5.3.2.
5: Exploring the Cisco IOS CLI
Objectives
Use the Cisco IOS CLI context-sensitive Help feature. Explore command shortcuts. Learn about error detection features. Use command history.
Background / Preparation
The Cisco IOS CLI includes many features that help in recalling commands and getting information about command use and function. In this activity, you will explore some of these features and perhaps discover why network technicians prefer the Cisco IOS CLI. Note: This activity begins by showing 100% completion, because the purpose is only to explore the Cisco IOS CLI. This activity is not graded.
Step 1: Connect to the Customer Cisco 1841 router.
Use the terminal emulation software on Customer PC to connect to the Cisco 1841 Customer Router. Press Enter to get started. The CustomerRouter>prompt indicates that you are in user EXEC mode.
Step 2: Explore the context-sensitive Help feature.
a. At the router command prompt, type ?. A brief description of the help that is available is displayed. b. Type e? to see which commands start with the letter "e". c. Type en?. Notice that you see only commands that start with "en". d. Type enable. The prompt changes to CustomerRouter#, indicating that you are in privileged EXEC mode.
Step 3: Explore Cisco IOS command shortcuts.
If you type letters that are unique to a command and then press the Tab key, the CLI automatically spells out the complete command.
a. Type c at the CustomerRouter# prompt and press the Tab key. Because "c" by itself is not unique to just one command, nothing happens. b. Now add "onf" to the "c" and press the Tab key. Because this sequence of letters is unique to the configure command, the CLI automatically completes the command entry. c. Now type ? after configure. A list of parameters and options for the configure command are displayed. The <cr> at the end of the output indicates that there are no other parameters that can be added to the configure command in this mode. In this example, the CLI shows that you can useterminal with the configure command: configure terminal. 1
Step 4: Explore error detection features.
a. At the CustomerRouter# prompt, type con and then press Enter. The output % Ambiguous command: "con" indicates that this is an incomplete command. b. At the router command prompt, enter configure trminal and then press Enter. Be sure to enter the command with the spelling error. The Cisco IOS CLI does not recognize the command and indicates an error with the marker ^.
Step 5: Recall previously typed commands.
a. Previously used commands are stored in a history buffer. To recall the last command entered, press Ctrl-P. The command appears at the router command prompt. b. Scroll back through the commands in the history buffer by repeatedly pressing CtrlP, and then press Ctrl-N to cycle forward through the history buffer. The Up and Down Arrow keys can also be used to recall commands from the history buffer. c. To view the last 10 commands entered, enter the show history command.
Reflection
a. List two Cisco IOS CLI commands that are available from the CustomerRouter# prompt but that are not available from the CustomerRouter>prompt.
Tip: Type enable to change to the CustomerRouter# prompt, and type disable to return to the CustomerRouter> prompt.
b. What does <cr> indicate at the end of a list of commands after you have requested help?
