First Use

First Login to the switch

By default, AsterNOS both support serial console-based logins and SSH-based logins. When boot up the switch for the first time, it is required to log in from the console port (serial port) and configure the management port IP to log into the switch via SSH. Local login via the serial port is the most basic way to log in to the switch and also the basis for configuring login through other methods. The certain steps are as follows.

Connections

Data center series switches use RJ-45 connectors for the serial ports. The distribution of the serial ports varies from model to model. Generally, it is located on the front panel of the switch, with some on the rear panel. This can be confirmed by the interface designation CON, as shown in the picture below.

When connecting the device serial port to a server or PC, the communication parameters of the user terminal must be configured to match the default settings of the switch serial port for successful communication. The default values for each parameter are shown in the table below.

Table 1 Configuration of default parameters for serial ports

Parameters	Default value
Transmission speed	115200bit/s
Flow control method	No flow control
Calibration method	No calibration
Stop bits	1
Data bits	8

Serial Login

Windows

Please refer to the specific software guide for the use of different terminal emulation software, here is an example of using Xshell in Windows 10 environment.

1. First go to the system’s device manager and confirm the serial port name.
2. Open Xshell, select File —> New in the navigation menu, create a new session, enter a name and select SERIAL (serial interface) for the protocol.

3. Select SERIAL or Serial in the Category window on the left to set the communication parameters, select COM3 for the port and 115200 for the baud rate, then click Connect.

4. Type Enter and you can see that the terminal prompts to enter the login username and password.

5. Enter the username and password, the default is admin/asteros, to access the switch.

Linux

This is explained in detail using the serial terminal software minicom as an example (Linux systems generally come with minicom software).

1. First go to the minicom tool and in the terminal type the command.

sudo minicom -s

1. Select Serial port setup to enter the serial port configuration interface.

3. Enter A: Change the port number, enter. Note that it should match the actual port number. Enter E: Change the baud rate to 115200, enter. Enter again to save this configuration and return to the initial menu.

4. Select Exit and enter.

5. When you enter the serial login screen, you have to press enter and the screen prompts you to enter the login username and password.

6. Enter the username and password, the default is admin/asteros, to access the switch.

Configure the Management Port IP

SSH is short for Secure Shell. When a user logs in to a device remotely through a network environment that cannot be guaranteed to be secure, SSH provides security using encryption and strong authentication to protect the switch from attacks such as IP address fraud, plaintext password interception, etc. By default, AsterNOS 3.0 and above devices support SSH-based logins with the default credentials of admin/asteros.

Table 2 Configure the Management Port IP

Purpose	Commands	Description
Enter global configuration view	configure terminal	-
Enter the management port configuration view	interface mgmt 0	-
Configure a management IPv4 address	ip address A.B.C.D/M gw A.B.C.D	IPv4 address with subnet mask /32 is not allowed to be configured. Addresses with subnet mask /31 is allowed. In other subnet masks, addresses with the host portion all-zeros or all-ones are not allowed.
(Optional) Configure a management IPv6 address	ipv6 address A::B/M gw A::B	IPv6 address with subnet mask /127 or /128 is not allowed to be configured. In other subnet masks, addresses with the host portion all-zeros are not allowed, but all-ones are allowed.
Exit the management port configuration view	exit	-
Save configuration	write	-

Configure the Device Name

The user can configure different names for the switches in the network for easy differentiation.

Table 3 Configure the device name

Purpose	Commands	Description
Configure the switch name	hostname hostname	This change will take effect when the user logs out and logs in again.
Save configuration	write	-

Example of First Login Device Configure

1. Networking Requirements After logging into the switch for the first time via the Console port, basic configuration (device name and management port IP) is carried out to enable PC2 to log into the switch via SSH. Route between PC2 and the switch is reachable.
2. Topology

3. Procedure

PC1 logs in to the switch via the switch serial port as described in Serial Login.

Configure the management port IP.

sonic# configure terminal
sonic(config)# interface mgmt 0
sonic(config-mgmt-0)# ip address 10.250.0.204/24 gw 10.250.0.254
sonic(config-mgmt-0)# exit
sonic(config)# exit
sonic# write

Configure the switch name.

sonic# hostname switchA
sonic# write

4. Verify the configuration.

By accessing the IP address of the management port , you are able to log in to the switch normally.

