5-1
5 CLI Configuration
When configuring CLI, go to these sections for information you are interested in:
z Introduction to the CLI
z Command Hierarchy
z CLI Views
z CLI Features

Introduction to the CLI

A command line interface (CLI) is a user interface to interact with a switch. Through the CLI on a switch,
a user can enter commands to configure the switch and check output information to verify the
configuration. Each 3com switch 4500 provides an easy-to-use CLI and a set of configuration
commands for the convenience of the user to configure and manage the switch.
The CLI on the 3com switch 4500 provides the following features, and so has good manageability and
operability.
z Hierarchical command protection: After users of different levels log in, they can only use
commands at their own, or lower, levels. This prevents users from using unauthorized commands
to configure switches.
z Online help: Users can gain online help at any time by entering a question mark (?).
z Debugging: Abundant and detailed debugging information is provided to help users diagnose and
locate network problems.
z Command history function: This enables users to check the commands that they have lately
executed and re-execute the commands.
z Partial matching of commands: The system will use partially matching method to search for
commands. This allows users to execute a command by entering partially-spelled command
keywords as long as the keywords entered can be uniquely identified by the system.

Command Hierarchy

Command Level and User Privilege Level

To restrict the different users’ access to the device, the system manages the login users and all the
commands by their privilege levels.
All the commands and login users are categorized into four levels, which are visit, monitor, system, and
manage from low to high, and identified respectively by 0 through 3. After users at different privilege
levels log in, they can only use commands at their own, or lower, levels. For example, level 2 users can
only use level 0 through level 2 commands, not level 3 commands.
Command level
Based on user privilege, commands are classified into four levels, which default to:
z Visit level (level 0): Commands at this level are mainly used to diagnose network, and they cannot
be saved in configuration file. For example, ping, tracert and telnet are level 0 commands.