Getting Familiar with Using CISCO-LIKE Command Line
How to Enter the Command Line View
Operation | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
Enter the CLI view | sonic cli | By default, upon logging into the device, you will automatically enter the command line view. |
Exit the CLI view | system bash | Use the 'exit' command to return to the command line configuration interface. |
Commond Keywords
Keywords | Description |
|---|---|
no | Cancel or disable a specific setting |
show this | Display the current configuration of the current view |
configure terminal | Enter the system configuration mode |
delete | Delete a configuration file |
reboot | Reboot the device |
write | Save the current configuration |
shutdown | Disable or turn off a port |
exit | Exit to the previous level or log out |
do | Ignore view execution commands |
end | Return directly to the system view |
Command Line Usage Assistance
When entering an incomplete keyword, pressing the Tab or Space key will automatically complete the keyword.
If you encounter issues while using the command line, you can utilize the help function to get assistance, eliminating the need to memorize extensive and intricate commands.
While entering a command, pressing the Tab key will display a list of matching keywords. Entering "?" will provide hints for relevant keywords or explanations of parameters.
sonic# show <tab>
acl arp counters history image interface link-aggregation
lldp mac-address platform running-config startup-config sub-interface traffic
sonic# configure terminal
sonic(config)# access-list l3 test ingress <tab>
<cr>
sonic(config)# access-list l3 test <enter>
Syntax error: The command is not completed
sonic(config)# access-list l3 test1 ingress
sonic(config-l3-acl-test1)# ?
end Exit to the exec Mode
exit Exit from current mode
no Negate a command or set its defaults
rule Add an access list entry
show show running-config
sonic(config-l3-acl-test1)# rule ?
rule ID (0..500)
sonic(config-l3-acl-test1)# rule 1 ?
source-mac Specify source mac address
destination-mac Specify destination mac address
ethernet-type Specify ethernet protocol type
outer-vlan Specify outer VLAN id
vlan-pri Specify outer VLAN priorityConfiguration File Management
The configuration files for this series of switches are in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format. JSON is a lightweight data interchange format, and its file extension is typically .json.
Viewing Configuration File
By default, the system configuration files are stored in the /etc/sonic directory. The default system configuration file is named config_db.json. When performing configuration saving or restoration operations, it's this file that gets modified, determining the initial configuration upon the device's next startup. Additionally, this directory also contains backups of configuration files, labeled with timestamps, which facilitates configuration recovery for users. Every time the "write" command is executed, a new config_db.json file is generated to save the current configuration, and the original file's name is modified to the format config_bd+timestamp.
Configuration Saving
After a user logs into the device, configurations made through command-line operations or other means are temporary. If you require persistent configurations, you should manually save the modified settings. This involves updating the current configuration to the default configuration file, config_db.json. If you don't save the configurations, the device's settings will revert to their state before modifications after a reboot.
OperationMaintenance Interface | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
Save configuration | write | |
Display startup configuration | show startup-config | |
Configuration rollback
Users can roll back the switch configuration using the configuration file according to the timestamp identifier.
For example, you need to roll back the configuration to config_db.json_2026-01-08_02:41:28
admin@sonic:/etc/sonic$ sudo cp config_db.json_2026-01-08_02:41:28 config_db.json # Overwrite the current configuration with the configuration file that needs to be rolled back.
admin@sonic:/etc/sonic$ sudo reboot # Take effect after restarting the device