Many CLI commands require input as part of the command. These fields are either required or optional depending on how the information is bracketed.
To get a quick display of available options at a CLI level or for the next option in a command string, enter a single question mark
? at the prompt, or press
Tab. The option information is presented using certain syntax:
When an item is not enclosed by < >,
[ ], or
{ } symbols, the item is a required keyword.
Within the CLI, the command line prompt identifies both the hostname and the command mode. The hostname is the name of your system (set using the
hostname command). The command mode indicates your location within the CLI command structure.
Every command requires at least one keyword. However, a command can contain other optional keywords. Keywords must be typed into the CLI accurately to be recognized. These are examples of keywords:
Keywords identify the operation to be performed. You can abbreviate keywords, but you must enter enough initial characters to unambiguously identify the command. For example, if the keyword you want to specify is
source and you enter only
s, an error appears. The error indicates that one or more possible keywords begin with
s, making your entry ambiguous.
Parameters are often required elements of a command, but for some commands, parameters are not required. A parameter is most often a value that you specify after the keyword. There are different types of parameters, such as strings, integers, or IP addresses. The CLI indicates the type of parameter that you must enter. When you see a range of numbers or uppercase letters, it indicates that you must specify a value.
By combining keywords and parameters in the correct sequence, you can begin using the CLI to configure and monitor your system. For example, you could specify the command
hostname to change the name of your system by entering a keyword and a parameter. You need to type only the portion of the keyword that makes it unambiguous, such as
hostn. Here, the value of the parameter, which is the name you assign to the host, is a string of up to 64 characters.