2.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 status ethernet 1/5,” show interfaces and status are
keywords, ethernet is an argument that specifies the interface type, and 1/5
specifies the unit/port.
You can enter commands as follows:
> To enter a simple command, enter the command keyword.
> To enter multiple commands, enter each command in the required order. For
example, to enable Privileged Exec command mode, and display the startup
configuration, enter:
Console>enable
Console#show startup-config
> To enter commands that require parameters, enter the required parameters
after the command keyword. For example, to set a password for the adminis-
trator, enter:
Console(config)#username admin password 0 smith
Minimum Abbreviation
The CLI will accept a minimum number of characters that uniquely identify a
command. For example, the command “logging console” can be entered as log-
ging c. 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 “logging console” exam-
ple, typing log followed by a tab will result in printing the command up to “log-
ging.”
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