Basic Configuration Modes of a Cisco Router / Switch

Configuration Modes of a Cisco Router / Switch

The Cisco IOS software CLI defines different configuration modes for different tasks. These modes are structured in a hierarchical fashion, and each mode allows a group of specific commands.

The basic modes of  Cisco Command Line Interface (CLI) are:-

• User mode
• Privileged mode

• Global Configuration Mode
• Setup mode

• Rom Monitor Mode

User Exec Mode

When a Cisco router is powered-on, this is the first mode that appears. User exec mode allow you to perform basic tests and list some system information. This mode is indicated by “[hostname]>” sign.

Privileged Mode
To configure a cisco device, you enter into privileged mode from user exec mode. All The commands available in user exec mode are also available in  Privileged mode. Privileged exec commands can be used to make major system changes, set operating parameters, perform a detailed examination of the router's status, test and debug router operation, access global and other included configuration modes. This mode is indicated by “[hostname]#” sign.

Global Configuration Mode

From Privileged mode you can enter global configuration mode. This gives you access to configuration commands that affect the system as a whole, and to other configuration modes.
You can access many other specific configuration modes from Global Configuration mode that allow complex configurations to be performed. This mode is shown by [hostname] (config) # sign.

Interface configuration Mode

This mode is accessed from Global config mode, and is used for configuring the interfaces of device. The command to access this mode from global config mode is:

[hostname] (config)# interface serial 0/0. This mode is shown by

[hostname] ( config-if )# sign.

======================================
======================================

Setup and Rom Monitor modes are special Cisco CLI configuration modes which are used for very specific configuration tasks. Further description is given below:

Setup Mode

 When powered-on, if the Cisco router does not have a configuration file, it will ask to enter the Setup mode or not. Setup mode is a step-by-step process which presents you with a prompted dialog (called the system configuration dialog) in which you establish basic configuration. For better learning, experts recommend to use IOS CLI instead of setup mode for all configurations.
Rom Monitor Mode

If the router does not find a valid operating system image, or if you interrupt the boot sequence, the system may enter ROM monitor mode. From ROM monitor mode you can boot the device or perform diagnostic tests.