From the viewpoint of the IOS, there is no shutdown procedure and you can do as Kevin recommends. However, there may be a need to shutdown routing protocols to minimize the impact of the shutdown. Of course, this is only relevant if the router is in a network where it there are other paths available to carry any traffic being handled by the router. This can include shutting down HSRP to shift the "active router" role to another router, shutting down OSPF so that this router will not be used as a transit router, etc.

The protocols will recover from the sudden loss of the router, but you can avoid the interruption of service if you do an orderly shutdown. Unfortunately, the concept of orderly shutdown is not supported for all protocols or in all IOS releases, so your mileage may vary. For example, see: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/iosswrel/ps1839/products_feature_guide09186a00800b5d37.html for how to handle OSPF.

Good luck and have fun!

Vincent C Jones

www.networkingunlimited.com