Basic Device Management

This chapter contains the following sections:

Information About Basic Device Management

This section provides information about basic device management.

Device Hostname

You can change the device hostname displayed in the command prompt from the default (switch) to another character string. When you give the device a unique hostname, you can easily identify the device from the command-line interface (CLI) prompt.

Message-of-the-Day Banner

The message-of-the-day (MOTD) banner displays before the user login prompt on the device. This message can contain any information that you want to display for users of the device.

EXEC Banner

Starting with the Cisco NX-OS Release 7.3(0)N1(1), the EXEC banner is displayed after a user logs in to a switch. This banner can be used to post reminders to your network administrators.

Device Clock

If you do not synchronize your device with a valid outside timing mechanism, such as an NTP clock source, you can manually set the clock time when your device boots.

Clock Manager

The Cisco Nexus chassis may contain clocks of different types that may need to be synchronized. These clocks are a part of various components (such as the supervisor, LC processors, or line cards) and each may be using a different protocol.

The clock manager provides a way to synchronize these different clocks.

Time Zone and Summer Time (Daylight Saving Time)

You can configure the time zone and summer time (daylight saving time) setting for your device. These values offset the clock time from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). UTC is International Atomic Time (TAI) with leap seconds added periodically to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation. UTC was formerly called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

User Sessions

You can display the active user session on your device. You can also send messages to the user sessions. For more information about managing user sessions and accounts, see the Cisco Nexus security configuration guide for your device.

Licensing Requirements for Basic Device Management

The following table shows the licensing requirements for this feature:

Product

License Requirement

Cisco NX-OS

Basic device management requires no license. Any feature not included in a license package is bundled with the Cisco NX-OS system images and is provided at no extra charge to you. For a complete explanation of the Cisco NX-OS licensing scheme, see the Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide.

Changing the Device Hostname

You can change the device hostname displayed in the command prompt from the default (switch) to another character string.

SUMMARY STEPS

    1.    configure terminal

    2.    {hostname | switchname} name

    3.    exit

    4.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config


DETAILED STEPS
     Command or ActionPurpose
    Step 1 configure terminal


    Example:
    switch# configure terminal
    switch(config)#
     

    Enters global configuration mode.

     
    Step 2 {hostname | switchname} name


    Example:

    Using the hostname command:

    switch(config)# hostname Engineering1
    Engineering1(config)#

    Using the switchname command:

    Engineering1(config)# switchname Engineering2
    Engineering2(config)#
     

    Changes the device hostname. The name argument is alphanumeric, case sensitive, and has a maximum length of 63 characters. The default name is switch.

    Note   

    The switchname command performs the same function as the hostname command.

     
    Step 3 exit


    Example:
    Engineering2(config)# exit
    Engineering2#
     

    Exits global configuration mode.

     
    Step 4 copy running-config startup-config


    Example:
    Engineering2# copy running-config startup-config
     
    (Optional)

    Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

     

    Configuring the MOTD Banner

    You can configure the MOTD to display before the login prompt on the terminal when a user logs in. The MOTD banner has the following characteristics:

    • Maximum of 80 characters per line

    • Maximum of 40 lines

    SUMMARY STEPS

      1.    configure terminal

      2.    banner motd delimiting-character message delimiting-character

      3.    exit

      4.    (Optional) show banner motd

      5.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config


    DETAILED STEPS
       Command or ActionPurpose
      Step 1 configure terminal


      Example:
      switch# configure terminal
      switch(config)#
       

      Enters global configuration mode.

       
      Step 2 banner motd delimiting-character message delimiting-character


      Example:
      switch(config)# banner motd #Welcome to the Switch#
      switch(config)# 
       

      Configures the MOTD banner. Do not use the delimiting-character in the message text.

      Note   

      Do not use " or % as a delimiting character.

       
      Step 3 exit


      Example:
      switch(config)# exit
      switch#
       

      Exits global configuration mode.

       
      Step 4 show banner motd


      Example:
      switch# show banner motd
       
      (Optional)

      Displays the configured MOTD banner.

