About the Command Line Interface

The CLI, or command line interface, enables authorized administrators to access certain functions from the command line in a terminal window. Many of these functions are also available using the System Manager, which is a web portal, described in the Core System Manager Guide.

Logging in

Procedure 

  1. Use ssh to log in to Core.
  2. Log in as the administrator user established during installation.
  3. Enter the corresponding password.

Logging out

Use Ctrl-d to terminate the CLI session and close the terminal window. You can also enter one of the following commands:

  • logout
  • exit

Help commands

Two commands are available to help you use the CLI:

  • help
  • ? (question mark)

Enter help to display a description of the interactive help system, including:

  • Auto-complete keys
  • Movement keys
  • Deletion keys

Enter ? to list available commands in the current mode or details for the current command.

For example, the following command lists all commands in the current mode:

>?

The following command lists details about the show command:

>show ?

The following command lists details about the show ip command:

>show ip ?

The list of available commands varies according to the mode you are in. See Modes.

Auto-complete keys

The following keys provide auto-completion capabilities:

  • Enter – Auto-completes the command line, performs syntax checking, and executes the command if no syntax error exists. If a syntax error exists, help text displays.

  • Spacebar – Auto-completes the command.

Movement keys

  • [CTRL-A] – Move to the start of the line
  • [CTRL-E] – Move to the end of the line.
  • [up] – Move to the previous command line held in history.
  • [down] – Move to the next command line held in history.
  • [left] – Move the insertion point left one character.
  • [right] – Move the insertion point right one character.

Deletion keys

  • [CTRL-C] – Delete and abort the current line.
  • [CTRL-D] – Delete the character to the right of the insertion point.
  • [CTRL-K] – Delete all the characters to the right of the insertion point.
  • [CTRL-U] – Delete the whole line.
  • [backspace] – Delete the character to the left of the insertion point.
  • [CTRL-Z] – Quits the session.

Modes

The CLI uses the following modes:

  • EXEC – Default mode established when you log in successfully.

  • EXEC PRIVILEGED – Privileged mode, enabling commands that affect device management.

  • CONFIG – Configuration mode, enabling commands that affect network management. In this mode, you can use the Tab key to cycle through the available commands and sub-commands.

  • INTERFACE – Mode for configuring physical and VLAN interfaces.

Entry to each mode is sequential: EXEC, EXEC PRIVILEGED, CONFIG, INTERFACE. To access each mode, move to the mode from the previous mode. For example, to access the CONFIG mode, you must be in the EXEC PRIVILEGED mode.

To access the different modes:

Table 2.  Accessing CLI modes

Mode

Accessible through...

Command to access

Return to the previous mode

EXEC

The default mode

Not applicable

exit

Exits the CLI session.

EXEC
PRIVILEGED

EXEC mode

enable

disable

CONFIG

EXEC PRIVILEGED mode

configure terminal

end

INTERFACE

CONFIG mode

interface GigabitEthernet n

interface vlan n

end