50 Essential Cisco Commands

A comprehensive reference of Cisco IOS commands for network configuration and troubleshooting

Basic Commands
Command Purpose
enable User EXEC Enter privileged EXEC mode
configure terminal Privileged EXEC Enter global configuration mode
show running-config Privileged EXEC Display current configuration in RAM
show startup-config Privileged EXEC Display saved configuration in NVRAM
copy running-config startup-config Privileged EXEC Save current configuration to NVRAM
hostname [name] Global Config Set device hostname
banner motd [delimiter][message][delimiter] Global Config Set message of the day banner
show version Privileged EXEC Display system hardware and software status
show interfaces Privileged EXEC Display status and statistics for all interfaces
show ip interface brief Privileged EXEC Display brief interface status and IP addresses
ping [ip-address] Privileged EXEC Test network connectivity
traceroute [ip-address] Privileged EXEC Trace route to destination
reload Privileged EXEC Reboot the device
show clock Privileged EXEC Display system clock
terminal history size [number] User EXEC Set command history size
show history User EXEC Display command history
Intermediate Commands
Command Purpose
interface [type] [number] Global Config Enter interface configuration mode
ip address [ip] [mask] Interface Config Assign IP address to interface
no shutdown Interface Config Enable interface
description [text] Interface Config Add description to interface
show ip route Privileged EXEC Display routing table
ip route [network] [mask] [next-hop] Global Config Configure static route
router ospf [process-id] Global Config Enable OSPF routing process
network [address] [wildcard] area [area-id] OSPF Config Advertise network in OSPF
router eigrp [as-number] Global Config Enable EIGRP routing process
network [network-address] EIGRP Config Advertise network in EIGRP
show ip protocols Privileged EXEC Display routing protocol information
show ip ospf neighbor Privileged EXEC Display OSPF neighbor information
show ip eigrp neighbors Privileged EXEC Display EIGRP neighbor information
vlan [vlan-id] Global Config Create VLAN and enter VLAN configuration mode
name [vlan-name] VLAN Config Name the VLAN
switchport mode access Interface Config Set interface as access port
switchport access vlan [vlan-id] Interface Config Assign access port to VLAN
Advanced Commands
Command Purpose
access-list [number] [permit/deny] [conditions] Global Config Create access control list
ip access-group [acl-number] [in/out] Interface Config Apply ACL to interface
show access-lists Privileged EXEC Display all access lists
line console 0 Global Config Enter console line configuration mode
password [password] Line Config Set password for line
login Line Config Enable password checking
enable secret [password] Global Config Set encrypted privileged EXEC password
username [name] privilege [level] secret [password] Global Config Create user with privilege level and encrypted password
service password-encryption Global Config Encrypt all plaintext passwords
show port-security Privileged EXEC Display port security settings
switchport port-security Interface Config Enable port security on interface
switchport port-security maximum [number] Interface Config Set maximum number of secure MAC addresses
switchport port-security violation [shutdown/restrict/protect] Interface Config Set action on security violation
debug [option] Privileged EXEC Enable debugging for specific feature
undebug all Privileged EXEC Disable all debugging
show logging Privileged EXEC Display logging buffer contents

Cisco Command Tips

Use these strategies to master Cisco commands:

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