       
      Step 5 copy running-config startup-config


      Example:
      switch# copy running-config startup-config
       
      (Optional)

      Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

       

      Configuring the EXEC Banner

      You can configure the EXEC banner to display a message when a user logs in to a device. The EXEC banner has the following characteristics:

      • Maximum of 254 characters per line including the delimiting characters

      • Maximum of 40 lines

      SUMMARY STEPS

        1.    configure terminal

        2.    banner exec delimiting-character message delimiting-character

        3.    (Optional) no banner exec

        4.    exit

        5.    (Optional) show banner exec

        6.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config


      DETAILED STEPS
         Command or ActionPurpose
        Step 1 configure terminal


        Example:
        switch# configure terminal
        switch(config)#
         

        Enters global configuration mode.

         
        Step 2 banner exec delimiting-character message delimiting-character


        Example:
        switch(config)# banner exec #Welcome to the Test#
        switch(config)# 
         

        Configures the EXEC banner. Do not use the delimiting-character in the message text.

         
        Step 3 no banner exec


        Example:
        switch(config)# no banner exec
         
        (Optional)

        Resets the value of EXEC banner to the default value.

        Note   

        The default value of the EXEC banner is blank.

         
        Step 4 exit


        Example:
        switch(config)# exit
        switch#
         

        Exits global configuration mode.

         
        Step 5 show banner exec


        Example:
        switch# show banner exec
         
        (Optional)

        Displays the configured EXEC banner.

         
        Step 6 copy running-config startup-config


        Example:
        switch# copy running-config startup-config
         
        (Optional)

        Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

         

        Configuring the EXEC Banner

        This example shows how to configure the EXEC banner.

        # config t
        Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
        switch(config)# banner exec #Unauthorized access to this device is prohibited!#
        switch(config)# exit
        switch# show banner exec
        Unauthorized access to this device is prohibited!
        

        Configuring the Time Zone

        You can configure the time zone to offset the device clock time from UTC.

        SUMMARY STEPS

          1.    configure terminal

          2.    clock timezone zone-name offset-hours offset-minutes

          3.    exit

          4.    (Optional) show clock

          5.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config


        DETAILED STEPS
           Command or ActionPurpose
          Step 1 configure terminal


          Example:
          switch# configure terminal
          switch(config)#
           

          Enters global configuration mode.

           
          Step 2 clock timezone zone-name offset-hours offset-minutes


          Example:
          switch(config)# clock timezone EST -5 0
           

          Configures the time zone. The zone-name argument is a 3-character string for the time zone acronym (for example, PST or EST). The offset-hours argument is the offset from the UTC and the range is from –23 to 23 hours. The range for the offset-minutes argument is from 0 to 59 minutes.

           
          Step 3 exit


          Example:
          switch(config)# exit
          switch#
           

          Exits global configuration mode.

           
          Step 4 show clock


          Example:
          switch# show clock
           
          (Optional)

          Displays the time and time zone.

           
          Step 5 copy running-config startup-config


          Example:
          switch# copy running-config startup-config
           
          (Optional)

          Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

           

          Configuring Summer Time (Daylight Saving Time)

          You can configure when summer time, or daylight saving time, is in effect for the device and the offset in minutes.

          SUMMARY STEPS

            1.    configure terminal

            2.    clock summer-time zone-name start-week start-day start-month start-time end-week end-day end-month end-time offset-minutes

            3.    exit

            4.    (Optional) show clock detail

            5.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config


          DETAILED STEPS
             Command or ActionPurpose
            Step 1 configure terminal


            Example:
            switch# configure terminal
            switch(config)#
             

            Enters global configuration mode.

             
            Step 2 clock summer-time zone-name start-week start-day start-month start-time end-week end-day end-month end-time offset-minutes


            Example:
            switch(config)# clock summer-time PDT 
            1 Sunday March 02:00 1 Sunday 
            November 02:00 60
             

            Configures summer time or daylight saving time.

            The zone-name argument is a three character string for the time zone acronym (for example, PST and EST).

            The values for the start-day and end-day arguments are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

            The values for the start-month and end-month arguments are January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.

            The value for the start-time and end-time arguments are in the format hh:mm.

            The range for the offset-minutes argument is from 0 to 1440 minutes.

             
            Step 3 exit


            Example:
            switch(config)# exit
            switch#
             

            Exits global configuration mode.

