The CLI is a text-based command interface for configuring and monitoring the switch. The CLI gives you access to the switch’s full set of commands while providing the same password protection that is used in the web browser interface (WebAgent) and the menu interface.

​Access

Like the menu interface, the CLI is accessed through the switch console, and in the switch’s factory default state, is the default interface when you start a console session. You can access the console out-of-band by directly connecting a terminal device to the switch, or in-band by using Telnet either from a terminal device or through the WebAgent.

Also, if you are using the menu interface, you can access the CLI by selecting the Command Line (CLI) option in the Main Menu.

​Privilege levels

The CLI offers these privilege levels to help protect the switch from unauthorized access:

When you use the CLI to make a configuration change, the switch writes the change to the Running-Config file in volatile memory. This allows you to test your configuration changes before making them permanent. To make changes permanent, you must use the write memory command to save them to the Startup-Config file in non-volatile memory. If you reboot the switch without first using write memory, all changes made since the last reboot or write memory (whichever is later) will be lost.

​More information

Configuring the switch.