CHAPTER 1
Using the Command-Line Interface
Thischapter contains the followingtopics:
•InformationAbout Usingthe Command-LineInterface, page 1
•Howto Use the CLI to Configure Features, page 5

Information About Using the Command-Line Interface

Thissection describes the Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI) and how to use it to configure your switch.

Command Modes

TheCisco IOS user interface is divided into many different modes. The commands available to you depend
onwhich mode you are currently in. Enter a question mark (?) at the system prompt to obtain a list of commands
availablefor each commandmode.
Youcan start a CLI session through a console connection, through Telnet, a SSH, or by using the browser.
Whenyou start a session, you begin in user mode, often called user EXECmode. Only a limitedsubset of
thecommands are available in user EXEC mode. For example, most of the user EXEC commands are one-time
commands,such as show commands,which showthe currentconfiguration status, and clearcommands,
whichclear counters or interfaces.The user EXEC commands are not saved when the switch reboots.
Tohave access to all commands, you must enter privileged EXEC mode. Normally,you must enter a password
toenter privilegedEXEC mode. From this mode, you can enter any privileged EXEC command or enter
globalconfiguration mode.
Usingthe configuration modes (global, interface, and line), you can make changes to the running configuration.
Ifyou save the configuration,these commands are stored and used when the switch reboots. To access the
variousconfiguration modes, youmust startat globalconfiguration mode. Fromglobal configurationmode,
youcan enterinterface configuration mode andline configurationmode.
Thistable describes the main command modes, how to access each one, the prompt you see in that mode, and
howto exitthe mode.
Catalyst 2960-XR Switch VLAN Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EX1
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