Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Practice Exam 2026 - Free CCNA Practice Questions and Study Guide

The command used to save the running configuration on a Cisco device is indeed "copy run start." This command effectively copies the currently active configuration in RAM (the running configuration) to the non-volatile memory (NVRAM), where the startup configuration is stored. By doing this, if the device is rebooted, it will load the configuration saved in NVRAM, ensuring that any changes made while the device was running are retained.

The significance of this command is rooted in its function of preserving configuration changes made during the current session, which is crucial for maintaining network stability and ensuring that desired settings are applied upon restart. It prevents any loss of important configurations, allowing for a seamless recovery in case of a power failure or hardware restart.

Other commands mentioned do not fulfill this specific purpose. For instance, "save config" and "store config" are not valid commands recognized by Cisco devices, and while "write memory" is historically used and may still work on some devices, it is less commonly used in modern Cisco IOS versions compared to "copy run start." Understanding these distinctions is important for effective network device management.