Using the Command Line Interface
ENTERING COMMANDS
This section describes how to enter CLI commands.
Keywords and Arguments
A CLI command is a series of keywords and arguments. Keywords identify a command, and arguments specify configuration parameters. For example, in the command “show interfaces ethernet,” show and interfaces are keywords, and ethernet is an argument that specifies the interface type.
You can enter commands as follows:
•To enter a simple command, enter the command keyword.
•To enter commands that require parameters, enter the required parameters after the command keyword. For example, to set a password for the administrator, enter:
Outdoor 11a Building to Building (config)#username smith
Minimum Abbreviation
The CLI will accept a minimum number of characters that uniquely identify a command. For example, the command “configure” can be entered as con. If an entry is ambiguous, the system will prompt for further input.
Command Completion
If you terminate input with a Tab key, the CLI will print the remaining characters of a partial keyword up to the point of ambiguity. In the “configure” example, typing con followed by a tab will result in printing the command up to “configure.”
Getting Help on Commands
You can display a brief description of the help system by entering the help command. You can also display command syntax by following a command with the “?” character to list keywords or parameters.
