[Top][Contents][Prev][Next][Last]Search

Getting Started

This chapter covers the following topics:
Logging in
What commands are available?
Getting help for a specific command
Command-line shortcuts

Logging in

The first step in accessing the MAX TNT command line is to log into the system. You can log in from a PC connected to the unit's serial port, or from a PC that has Telnet access to the system. When you log in, you are prompted for a user name:

If you are logging in for the first time and need the default password assigned to the MAX TNT Admin login, see the MAX TNT Hardware Installation Guide.

If an administrator has already created a User profile for you and given you the name and password required to use it, you can log in by supplying that information. In addition to specifying a name and password, a User profile sets permissions that determine which classes of commands you can use. Alternatively, you might be able to log in as the Admin user, with full permissions. (For more information about permissions and command classes, see the next section.)

Typically, the name specified in your User profile appears as your system prompt. For example, if you log in as Admin, the following prompt appears:

This guide assumes that you have the permissions required to perform all of the tasks described. For sake of example, it shows the Admin login prompt, but the actual prompt on your screen could represent any login with comparable permissions. For example:

You can display the name of the current User profile by entering the Whoami command:

What commands are available?

To display the commands that your User profile makes available, enter the Help (or ?) command. The following example shows the commands available for the Admin login. The left column shows command names, and the right column shows the command class, which determines the permissions required to use the command. To list all commands, even if you do not have the required permissions, append the -a option to the Help command.

The last line in the sample output:

shows your options for displaying additional output:

Table 2-1. Command classes and User profile permissions

Command class

Permission
System

allow-system = yes
Diagnostic

allow-diagnostic = yes
Update

allow-update = yes
Code

allow-code = yes
Table 2-1 lists the command classes and associated permissions in a User profile.

For more information about commands, see the MAX TNT Reference Guide.

Getting help for a specific command

If you include a command name after the Help (or ?) command, the system displays a usage statement for the command name you specify. For example, to get information about the Dir command:

Also, online help for a command that requires arguments appears if you enter the command without the arguments.

For more information about the Dir command, see Chapter 3, Working with Profiles.

Command-line shortcuts

You can use abbreviations, edit existing command lines, and reuse previously entered commands to save keystrokes and time.

Using abbreviations

When you enter a command, you can type just enough characters to specify a unique string. The MAX TNT fills in the rest of the name automatically. For example, the following two commands are equivalent, as shown by their output:

The same principle applies when you specify a profile name. For example, the following command:

results in an error message, because the string is not unique. But the following command:

displays information about Ethernet profiles; for example:

This principle applies to any command argument (except profile indexes, which must be specified fully). For example, the following two commands are equivalent:

Editing a command line

 Table 2-2 lists commands you can use to correct typing mistakes in a command line or to reuse and modify previous commands. If you cannot use an arrow key for a command that requires one, use the equivalent VT100 escape sequence.

Table 2-2. Control sequences for editing command lines

Control Sequence

Effect
Ctrl-H, Backspace, Delete

 Erase the previous character.

Ctrl-D

 Erase the current character.

Ctrl-W

 Erase the previous (space-delimited) word.

Ctrl-U

 Erase the entire line.

Ctrl-K

 Erase the rest of the line, starting with the cursor position.

Ctrl-C

 Echo ^C, terminate the input, and return ^C character input.

Ctrl-P or Up Arrow

 Replace the line with the previous line from the command history buffer. Twenty previous lines are kept.

Ctrl-N or Down Arrow

 Select the next line. This sequence is valid only if Ctrl-P or Up Arrow has been used to select a previous line.

Ctrl-B or Left Arrow

 Back up the cursor without deleting a character. If you then type regular characters, they are inserted in the line.

Ctrl-F or Right Arrow

 Move the cursor to the right, unless at the end of a line.

Ctrl-A

 Go to the beginning of the line.

Reusing commands (command history)

The command history buffer is a file containing the last 20 command lines. Once the buffer is full, it discards the oldest command line when you add a new one by pressing Enter to execute a command.

To redisplay a command line, press Up Arrow or Ctrl-P until the command reappears on the screen. You can then re-execute the command by pressing Enter. To edit the command first, see Editing a command line.

For example, you might type the following command and press Enter:

Then, if you press the Up Arrow key, the command line reappears:

The cursor is at the end of the line. Say you want to replace the c in the interface address with a 2. Press the Left Arrow key until the cursor is at the right edge of the c, then press Delete, then the 2 key:

Press Enter to execute the new command. The cursor can be positioned anywhere within the command line when you press Enter.

Using command-line shortcuts to save time

The next chapter describes how to work with profiles and set MAX TNT configuration parameters. It also provides an example of how to combine the command-line shortcuts described in this chapter to see the range of possible values for a parameter and set the parameter quickly and efficiently. (For the example, see Combining command-line shortcuts to set parameters.)


[Top][Contents][Prev][Next][Last]Search

techpubs@eng.ascend.com

Copyright © 1998, Ascend Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.