# show running-configuration vlt
OS10# show interface port-channel summary
OS10# show vlan

A successful reset shows no VLT domain, no port-channel interfaces, and only the default VLAN 1 active on all physical ports.

Widen the check a little before handing the switch over:

OS10# show running-configuration
OS10# show interface status
OS10# show ip interface brief
OS10# show users

The running configuration should be close to empty apart from defaults, no management IP should be configured, and the only logged-in session should be your console. If the old hostname is still on the prompt, you did not actually remove both files — go back and re-check the paths.

Alternative Quick Reset via the CLI

When you only need to wipe the saved configuration (not the full Linux-level reset), the OS10 CLI offers a faster path documented in the Dell deployment guides:

OS10# delete startup-configuration
Proceed to delete startup-configuration [yes/no(default)]: yes
OS10# reload

Answer no when asked to save the system configuration, and the switch reboots with factory default settings.

Choosing Between the Reset Methods

OS10 exposes several ways to get back to defaults, and picking the wrong one wastes a maintenance window:

Method	Where it runs	Removes	Best for
`delete startup-configuration`	OS10 CLI	Startup configuration only	Fast wipe while still logged in
Delete `startup.xml` + `dump.rdb`	Linux shell	Startup and running configuration	Switch that will not boot cleanly, or a stuck configuration
Boot into ONIE / recovery mode	Boot loader	Everything including the OS image	Forgotten credentials or a corrupted install

The middle row is the one in the Dell KB and the one this guide follows, because it works even when the CLI itself is misbehaving.

Rebuilding the Switch After the Reset

The reset is the easy half. On a switch that was running VLT, expect to rebuild in this order: hostname and management interface, users and AAA, VLANs and their descriptions, port channels and LACP members, then the VLT domain on both peers, then spanning-tree tuning and any routing protocol. Bring the VLT domain up only after the peer link and the port channels underneath it are correct — a half-built VLT domain produces confusing dual-active behaviour that looks like a hardware fault.

OS10# configure terminal
OS10(config)# hostname Core01
OS10(config)# interface mgmt 1/1/1
OS10(config-if-mgmt-1/1/1)# ip address 10.1.149.10/24
OS10(config-if-mgmt-1/1/1)# no shutdown

ZTP: Why the Reset Might Not Stick

If the switch was originally deployed with Zero Touch Provisioning, a factory reset can undo your work before the maintenance window is over. ZTP reads a configuration location from DHCP option 67 / vendor options and either applies a template automatically or waits for an administrator to approve the image and configuration it discovered. On a switch whose management port is still cabled to a network with a ZTP DHCP scope, the very next boot after a reset can pull down and reapply a configuration you were trying to remove — which looks exactly like "the reset did not work".

Disable it explicitly before you wipe, and confirm afterwards:

OS10# ztp disable
OS10# show ztp status
OS10# show ztp log

Treat ZTP as active unless you have proven otherwise, particularly on a switch that arrived from a lab or another team. If ZTP is genuinely in use, the correct move is usually to reset, let the switch boot clean, then re-enable ZTP deliberately so it reprovisions from the authoritative source rather than from whatever stale DHCP scope it happens to see.

Before the Maintenance Window: A Short Checklist

Serial console cable and terminal software tested before the window opens; 115200 8N1 is the usual setting.
Saved configuration, show version output, license output and LLDP neighbour list copied to a host that is not the switch.
Console server access confirmed if the switch is remote, because you cannot recover over SSH after the wipe.
ZTP status checked and disabled.
The VLT peer's window scheduled to match — a VLT domain with one rebuilt member and one legacy member is worse than either state alone.
Out-of-band power control (iDRAC, PDU, smart hands) verified, in case the switch needs a hard power cycle to come back.

Troubleshooting the Procedure

No console output after reboot — verify the serial settings (115200 8N1 on most OS10 platforms) and that the cable is in the console port, not the management port.
Switch boots with the old configuration — one of the two files was not removed, or a ZTP process re-applied a configuration. Check the paths again and disable ZTP before rebuilding.
Redis never starts and the CLI will not come up — the dump.rdb directory permissions are wrong after the manual delete. The directory should remain, only the file inside it should go.
Management IP unreachable afterwards — on OS10 the OOB management interface sits in a dedicated VRF, so a default route in the default VRF will not help you reach it.
VLT peer will not form a domain — the two peers must be reset and rebuilt with matching domain IDs, the peer link must be up, and the backup destination must be reachable from the management VRF.

Verifying the Rebuild Against the Saved Configuration

The last step is the one that gets skipped. Diff what is running against what you saved before the wipe:

OS10# show running-configuration > flash://post-reset.txt
OS10# show vlt brief
OS10# show lacp port-channel
OS10# show spanning-tree summary

Work through the sections in the order you captured them — hostname and management access, users and AAA, VLANs, port channels, VLT, spanning tree, routing. Anything that differs either needs to be rebuilt or needs a deliberate decision to leave behind, and the difference between those two outcomes is the whole value of having taken a backup. Save a fresh copy of the finished configuration off the switch as well, so the next person who has to reset it starts from a known-good reference rather than from scroll-back on a console session.