Cisco Nexus 3548P: Legacy Password-Recovery Session

Scope and prerequisites

The source records a Nexus 3548P procedure and says it was tested on N3K/N5K systems. It does not establish applicability to other Nexus families or software releases. It starts at switch(boot)# and omits how that system entered boot mode; consult the matching Cisco recovery guide for the complete console/boot procedure. Recovery requiring power cycling or boot interruption disrupts service.

1. Set a new administrator password

From the boot prompt shown in the source:

switch(boot)# configure terminal
switch(boot-config)# admin-password <NEW_PASSWORD>
WARNING! Remote Authentication for login through console has been disabled
switch(boot-config)# exit

Replace the placeholder with a new password satisfying the actual release’s complexity rules. The source describes a combination of at least three of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, digits and symbols; confirm the applicable Cisco policy. No original example password is reproduced. Review console authentication after recovery, including the displayed remote-authentication warning.

2. Locate and load the installed image

switch(boot)# dir bootflash:
switch(boot)# load bootflash:n3500-uk9.5.0.3.A1.2a.bin
switch login: admin
Password: <NEW_PASSWORD>

The filename is the source’s installed NX-OS image, not a generic Cisco IOS image or a download recommendation. Select the actual compatible image present on the device. The spurious space after bootflash: in the source’s load example has been removed. At an interactive password prompt, typed characters are normally not echoed.

Verify access and follow the matching release guide for making the recovered configuration/password persistent. Cisco’s legacy N5K guide includes setting the account password in normal configuration mode and saving with copy running-config startup-config; use the procedure for the exact platform/release rather than assuming that logging in alone completes recovery.

3. Optional source lab workflow: erase configuration and reload

The source separately tests ports, then erases configuration before handing off the lab switch. It also suggests an erase before testing when show run reveals existing port configuration. These are destructive lab/factory-reset operations, not required steps of password recovery. Preserve any configuration that must survive; erasing startup configuration and rebooting can remove management/network service.

switch# write erase
Warning: This command will erase the startup-configuration.
Do you wish to proceed anyway? (y/n) [n] y
switch# reload
WARNING: This command will reboot the system
Do you want to continue? (y/n) [n] y

Do not run that optional block on an in-service switch merely because a password was changed. The source’s claim that other Nexus subfamilies may work remains untested.

Cisco’s legacy N5K recovery procedure confirms the boot-mode password/image syntax for its own version. Cisco’s broader NX-OS recovery reference must also be read with its platform/version scope; its boot instructions are not silently substituted for this legacy N3500 image.

Original case/reference: stored source.