➜ - ssh admin@10.250.0.204
admin@10.250.0.204's password:
Linux sonic-204 4.9.0-11-2-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.9.189-3+deb9u2 (2019-11-11) x86_64
    _          _                _   _   ___   ____
   / \    ___ | |_   ___  _ __ | \ | | / _ \ / ___|
  / _ \  / __|| __| / _ \| '__||  \| || | | |___ \
 / ___ \ __ \| |_ |  __/| |   | |\  || |_| | ___) |
/_/   _\|___/ __| ___||_|   |_| _| ___/ |____/

------- Asterfusion Network Operating System -------
Help: http://www.asterfusion.com/
Last login: Wed Jun 23 06:44:22 2021 from 192.168.10.198
switchA:#

Familiarity with the Command Line

This series of switches offers a wide range of features and correspondingly a wide range of operations such as status checking and function configuration. We also provide accompanying command line manual documentation.

Common views

Table 4 Common views

View name	How to enter	System Prompt	How to exit	Description
Privileged user view	default	Switch#	exit	Perform system configuration, display configuration and status information.
Global configuration view	Run configure terminal in privileged user mode	Switch(config)#	exit or end	Perform global or other feature configurations.

Tip

NOTE: Run exit will fall back to global configuration mode and end will fall back to privileged user mode.

Commonly Used Keywords

Table 5 Commonly Used Keywords

Key words	Description
no	Cancel or disable a setting.
show this	Display current view configuration.
configure terminal	Enter global configuration mode.
reload	Reload the configuration.
reboot	Reboot the switch.
write	Save current configuration.
shutdown	Disable/shutdown ports.
end	Revert to privileged user mode.
exit	Return to top or log out.

Edit Command Line

CLI provides basic command line editing functionality.

Note

The command line keyword is case insensitive.

Command Line Operation Tips

After entering an incomplete keyword, press the Tab or Space bar and the system will automatically complete the keyword.

Help on Using the Command Line

If you have problems using the command line, you can use the help function to get help without having to remember a lot of complicated commands. When entering a command, press the Tab key and the system will list the set of keywords that can be matched; type ? and the system will give you an explanation of the keyword hint or the meaning of the parameter.

For example:

sonic# show <tab>
acl arp counters history image interface link-aggregation
lldp mac-address platform running-config startup-config sub-interface traffic
sonic# configure terminal
sonic(config)# access-list l3 test ingress <tab>
  <cr>
sonic(config)# access-list l3 test <enter>
Syntax error: The command is not completed
sonic(config)# access-list l3 test1 ingress
sonic(config-l3-acl-test1)# ?
  end Exit to the exec Mode
  exit Exit from current mode
  no Negate a command or set its defaults
  rule Add an access list entry
  show show running-config
sonic(config-l3-acl-test1)# rule ?
    rule ID (0..500)
sonic(config-l3-acl-test1)# rule 1 ?
  source-mac           Specify source mac address
  destination-mac      Specify destination mac address
  ethernet-type        Specify ethernet protocol type
  outer-vlan           Specify outer VLAN id
  vlan-pri           Specify outer VLAN priority

Caution

NOTES:

• An incorrect command is entered, or the command is not applicable to this view and a carriage return will not be allowed.
• If the command line is not entered in full, a prompt will be given.
• means there are no keywords or parameters in this position, just type enter to execute.

Display history of commands

The switch can automatically save the history of commands typed by the user. When the user needs to enter a command that has been previously executed, the switch’s saved history of commands can be recalled.

Table 6 Display History of Commands

Purpose	Commands	Description
Show history commands	show history	-
Access the last history command	↑	-
Access the next history command	↓	-

Configuration File Management

Definition

Configuration file refers to a collection of configurations running on a device. Through the management of system configuration files, it enables configuration viewing, comparison, backup and restoration to avoid loss of user configurations and facilitate configuration migration.

Format of the configuration file

The configuration file for this series of switches is in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format, a lightweight data interchange format with the usual .json suffix.

Display configuration profile

By default, the system configuration file is stored in the /etc/sonic directory. The default configuration file is named config_db.json, which is modified when a configuration save or restore operation is performed and determines the starting configuration of the switch at the next boot. In addition, a backup copy of the configuration file is stored in this directory, marked with a timestamp, so that the user can easily restore the configuration.

Display current configuration

The user can view the entire configuration or specify a collection of configurations for a particular module.

Table 7 Display current configuration

Purpose	Commands	Description
Display current configuration	show running-config	-

Save the configuration

When the user logs into the switch, the switch configuration can be modified through operations such as the command line, but these configurations are temporary. If configuration persistence is required, the modified configuration should be manually saved and the current configuration updated to the default configuration file config_db.json, otherwise the switch’s configuration will revert to the pre-modification after reboot.

Table 8 Save configuration

Purpose	Commands	Description
Save configuration	write	-
Display saved configuration	show startup-config	-

Reload the configuration

Table 9 Reload the configuration

Purpose	Commands	Description
Reload the configuration	reload	-

Danger

NOTE: Please make sure that the current configuration has been saved if you need it to remain in effect after reload, or you will lose it.