Described are a system and method for initializing a traffic card in a network element after a restart. The traffic card receives status information regarding a shelf processor card over a low-level link. If the status information indicates that the shelf processor card is unavailable, the traffic card supports traffic using provisioning data stored at the traffic card. Otherwise, if the status information indicates that the shelf processor card is un-initialized or initializing, the traffic card waits for the shelf processor card to be available. If the shelf processor is operational, the traffic card communicates with the shelf processor card to determine which provisioning data to use. When restarting the card, boot code stored in a first memory bank is executed. If this boot code is determined to be invalid, execution is redirected to boot code stored in a second memory bank to continue the restart process of the card.