Foundry IronWare CLI Command Reference and Cheat Sheet

01 /CLI structure and modes

A session opens in user EXEC with a > prompt and read-only show commands. enable asks for the super-user password and moves to privileged EXEC, marked by #. configure terminal enters global configuration, shown as (config)#; from there interface ethernet 1/1, vlan 10 or router ospf enter sub-modes. exit steps back one level; end returns to privileged EXEC. Ports are always slot/port: on a fixed switch the slot is 1, on a chassis it is the module position. Ranges use ethernet 1/1 to 1/8. Commands abbreviate to any unique prefix.

SSH@core1>enable
Password:
SSH@core1#configure terminal
SSH@core1(config)#interface ethernet 1/1
SSH@core1(config-if-e1000-1/1)#end
SSH@core1#write memory

02 /First 10 minutes on an unfamiliar Foundry switch

1. 01

   Connect and identify

   Console in at 9600 8N1 (see console and recovery) or SSH to the management address. Run show version for platform and release; show chassis or show module for power, fans, temperature and cards.

2. 02

   Read the configuration

   show running-config, then show configuration for the startup copy. Differences mean unsaved changes by a previous administrator. Copy it off the box before touching anything.

3. 03

   Map the ports

   show interfaces brief lists every port with state, speed, duplex, tag status and name. show vlan shows tagged and untagged membership. show trunk or show lag shows aggregation groups.

4. 04

   Find what is connected

   show mac-address gives the learned table; show arp and show ip interface cover Layer 3. On a routing image add show ip route and the OSPF or BGP neighbour commands.

5. 05

   Check the logs

   show log prints the buffered syslog with link flaps, authentication failures and hardware events. Set sntp server early.

6. 06

   Secure and save

   Confirm telnet and HTTP are off and SSH is on (hardening), then write memory. Nothing survives a reload otherwise.

03 /Most used show commands

04 /Basic setup: hostname, management IP, gateway

A Layer 2 switch image takes one management address at global level. A Layer 3 image puts addresses on virtual interfaces: create the VLAN, attach a router-interface ve, then address the VE.

configure terminal
hostname access-sw1
ip address 10.10.0.21 255.255.255.0
ip default-gateway 10.10.0.1
write memory

configure terminal
hostname core1
vlan 10 name servers by port
 tagged ethernet 1/1 to 1/4
 untagged ethernet 1/5
 router-interface ve 10
interface ve 10
 ip address 10.10.10.1/24
ip route 0.0.0.0/0 10.10.0.1
write memory

05 /VLAN and trunk shape

VLANs are created with vlan N name X by port and ports are placed with tagged or untagged inside the VLAN, not on the interface. A port carrying several tagged VLANs is what other vendors call a trunk; IronWare uses trunk for link aggregation, configured as trunk ethernet 1/1 to 1/2 on older releases and as lag on later ones. The VLAN and link aggregation pages cover both.

06 /ServerIron specifics

ServerIron images add the server command tree. server real NAME IP defines a pool member and port http under it opens a port with a health check. server virtual NAME VIP defines the virtual server and bind http real1 http real2 http maps ports. The show server commands report health and bindings. Worked configurations are on the server load balancing page.

07 /A worked session: IronWare CLI commands on a used switch

The transcript follows the first-ten-minutes procedure on a second-hand fixed switch, using only commands from this page. Output is described in parentheses rather than reproduced; it varies by platform and release.

SSH@sw1>enable
Password:
SSH@sw1#show version
  (platform, boot and flash image names, serial number, uptime)
SSH@sw1#show configuration
  (startup configuration as saved in flash)
SSH@sw1#show running-config
  (running configuration; compare with the startup copy)
SSH@sw1#show interfaces brief
  (one line per port: link, speed, duplex, tag status, name)
SSH@sw1#show vlan
  (tagged and untagged membership per VLAN)
SSH@sw1#show mac-address ethernet 1/1
  (addresses learned on port 1/1)
SSH@sw1#show log
  (buffered syslog: link changes, logins, hardware events)
SSH@sw1#configure terminal
SSH@sw1(config)#sntp server 10.10.0.5
SSH@sw1(config)#end
SSH@sw1#write memory

Read the two configuration outputs against each other first. A running configuration that differs from the startup copy means the previous administrator changed something and never saved it; a reload would silently revert it. The log buffer is the other perishable item: it is lost at reload and its timestamps follow whatever clock the box had, so read it before setting the time source.

Save those outputs to a file with the date and a hash. The question checking a document's provenance asks of a web page applies to a configuration too: who produced it, when, and has it changed since. When someone later asks what was on that box before you touched it, the dated capture is the only honest answer.

08 /Where the documentation went

The old site kept everything under /services/documentation/: configuration guides per platform, separate sub-trees for ServerIron, command references for each family including a PDF command reference for AccessIron, MIB downloads, release notes and, under the FAQ pages, Visio stencils of every chassis and fixed unit. After 2009 the tree moved to Brocade portals, and after 2017 the remaining material split between Extreme Networks and Ruckus/CommScope. Web archive captures hold much of the original tree. FoundryNet explains the commands and does not host the PDFs. That tree included the AccessIron command reference, still cited long after the branch router vanished, and the rest of the archive profiles each platform these commands ran on. Generated answers about IronWare syntax can mix in keywords from other CLIs, so test them against the IronWare answer checklist and run any generated full configuration through a diff and lab review of machine-written configs.

How this reference sources and dates its material is explained in our approach to archiving vendor manuals.