Using Help
The system CLI provides a variety of useful context-sensitive help features. An important thing to remember about using the help features is that the use of a space or the lack of a space before the ? gives different results. Table 7 describes the help system.
Commands listed in the left column of Table 7 are further described with examples in the following sections.
? (Question Mark Key)
You can use the question mark (?) key whenever you need additional information. When you enter ?, all available choices are displayed. The CLI then redisplays the command you typed. The following examples show different ways you can use the ? key.
When you use ? on a line by itself or when it is preceded by one or more spaces, a list of all next available choices is displayed.
Example 1
host1(config)#?
aaa Configure authentication, authorization, and
accounting characteristics
access-list Configure an access list entry
arp Configure a static ARP entry
bandwidth Configure slot-group bandwidth control
banner Define a banner line
baseline Configure baseline operations
boot Configure boot time behavior
bulkstats Configure bulkstats parameters
classifier-list Configure a classifier list entry
clns Configure CLNS characteristics
clock Set the system's clock
confirmations Configure confirmation mode
controller Configure controller parameters
crypto Configure cryptographic parameters
default Set a command to its default(s)
disable-autosync Disable automatic synchronization of redundant
system controller file system
disable-switch-on-error Disable automatic switch to redundant system
controller upon software/hardware error
do Run an exec mode command (alias command run)
enable Configure security related options
end Exit Global Configuration mode
exception Configure core dump
exclude-subsystem Exclude copying a subsystem from the release
exit Exit from the current command mode
ftp-server Configure FTP Server characteristics
help Describe the interactive help system
host Add/modify an entry to the host table
hostname Set the host (system) name
interface Enter Interface Configuration mode
ip Configure IP characteristics
l2tp Configure L2TP parameters
license Configure licenses
line Enter Line Configuration mode
log Configure logging settings
macro Run a CLI macro
map-list Create an NBMA static map
memory Configure and administer memory operations
mpls Configure MPLS global parameters
no Negate a command or set its default(s)
ntp Configure the Network Time Protocol
policy-list Enter Policy Configuration mode
pppoe Configure PPPoE
profile Specify a profile
radius Configure RADIUS server
rate-limit-profile Enter rate limit profile configuration mode
redundancy Perform a redundancy configuration
route-map Configure a route map
router Configure a routing protocol
rtr Configure rtr parameters
run Run an exec mode command (alias command do)
service Configure system-level services
set Configure
sleep Make the Command Interface pause for a specified
duration
slot Configure and administer slot operation
snmp-server Configure SNMP parameters
sscc The SSC Client telnet
telnet telnet daemon configuration
timing Configure network timing
traffic-shape-profile Enter traffic shape profile configuration mode
virtual-router Specify a virtual router
Example 2
host1(config)#ip ?
address-pool Configure address pool for PPP Broadband RAS
clients
as-path Configure a path filter for AS-Paths in BGP
bgp-community Format for BGP community
community-list Configure an entry in a community list
debounce-time Specify the minimum amount of time that an event
needs to be in same state before being reported
dhcp-local The DHCP Local Server protocol
dhcp-server DHCP Server for Proxy Client
domain-lookup Enable DNS lookup
domain-name Specify local Domain name
dvmrp configure dvmrp paramaters
dynamic-interface-prefix Specify name prefix for dynamic Ip shared
interfaces
explicit-path Configure an explicit path
extcommunity-list The extended community list
ftp Configure FTP characteristics
http Configure http server
local Local IP address assignment
multicast-routing Enable IP multicast forwarding
name-server Configure DNS server
pim Configure PIM Protocol
prefix-list Configure a prefix list entry
prefix-tree Configure a prefix tree entry
route Define a static IP route
router-id Configure the router-id to be used
rpf-route Define a static IP route for mcast RPF check
source-route Configure source-routing capabilities
ssh Configure SSH characteristics
ttl Configure the default value to be used by IP for
Time-To-Live
tunnel Configure tunnel parameter
vpn-id Configure the VPN ID associated with this router
vrf Specify a VRF
host1(config)#ip
Example 3
host1(config)#ip community-list ?
<1 - 99> The community list
host1(config)#ip community-list
When you want to see a list of commands that begin with a particular set of characters, type a question mark ( ? ) immediately after the last letter. Do not use a space between the partial keyword and the ? key. For example:
host1#sh?
show shutdown
host1#sh
help Command
Use the help command when you want to see a brief description of the context-sensitive help system.
host1>help
Use the help options as follows:
?, or command<Space>? - Lists the set of all valid next keywords or arguments
partial-keyword? - Lists the keywords that begin with a certain character
string
partial-keyword<Tab> - Completes the partial keyword
host1>
Partial-keyword <Tab>
When you cannot recall a complete command name or keyword, type in the first few letters, press Tab, and the system completes your partial entry. You must type enough characters to provide a unique abbreviation. If you type a few letters, press Tab, and your terminal beeps, then you have not typed enough characters to be unambiguous.
host1(config)#int<Tab>
host1(config)#interface