Send documentation comments to mdsfeedback-doc@cisco.com
1-3
Cisco MDS 9000 Family Command Reference
OL-8413-07, Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 3.x
Chapter 1 CLI Overview
About the CLI Command Modes
About the CLI Command Modes
Switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family have two main command modes—user EXEC mode and
configuration mode. The commands available to you depend on the mode you are in. To obtain a list of
available commands in either mode, type a question mark (?) at the system prompt.
Table 1-1 lists and describes the two commonly used modes, how to enter the modes, and the resulting
system prompts. The system prompt helps you identify which mode you are in and hence, which
commands are available to you.
You can abbreviate commands and keywords by entering just enough characters to make the command
unique from other commands. For example, you can abbreviate the config terminal command to conf t.
Table 1-1 Frequently Used Switch Command Modes
Mode Description of Use How to Access Prompt
EXEC Enables you to temporarily change
terminal settings, perform basic tests, and
display system information.
Note Changes made in this mode are
generally not saved across system
resets.
At the switch prompt, enter the required
EXEC mode command.
switch#
Configuration
mode
Enables you to configure features that
affect the system as a whole.
Note Changes made in this mode are
saved across system resets if you
save your configuration. Refer to
the Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI
Configuration Guide for further
information.
From EXEC mode, enter the config
terminal command.
switch(config)#