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SONiC Practical Hands-on Seminar Lecture Report Part 2 - Learning the Basics of Open Network OS with White Box Switches -
Introduction
This article is based on a lecture given at the SONiC Practical Hands-on Seminar held on August 26, 2025.
We provide an easy-to-understand introduction to SONiC, from its basic architecture to its command system, even for beginners.
If you would like to download the presentation materials, please refer to the link below.
In Part 1, we systematically introduced SONiC 's architecture, differences between versions, use cases, and installation methods.
In this article, Part 2, we will finally focus on the CLI (Command Line Interface) command system, which is essential for operating SONiC.
SONiC command system
SONiC offers two types of CLI systems, which can be used depending on your purpose and operational style.
1. Standard (Linux-based) CLI
Configuration is performed by directly entering commands in a format familiar to engineers accustomed to using Linux.
For example, to configure the management port, do the following:
admin@sonic:~$ sudo config interface ip add eth0 10.1.1.10/24 10.1.1.1
admin@sonic:~$ config save*When configuring routing using FRR, operations using a separate CLI system using the VTYSH command are required.
2. Switch Industry Standard (Cisco-like) CLI
It is a CLI system that can be operated using syntax similar to Cisco IOS, making it familiar to network engineers.
Below is an example of the same management port configuration:
admin@sonic:~$ sonic-cli
sonic# config terminal
sonic(config)# interface Management 0
sonic(conf-if-Management0)# ip address 10.1.1.10/24 gwaddr 10.1.1.1
sonic(conf-if-Management0)# no shutdown
sonic(conf-if-Management0)# exit
sonic(config)# exit
sonic# write memoryIn this way, SONiC allows operators to flexibly choose a CLI system depending on their skill set and environment.
In this hands-on session, we performed remote access via VPN to the 800G switch "AIS800-64D" manufactured by Edgecore, which is installed in the lab at our Shin-Yokohama office.
VPN settings will not be covered in this article.
Below are some example switch industry standard (Cisco-like) CLI commands:
You can see the commands that can be entered after the Show command in this way. You can use these to check information.
admin@sonic:~$ sonic-cli sonic# show タブキー補完 aaa access-group alarm ars audit-log auditd-system bfd bgp buffer buffer-pool cable-diagnostics class-map clock config config-key config-reload consistency-check copp core crm crypto database dcbx device dropcounters errdisable error-database event evpn hardware histogram hosts image in-memory-logging interface interface-naming ip ipv6 kdump ldap-server link lldp locator-led logging mac mclag mirror-session nat neighbor-suppress-status ntp object-groups pbf platform poe policy-map port-group port-security PortChannel priority-flow-control priority-group ptp qos queue radius-server reboot-cause route-map running-configuration service-policy sflow snmp snmp-server spanning-tree ssh-server storm-control subinterfaces switch-profiles switch-resource switching-mode swsslog-configuration system tacacs-server tam tech-support techsupport-export threshold tpcm udld uptime usb users version Vlan vrrp vrrp6 vxlan warm-restart watermark ztp-statusadmin@sonic:~$ sonic-cli
sonic# show version
sonic# show interface status
sonic# show interface counters
sonic# show platform environment
sonic# show vlan
sonic# show running-configuration
sonic# show users
sonic# show uptimeBelow are some example SONiC standard (Linux-based) CLI commands:
You can also use the Show command to view the information.
sonic# exit
admin@sonic:~$ show -h
Usage: show [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...
SONiC command line - 'show' command
Options:
-?, -h, --help Show this message and exit.
