This article differentiates between the use of the load factory-default and request system zeroize media commands. It also describes the commands that are used to reset the device to factory defaults.
request system zeroize media
When the request system zeroize media operation mode command is used via the Command Line Interface (CLI), the device can be reset to factory defaults. This operation will erase all logs and data, and then load the factory-default configuration on the device. This is the same as using the Reset Config button on the front panel of the SRX100, SRX210, SRX240, and SRX650 Series devices.
After running this command, when a device is rebooted, it will not ask for a password and it will have no logs.
Note that licenses are not deleted when this command is executed. This is the intended behavior of the fix for PR863962 - License is deleted after request system zeroize and it was resolved in Junos OS 12.1X44-D25, 12.1X45-D15, and 12.1X46-D10 release.
However, licenses can be deleted, if desired, with the command request system license delete <license-key-identifier>, as discussed in KB17729 - How to remove a license key.
Note: On SRX5000 Series devices, request system zeroize should be used, because the media option is not currently supported on this series.
load factory-default
The load factory-default command in Config mode will erase only the existing configuration and load the factory-default configuration. However, the root-authentication password must be set before committing the configuration.
For more information, refer to KB15725 - [SRX] Getting Started - Factory Reset.
Note: Console access is required to execute request system zeroize, whereas it is not mandatory for load factory-default. But if the user is running the load factory-default command via a “non-console” connection to any IP address (management or otherwise), the user needs to ensure that the configuration to the interface used for the current connection is restored before commit.