Use CLI Mode

CLI mode lets power administrators, full administrators, and MSP administrators configure a switch using commands from the ExtremeCloud CLI Mode interface.

Note

Read-only administrators can view a configuration from the CLI Mode interface, but cannot make any changes to the configuration.

Enabling CLI mode disables the automatic assignment of configuration to the switch. The switch will continue with its existing configuration until CLI commands are applied to it. We recommend that you review the CLI mode concepts before enabling CLI mode.

To use CLI mode:

1. Log in to ExtremeCloud with either Power Administrator or Full Administrator (read/write) credentials.
2. Select Configure > Devices > Switches from the menu, and select a switch from the list.
3. Select View Configuration > Advanced.
4. In the Advanced Settings dialog, select Change to CLI Mode. Read the warning, and select Continue. (Select Cancel to cancel the action.)
   

   Advanced Settings

   
   ExtremeCloud puts the switch in CLI mode and uploads a backup copy of the switch configuration. This process can take several minutes. Wait a few minutes after putting a switch into CLI mode before making changes through the CLI console.
5. To open a terminal window, select Activate Console.
   

   Activate Console Option

   

   The terminal window opens.
6. Above the terminal window, select Click here to get login credentials to reveal the username and randomly generated password for the default administrator. The username is always cliadmin on every switch, but the password will be different on every switch. The best practice is to immediately change the password to something you can remember, and keep careful track of your passwords.

   Important

   The randomly generated password will only be visible a few times, then will never be displayed again. A message displays telling you the date that the credentials will stop showing in the user interface.

   

   Note

   If you forget the password, contact Support to ask them to assign a new password to the cliadmin account. Alternatively, you can use the one-time failsafe password procedure in the GTAC knowledge base (article number 000008964) to log in to the serial console, then assign a known password or create a new password.

   

   Active Console

   

   

   Login Credentials Displayed

   
7. In the terminal window, log in to start a session. When you log in as the default administrator (cliadmin), you can create additional accounts and run configuration commands. Use the terminal window to type a command, or copy and paste one command line at a time. A previous, saved script displays if the window was not cleared in the earlier session. To end the session, select Deactivate Console.
   

   Caution

   Do not stack the switches. Stacking is not supported in cloud management. If you enable stacking in CLI mode, most of the switches in the stack will not be monitored. Also, the stack will not be able to identify the master, resulting in reporting on the nodes instead.
8. To view the most recent backup, select Backups. You can also view previous backups, if available. A maximum of two backups are retained.
9. To backup the current switch configuration, select Create Backup. Except for the initial backup when CLI mode is enabled, all subsequent backups are initiated manually by the administrator. Backups do not disrupt service.
   The backup is stored in ExtremeCloud.
10. To restore the latest backup or a previous backup, select Restore. Restoring a backup will disrupt service because the switch must be restarted to apply the new configuration.
    

    Note

    ExtremeCloud sends operating system (OS) upgrades to the switch. Backup configurations are expected to work with OS upgrades.
11. To switch back to GUI mode, reboot, or RMA the device, use the CLI mode advanced settings.
12. Select Save.
    Your changes are saved and applied to the switch.