Which memory stores the startup configuration file?

• A. RAM
• B. ROM
• C. NVRAM
• D. Flash

Answer: (C)

Startup configuration is the copy of the device’s settings that is loaded when it boots. It must survive power cycles, so it lives in non-volatile memory. Non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) is designed to retain data without power, making it the place where the startup configuration is stored. When the device starts, it reads the startup-config from NVRAM and loads it into RAM as the running configuration to operate with. If you change settings, you save them by copying the running configuration to startup configuration so they persist after a reboot. RAM holds only the current running config while power is on, ROM holds the bootstrap code, and Flash stores the IOS image and other files, not typically the startup config. So the startup configuration file is stored in NVRAM.