Cisco Switch Commands
Step 2 of 825%

Access & Config Basics

Open SW2 for this page. Cisco switches have modes, which are like different permission levels in the command line. The prompt tells you whether you are just looking around, running deeper inspection commands, or entering the area where configuration changes can happen.

After this page, you should be able to:

  • Recognize user EXEC, privileged EXEC, global config, and interface config prompts
  • Use enable to enter privileged EXEC mode
  • Compare running config and startup config
  • Find one interface block inside the running config

enable: move into privileged EXEC

In Packet Tracer, click SW2, open the CLI tab, and wait until you see the switch prompt. For this page, stay on SW2 because it is the access switch with the PC and printer ports.

If the prompt ends with >, you are in user EXEC mode. Type enable and press Enter. The prompt should change to SW2#.

enable

The prompt changing from > to # matters. Privileged EXEC gives you access to the useful show commands and, if your account allows it, the path toward configuration mode.

Think of user EXEC as the lobby and privileged EXEC as the staff area. You still are not changing the switch yet, but you can see much more useful information.

show running-config: what is active right now

Stay on SW2. From the SW2# prompt, type this exact command and press Enter:

show running-config

This shows the active configuration for the whole switch. It may scroll for a while, and that is the point: full device output can be more information than you need during a ticket.

In Packet Tracer, you usually cannot append an interface name to this command. Instead, stay in the full show running-configoutput and scroll until you find the line that starts this port's config. This is output to look for, not a separate command to type:

interface FastEthernet0/2

The lines directly under that port line belong to PC1's switch port. For example, this is where you should see the description and access VLAN for FastEthernet0/2.

The running config is the switch's current working setup. If a port is assigned to the wrong VLAN or has been manually shut down, the running config is where you can usually prove it.

show startup-config: what survives reboot

Still on SW2, stay at the SW2# prompt. Type this exact command and press Enter:

show startup-config

Running config is active now. Startup config is what loads after a reboot. If those differ, a reboot can undo an unsaved fix or preserve a bad saved change.

In plain English: running config is what the switch is doing right now. Startup config is what the switch remembers after power loss or reboot.

configure terminal: the line you should respect

Stay on SW2. Start from SW2#. Type configure terminal and press Enter. The prompt changes to SW2(config)#, which means you are in global configuration mode.

configure terminal
interface fastEthernet0/2

Then type interface fastEthernet0/2 and press Enter. The prompt changes again to SW2(config-if)#, which means any interface commands you type now apply to Fa0/2, the PC1 access port in this lab.

Do not type random commands from this prompt. Configuration mode is where changes happen. For this page, you are only learning the mode names. If you want to leave config mode, type end to return to SW2#.

Checkpoint

  • You can identify Cisco CLI mode from the prompt.
  • You can find the FastEthernet0/2 block inside running config.
  • You can explain the difference between running-config and startup-config.

Hands-On Practice

Use SW2 to practice reading prompts and checking active versus saved configuration.

Your checklist and answers are saved locally in this browser.

Inspect SW2

Quick Check