Cisco NX-OS/IOS Configuration Fundamentals Comparison
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Objective
This tech note outlines the main differences for the configuration fundamentals between the Cisco NX-OS software and the Cisco IOS® Software. Sample configurations are included for Cisco NX-OS and Cisco IOS Software to illustrate some the differences after the first system startup. Please refer to the NX-OS documentation on Cisco.com for a complete list of supported features.
Cisco NX-OS Overview
The Cisco NX-OS is a data center class operating system designed for maximum scalability and application availability. The CLI interface for the NX-OS is very similar to Cisco IOS, so if you understand the Cisco IOS you can easily adapt to the Cisco NX-OS. However, a few key differences should be understood prior to working with the Cisco NX-OS.
Important Cisco NX-OS and Cisco IOS Software Differences
In Cisco NX-OS:
- When you first log into the NX-OS, you go directly into EXEC mode.
- The Cisco NX-OS has a Setup Utility that allows a user to specify the system defaults, perform basic configuration, and apply a pre-defined Control Plane Policing (CoPP) security policy.
- The Cisco NX-OS uses a feature based license model. An Enterprise or Advanced Services license is required depending on the features required.
- A 120 day license grace period is supported for testing, but features are automatically removed from the configuration after the expiration date is reached.
- The Cisco NX-OS has the ability to enable and disable features such as OSPF, BGP, etc… via the feature configuration command. Configuration and verification commands are not available until you enable the specific feature.
- Interfaces are labeled in the configuration as Ethernet. There aren’t any speed designations.
- The Cisco NX-OS supports Virtual Device Contexts (VDCs), which allow a physical device to be partitioned into logical devices. When you log in for the first time You are in the default VDC.
- The Cisco NX-OS has two preconfigured VRFs by default (management, default).
- SSHv2 is enabled by default. TELNET is disabled by default.
- VTY, Console, Auxiliary port configuration are not in the default configuration unless a parameter is modified. There are 32 VTYs by default, and the timeout is disabled by default.
Things You Should Know
The following list provides some additional Cisco NX-OS information that should be helpful when configuring and maintaining the Cisco NX-OS.
- The default administer user is predefined as admin. A password has to be specified when the system is powered up for the first time.
- If you remove a feature via the no feature command, all relevant commands related to that feature are removed from the running configuration.
- The NX-OS uses a kickstart image and a system image. Both images are identified in the configuration file as the kickstart and system boot variables.
- The show running-config command accepts several options, such as OSPF, BGP, etc… that will display the runtime configuration for a specific feature.
- The show tech command accepts several options that will display information for a specific feature.
Configuration Comparison
The following sample code show similarities and differences between the Cisco NX-OS software and the Cisco IOS Software CLI.
| Cisco IOS CLI | Cisco NX-OS CLI | |
|---|---|---|
| Default User Prompt |
| c6500> | n7000# |
|---|
| Entering Configuration Mode |
| c6500# configure terminal | n7000# configure terminal |
|---|
| Saving the Running Config to the Startup Config (nvram) |
| c6500# configure terminalc6500# write memory
or c6500# copy running-config startup-config | n7000# copy running-config startup-config |
|---|
| Erasing the startup config (nvram) |
| c6500# write erase | n7000# write erase |
|---|
| Installing a License |
| Cisco IOS Software does not require a license file installation. | n7000# install license bootflash:license_file.lic |
|---|
| Enabling Features |
| Cisco IOS Software does not have the functionality to enable or disable features. | feature ospf |
|---|
| Interface Naming Convention |
| interface Ethernet 1/1
interface FastEthernet 1/1 interface GigabitEthernet 1/1 interface TenGigabitEthernet 1/1 | interface Ethernet 1/1 |
|---|
| Default VRF Configuration (management) |
| Cisco IOS Software doesn’t enable VRFs by default. | vrf context management |
|---|
| Configuring the Software Image Boot Variables |
| boot system flash sup-bootdisk:s72033-ipservicesk9_wan-mz.122-33.SXH1.bin | boot kickstart bootflash:/n7000-s1-kickstart.4.0.4.bin sup-1
boot system bootflash:/n7000-s1-dk9.4.0.4.bin sup-1 boot kickstart bootflash:/n7000-s1-kickstart.4.0.4.bin sup-2 boot system bootflash:/n7000-s1-dk9.4.0.4.bin sup-2 |
|---|
| Enabling Features |
| Cisco IOS Software does not have the functionality to enable or disable features. | feature ospf |
|---|
| Enabling TELNET (SSHv2 is recommended) |
| Cisco IOS Software enables TELNET by default. | telnet server enable | |
|---|---|---|
| Configuring the VTY Timeout and Session Limit |
| line vty 0 9
exec-timeout 15 0 login | line vty
session-limit 10 exec-timeout 15 |
|---|
Verification Command Comparison
The following table compares some useful show commands for verifying the initial system startup and running configuration.