             
            Step 4 show clock detail


            Example:
            switch(config)# show clock detail
             
            (Optional)

            Displays the configured MOTD banner.

             
            Step 5 copy running-config startup-config


            Example:
            switch# copy running-config startup-config
             
            (Optional)

            Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.

             

            Manually Setting the Device Clock

            You can set the clock manually if your device cannot access a remote time source.

            Before You Begin

            Configure the time zone.

            SUMMARY STEPS

              1.    clock set time day month year

              2.    (Optional) show clock


            DETAILED STEPS
               Command or ActionPurpose
              Step 1 clock set time day month year


              Example:
              switch# clock set 15:00:00 30 May 2008
              Fri May 30 15:14:00 PDT 2008
               

              Configures the device clock.

              The format for the time argument is hh:mm:ss.

              The range for the day argument is from 1 to 31.

              The values for the month argument are January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.

              The range for the year argument is from 2000 to 2030.

               
              Step 2 show clock


              Example:
              switch(config)# show clock
               
              (Optional)

              Displays the current clock value.

               
              Related Tasks
              Configuring the Time Zone

              Setting the Clock Manager

              You can configure the clock manager to synchronize all the clocks of the components in the Cisco Nexus chassis.

              SUMMARY STEPS

                1.    clock protocol protocol vdc vdc-num

                2.    (Optional) show run clock_manager


              DETAILED STEPS
                 Command or ActionPurpose
                Step 1 clock protocol protocol vdc vdc-num


                Example:
                # clock protocol ptp vdc 2
                 

                Configures the clock manager.

                The values for the protocol argument are ptp, ntp, and none.

                The following describes the values:

                • ptp—Synchronizes clocks with Precision Time Protocol (PTP) as described by IEEE 1588.

                • ntp— Synchronizes clocks with Network Time Protocol (NTP).

                • none—Use clock set to set supervisor clocks.

                  Note   

                  When none is used, the clock in the specified VDC must be configured.

                  Note   

                  Once the protocol is configured, the clock in the specified VDC must use that protocol.

                  For example, if the clock protocol ptp vdc 2 command is entered, then PTP should be configured in VDC 2.

                The range for the vdc argument is 1 to 8.

                 
                Step 2 show run clock_manager


                Example:
                #show run clock_manager
                 
                (Optional)

                Displays the configuration of the clock manager.

                 

                Managing Users

                You can display information about users logged into the device and send messages to those users.

                Displaying Information about the User Sessions

                You can display information about the user session on the device.

                SUMMARY STEPS

                  1.    show users


                DETAILED STEPS
                   Command or ActionPurpose
                  Step 1 show users


                  Example:
                  switch# show users
                   

                  Displays the user sessions.

                   

                  Sending a Message to Users

                  You can send a message to active users currently using the device CLI.

                  SUMMARY STEPS

                    1.    (Optional) show users

                    2.    send [session line] message-text


                  DETAILED STEPS
                     Command or ActionPurpose
                    Step 1 show users


                    Example:
                    switch# show users
                     
                    (Optional)

                    Displays the active user sessions.

                     
                    Step 2 send [session line] message-text


                    Example:
                    switch# send Reloading the device is 10 minutes!
                     

                    Sends a message to all active users or to a specific user. The message can be up to 80 alphanumeric characters and is case sensitive.

                     

                    Verifying the Device Configuration

                    To verify the configuration after bootstrapping the device using POAP, use one of the following commands:

                    Command

                    Purpose

                    show running-config

                    Displays the running configuration.

                    show startup-config

                    Displays the startup configuration.

                    For detailed information about the fields in the output from these commands, see the Cisco Nexus command reference for your device.

                    Default Settings for Basic Device Parameters

                    This table lists the default settings for basic device parameters.

                    Table 1  Default Basic Device Parameters

                    Parameters

                    Default

                    MOTD banner text

                    User Access Verification

                    Clock time zone

                    UTC

                    Additional References for Basic Device Management

                    You can find additional information related to basic device management.

                    Related Documents for Basic Device Management

                    Related Topic

                    Document Title

                    Licensing

                    Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide

                    Command reference

                    Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Fundamentals Command ReferenceCisco Nexus 6000 Series Command Reference