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The Command Line Interface (CLI) is a program that can be used to modify the configuration of an IEEE 802.11 Access Point. The general concept of the program is to open a configuration file, modify it, then save the modified file. Opening and saving is done in General mode. Modification is done in Configuration mode and Interface Configuration mode.
For information on invoking the CLI from the operating system command line, and the arguments you can specify at that time, refer to the topic Invoking the CLI from the Operating System Command Line.
After starting the CLI, enter "?" to show the available commands:
[CLI]> ? show -> Show running system information... configure -> Enter configuration mode... explorer -> Explorer commands... write -> Store configuration... reboot -> Reboot remote device... exit -> Exit from the CLI quit -> Exit from the CLI done -> Exit from the CLI help -> Description of the interactive help system,-OR- Display extended help...The ? is also used to show the possible continuations after a command is partially complete. Enter "show ?" to see the list of commands that begin with the word "show". Be sure to leave a space between "show" and the question mark:
[CLI]> show ? clock -> Display the system clock version -> Display system hardware and software status terminal -> Display terminal configuration parameters configuration -> Display current configuration ip -> Display IP configuration bridging -> Display bridging configuration interface -> Display interface configuration access-list -> Display access-list configurations explorer -> Explorer protocol... accesspoints -> Display list of access points on this subnet features -> Display supported features history -> Display CLI History arguments -> Display current argument values (including defaults),-OR- Display the value of a specific argument...When a complete command or executable statement is displayed, the ? feature will display
<cr>, as seen in the following example. (Note the space between clock and the question mark.)[CLI]> show clock ? -> <cr>Press Enter to execute the command.
[CLI]> show clock 16:19:34 EDT Wed May 02 2001
The following illustrates the structure of commands in the CLI. As alluded to above, the command continuations (shown by pressing ?) are displayed one word at a time. This gives the feeling of a hierarchical structure. For example, the bridging commands branch from the "bridging" word, and Spanning Tree functions branch from the "bridging spt" phrase:
- bridging
- bridging broadcast-threshold
- bridging multicast-threshold
- bridging spt
- bridging spt bridge-priority
- bridging spt max-age
- bridging spt hello-time
- bridging spt forward-delay
Using the CLI to make changes to a configuration requires you to open the configuration, make necessary changes, then save those changes. To open (or load) a configuration, you must be in General Mode. Use the configure remote command to load a configuration from a remote Access Point. To modify the loaded configuration, use configure terminal. To save the modified configuration to an Access Point or to a file, use the write command.
Remember that a configuration must be loaded before entering in to Configuration mode.
Loading a Configuration
Load a configuration from a remote Access Point by entering configure remote hostname where hostname is the DNS name or IP address of the Access Point to be configured:
[CLI]> configure remote 10.0.1.190 Config loaded from 10.0.1.190 Hostname#If you are unable to reach the Access Point (due to network or IP addressing problems, or an incorrect SNMP read/write password), it will display a message like the following:
[CLI]> conf rem 10.1.1.1 % Timeout communicating with remote device. % Error during download of remote configuration. % Error loading config from 10.1.1.1To load a configuration from a file, enter configure file filename where filename is the name of the file to load:
[CLI]> configure file main_ap.cnf Config loaded from main_ap.cnf main_ap.cnf#
Modifying a Configuration
Once the configuration is loaded, use the configure terminal command to enter configuration mode:
Hostname> configure terminal Hostname(config)>Use ? to show the available commands in Configuration mode:
Hostname(config)> ? show -> Show running system information... write -> Store configuration... hostname -> Set the (SNMP) system hostname... no -> Disable a configuration parameter... ip -> Configure IP parameters... bridging -> Enable bridging features... access-list -> Setup and enable access list settings... help -> Display extended help... interface -> Configure an interface... exit -> Exit from configuration mode done -> Exit from configuration mode quit -> Exit from configuration modeChanges can now be made to the configuration (e.g. set bridging features).
Viewing Configuration Changes
At any time, especially after changes have been made to the configuration, you can view the current configuration by typing one of the show commands.
Hostname(config)> show configuration # Configuration: 10.0.1.190 17336 bytes # Generated at: 18:39:52 EDT Thu May 03 2001 hostname Hostname ip address 10.0.1.190 255.255.255.0 ip default-route 10.0.1.1 ip ttl 255 ip snmp-server contact `Network Administrator` ip snmp-server location testlab no ip snmp-server trap no ip snmp-server community trap no ip snmp-server community ro --More--After each screen of information is displayed, the CLI will display a --More-- prompt to allow you to continue displaying the configuration by pressing the RETURN key (for one more line) or the SPACE key (for another page), or to quit displaying the configuration by pressing any other key.
You can display various subsections of the setup by entering a specific show command:
Hostname> show ? configuration -> Display current configuration ip -> Display IP configuration bridging -> Display bridging configuration interface -> Display interface configuration access-list -> Display access-list configurationsDepending on which show command you enter, there are various sub-commands will display more specific sections of the configuration.
Saving Configuration Changes
After changes have been made to the configuration file, they must be saved in order to be put into effect. Use the write remote command to save the configuration to the Access Point.
Hostname(config)> write remote 10.0.1.190 Hostname(config)>The configuration of the Access Point with IP Address 10.0.1.190 is now changed.
You may also save the changes to a file, using the write file command:
Hostname(config)> write file my_ap.cnf Config stored to my_ap.cnf Hostname(config)>
To return from Configuration mode to General mode, use the exit command.
Hostname(config)> exit Hostname>To exit from the program, use the exit command while in General mode.
Hostname> exit Redhat7_0 42%>
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