Benefits of saving security credentials
After making changes to security parameters in the running configuration, you can experiment with the new configuration and, if necessary, view the new security settings during the session. After verifying the configuration, you can then save it permanently by writing the settings to the startup-config file.
By permanently saving a switch security credentials in a configuration file, you can upload the file to a TFTP server or Xmodem host, and later download the file to the switches on which you want to use the same security settings without having to manually configure the settings (except for SNMPv3 user parameters) on each switch.
By storing different security settings in different files, you can test different security configurations when you first download a new software version that supports multiple configuration files, by changing the configuration file used when you reboot the switch.
"Switch Memory and Configuration" in the management and configuration guide.