Owner's Manual

54 Using the CLI
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
To enter commands that require parameters, enter the required parameters after the command
keyword. For example, to set a password for the administrator, enter:
Console(config)# username admin password smith
When working with the CLI, the command options are not displayed. The command is not
selected by a menu but is manually entered. To see what commands are available in each mode or
within an Interface Configuration, the CLI does provide a method of displaying the available
commands, the command syntax requirements and in some instances parameters required to
complete the command. The standard command to request help is the
?
.
There are three instances where the help information can be displayed:
Keyword lookup
—The character
?
is entered in place of a command. A list of all valid
commands and corresponding help messages are displayed.
Partial keyword lookup
—A command is incomplete and the character
?
is entered in place of
a parameter. The matched parameters for this command are displayed.
To assist in using the CLI, there is an assortment of editing features. The following features are
described:
Terminal Command Buffer
Command Completion
Keyboard Shortcuts
Terminal Command Buffer
Every time a command is entered in the CLI, it is recorded on an internally managed Command
History buffer. Commands are stored in the buffer which is maintained on a
First In First Out
(FIFO)
basis.These commands can be recalled, reviewed, modified, and reissued. This buffer is not
preserved across device resets.
By default, the history buffer system is enabled, but it can be disabled at any time. For information
about the command syntax to enable or disable the history buffer, see history.
There is a standard default number of commands that are stored in the buffer. The standard
number of 10 commands can be increased to 256. By configuring 0, the effect is the same as
disabling the history buffer system. For information about the command syntax for configuring the
command history buffer, see
history size
.
To display the history buffer, see
show history
.
Keyword Source or destination
Up-arrow key
Ctrl+P
Recalls commands in the history buffer, beginning with the most recent command.
Repeats the key sequence to recall successively older commands.
Down-arrow key Returns to more recent commands in the history buffer after recalling commands
with the up-arrow key. Repeating the key sequence will recall successively more
recent commands.