| Cisco NX-OS | Cisco IOS Software | Command Description |
|---|---|---|
| show running-config | show running-config | Displays the running configuration |
| show startup-config | show startup-config | Displays the startup configuration |
| - | - | - |
| show interface | show interface | Displays the status for all of the interfaces |
| show interface ethernet x/x | show interface <int type> | Displays the status for a specific interface |
| - | - | - |
| show boot | show boot | Displays the current boot variables |
| - | - | - |
| show clock | show clock | Displays the system clock and time zone configuration |
| show clock detail | show clock detail | Displays the summer-time configuration |
| - | - | - |
| show environment | show environment | Displays all environment parameters |
| show environment clock | show environment status clock | Displays clock status for A/B and active clock |
| show environment fan | show environment cooling fan-tray | Displays fan status |
| show environment power | show power | Displays power budget |
| show environment temperature | show environment temperature | Displays environment data |
| - | - | - |
| show log logfile | show log | Displays the local log |
| show module | show module | Displays installed modules and their status |
| show module uptime | - | Displays how long each module has be powered up |
| show module fabric | - | Displays fabric modules and their current status |
| show platform fabric-utilization | show fabric utilization | Displays the % of fabric utilized per module |
| show process cpu | show process cpu | Displays the processes running on the CPU |
| - | - | - |
| show system cores | - | Displays the core dump files if present |
| show system exception-info | show exception | Displays last exception log |
| show system redundancy status | show redundancy | Displays the supervisors High Availability status |
| show system resources | show process cpu | Displays CPU and memory usage data |
| show system uptime | - | Displays system and kernel start time |
| - | - | - |
| show version | show version | Displays running software version, basic hardware, CMP status and system uptime |
| - | - | - |
| show line | show line | Displays console and auxiliary port information |
| show terminal | show terminal | Displays terminal settings |
| show users | show users | Displays current virtual terminal settings |
| - | - | - |
| show vrf | show ip vrf | Displays a list of all configured VRFs |
| show vrf <name> | show ip vrf <name> | Displays an specified VRF |
| show vrf <name> detail | show vrf detail <name> | Displays details for a specified |
| show vrf <name> interface | - | Displays interface assignment for a specified VRF |
| show vrf default | - | Displays a summary of the default VRF |
| show vrf detail | show vrf detail | Displays details for all VRF's |
| show vrf interface | show ip vrf interface | Displays VRF interface assignment |
| show vrf management | - | Displays a summary of the management VRF |
| - | - | - |
| show license | - | Displays all license file information |
| show license brief | - | Displays the license file names installed |
| show license file <name> | - | Displays license contents based on a specified name |
| show license host-id | - | Displays the chassis Host-ID used for creating a license |
| show license usage | - | Displays all licenses used by the system |
| show license usage <license-type> | - | Displays all licenses used by the system per type |
| show license usage vdc-all | - | Displays all licenses used by the system for all VDCs |
| show license | - | Displays all license file information |
| - | - | - |
| show vdc | - | Displays a list of the configured VDC's |
| show vdc <name> | - | Displays a summary of the individual VDC |
| show vdc <name> detail | - | Displays configuration details for a specific VDC |
| show vdc <name> membership | - | Displays interface membership for a specific VDC |
| show vdc <name> resource | - | Displays resource allocation for a specific VDC |
| show vdc current-vdc | - | Displays the VDC that the user is currently in |
| show vdc detail | - | Displays details information for all VDCs |
| show vdc membership | - | Displays interface membership for all VDCs |
| show vdc resources | - | Displays resource allocation for all VDCs |
| show vdc | - | Displays a list of the configured VDCs |
