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CSE 2103
Computer Networks and
Data Communications I

Tutorials

Timothy Velloza and

Devindra Kashrinandan
Topic in Focus

The Cisco IOS

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Tutorial Outline

▸ Section I: Basics of the Cisco IOS

▸ Section II: The Cisco IOS Modes
▸ Section III: Typing Commands
▸ Section IV: Saving Configuration
▸ Section V: Viewing Configuration
▸ Section VI: Questions
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Section I

Basics of the
Cisco IOS
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The Cisco IOS

The Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS) is

the kernel of Cisco routers as well as all current
Catalyst switches and it’s also what we use to
configure these devices.
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The Cisco IOS Boot Process

1. When you first bring up a Cisco IOS device, it

will run a power-on self-test—a POST.
2. The machine will look for and then load the
Cisco IOS from flash memory and expand it
into RAM.
3. The IOS then locates and loads a valid
configuration known as the 'startup-config'
that will be stored in nonvolatile RAM
(NVRAM).
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The Cisco IOS Boot Process

1. Once the IOS is loaded and up and running, the

startup-config will be copied from NVRAM into
RAM and from then on referred to as the
running-config.
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Section II

The Cisco IOS

Modes
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User Exec Mode

After the interface status messages appear and

you press Enter, the 'Switch>' prompt will pop up.
This is called user exec mode and it’s mostly used
to view statistics.
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Privileged Exec Mode

The privileged exec mode gives you access to a

wider range of commands than the user exec
mode. You can view and change the configuration
of a Cisco router/switch only while in privileged
exec mode, and you enter it via the enable
command like this:
1. Switch>enable
2. Switch#
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Privileged Exec Mode

The 'Switch#' prompt signals you’re in privileged

mode. You can go back from privileged mode into
user mode by using the disable command:

1. Switch#disable
2. Switch>
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Global Configuration Mode

You can make global changes to the router/switch

by typing configure terminal. You can only enter
this mode from privileged exec mode. Example:

1. Switch#configure terminal
2. Switch(config)

Note: To return to privileged exec mode, use the ‘exit’ command.

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Interface Configuration Mode

The interface configuration mode allows you to

make changes to an interface. You can only enter
this mode from global configuration mode.
Example:
1. Switch(config)interface fastethernet 0/1
2. Switch(config-if)

Note: To return to global configuration mode, use the ‘exit’ command.

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Cisco IOS Mode Summary
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Section III

Typing
Commands
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Help Command

The Cisco advanced editing features can also help you

configure your device. If you type in a question mark
(?) at any prompt, you’ll be given a list of all the
commands available from that prompt.
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Help Command (Example)
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Help Command

If the output is too long, you can press the spacebar to

get another whole page of information, or you can
press Enter to go one line at a time. You can also type
any other key to quit and return to the prompt.
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Help Command

To find commands that start with a certain letter, use

the letter and the question mark (?) with no space
between them. Example:

1. Switch#c?
2. cd clear clock cns configure connect copy

By typing c?, we got a response listing all the

commands that start with c.
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Help Command

If we type a first command followed by a space and

then a question mark we would then get a list of
possible parameters plus what they do. Example:

1. Switch#clock ?
2. set Set the time and date

Note: You can just keep typing a command, a space, and then a question mark
until <cr> (carriage return) is your only option left.
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Typing Command Shortcut #1

When you press the Tab key at the end of a unique

command or option abbreviation, the CLI completes
the command or options for you. Example:

1. Switch# sh<Tab>
2. Switch# show
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Typing Command Shortcut #2

To re-display a command you previously entered,

press the up arrow key. You can continue to press the
up arrow key for more commands.
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Typing Command Shortcut #3

A user does not need to type the entire command to

have it recognized by the IOS, it only requires a
minimum amount of characters that unambiguously
define that command.
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Typing Command Shortcut #3 (Example)

If you want to enter into configuration mode and you

don’t want to type the entire syntax like ‘configure
terminal’ you can just type ‘conf t’ and the IOS will
recognize that you want to execute the full "configure
terminal" command. Example

1. Switch#conf t
2. Switch(config)
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Section IV

Saving
Configuration
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Saving Configurations

To save your configuration changes to a file stored on

the IOS, so that the changes are not lost if a system
reload or power outage occurs, you must enter the
‘copy running-config startup-config’ OR ‘write
memory’ commands. These commands can only be
entered in privileged exec mode.
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Saving Configurations (Example)

Switch#copy running-config startup-config

OR

Switch#write memory
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Section V

Viewing
Configuration
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Viewing Configurations

To view the current configuration for a Cisco device we

can use the ‘show running-config’ command. The
output of this command is usually large and you have
to press the spacebar key to see more output.
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Viewing Configurations (Example)

Switch#show running-config
Building configuration...

Current configuration : 855 bytes

!
! Last configuration change at 23:20:06 UTC Mon Mar 1 1993
!
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Conclusion

END
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Section VI

Questions