The Fabric OS command line interface (CLI), accessed via Telnet, SSH, or serial console, provides full
management capability on a Brocade switch. The Fabric OS CLI enables an administrator to monitor and
manage individual switches, ports, and entire fabrics from a standard workstation. Selected commands
must be issued from a secure Telnet or SSH session.

Access is controlled by a switch-level password for each access level. The commands available through
the CLI are based on the user’s login role and the license keys used to unlock certain features.

The Fabric OS CLI provides the following capabilities:

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Access to the full range of Fabric OS features, given the license keys installed.

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Assistance with configuration, monitoring, dynamic provisioning, and daily management of every
aspect of storage area networks (SANs).

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A deeper view of the tasks involved in managing a Brocade SAN.

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Identification, isolation, and management of SAN events across every switch in the fabric.

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Management of Brocade licenses.

The documentation for each command includes a synopsis of its syntax, a description of command use,
and a set of examples. The same information can be accessed by issuing the help command, followed
by the command name on a Brocade switch or director. This command displays the help page for the
specified command. For example, to display the help page for portCfg, enter:

switch:admin> help portCfg