Commands:
aaa Show AAA configuration
acl Show ACL related information
arp Show IP ARP table
bgp Show BGP information
boot Show boot configuration
buffer Show buffer information
buffer_pool Show details of the buffer pools
chassis-modules Show chassis-modules information
classifier Show flow based services classifiers related...
clock Show date and time
config Show details about configuration profiles available
copp Show COPP
cores Show core dump events encountered
database Show Redis database information
debug Collect debugging information from components
dropcounters Show drop counter related information
ecn Show ECN configuration
environment Show environmentals (voltages, fans, temps)
errdisable Errdisable information
error_database Show ERROR DB entries
export show tech-support export configurations
feature Show feature status
fgnhg Show FGNHG information
hardware Show ASIC related information
headroom-pool Show details of headroom pool
histogram
hostname Show hostname
hosts Show nameserver configuration
in-memory-logging Show in-memory system log
interfaces Show details of the network interfaces
ip Show IP (IPv4) commands
ipv6 Show IPv6 commands
kdump Show kdump configuration, status and information
knet Show knet info
kubernetes
ldap Show LDAP configuration
line Show all console lines and their info include...
linktrack Show link state tracking information
lldp LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol) information
locator-led Show Locator LED State
logging Show system log
mac Show MAC (FDB) entries
management Show management interface-related information
management-interface Show management interface parameters
management_interface Show management interface parameters
mgmt-vrf Show management VRF attributes
mirror-session Show existing everflow sessionsFor more details on the Show command, please refer to the following document.
*Reference materials can be found here
GNS3 SONiC VM Access
GNS3 (Graphical Network Simulator 3) is a tool for virtualizing and emulating network devices.
You can experiment with network configurations using a virtual router switch.
This time, we accessed and operated the SONiC virtual machine (VM) on GNS3.
The diagram below shows the connection configuration (network topology) between virtual network devices built on GNS3.
We prepared multiple switches equipped with SONiC and the servers and PC terminals connected to them as virtual machines, and ran commands to configure each switch and terminal and check communication.
The virtual environment is configured as follows:
Now let's take a look at some more detailed SONiC CLI commands.
First, the basic settings.
Check and save the settings
admin@sonic:~$ show runningconfiguration all { "ACL_RULE": { "ipacl|RULE_1": { "PACKET_ACTION": "DROP", "PRIORITY": "65535", "VLAN": "10" （中略） admin@sonic:~$ sudo config save -y Running command: /usr/local/bin/sonic-cfggen -d --print-data > /run/tmpmkko4w73 Running command: mv -f /run/tmpmkko4w73 /etc/sonic/config_db.json Running command: sync;sync;sync 39463 Bytes written admin@sonic:~$Change host name
admin@sonic:~$ sonic-cli
sonic# configure terminal
sonic(config)# hostname sonic09
sonic(config)#
Broadcast message: Hostname has been changed from 'sonic' to 'sonic09'. Users r
unning 'sonic-cli' are suggested to restart your session.
sonic(config)# exit
sonic# write memory
sonic# exitChange admin password
admin@sonic:~$ sudo passwd admin
New password:
Retype new password:
passwd: password updated successfullyPort speed (group unit) change
admin@sonic:~$ sonic-cli
sonic# show port-group
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-group Interface range Valid speeds Default Speed Current Speed
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Ethernet0 - Ethernet3 10G, 25G 25G 25G
2 Ethernet4 - Ethernet7 10G, 25G 25G 25G
3 Ethernet8 - Ethernet11 10G, 25G 25G 25G
sonic09# configure
sonic09(config)# port-group 3 speed 10000
sonic09(config)# exit
sonic09# show port-group
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-group Interface range Valid speeds Default Speed Current Speed
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Ethernet0 - Ethernet3 10G, 25G 25G 25G
2 Ethernet4 - Ethernet7 10G, 25G 25G 25G
3 Ethernet8 - Ethernet11 10G, 25G 25G 10GPort Enablement
sonic01# show interface status
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name Description Oper Reason AutoNeg Speed MTU Alternate Name
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethernet0 - up oper-up off 25000 9100 Eth1/1
Ethernet1 - down admin-down off 25000 9100 Eth1/2
sonic01# configure
sonic01(config)# interface Ethernet 1
sonic01(config-if-Ethernet1)# no shutdown
sonic01(config-if-Ethernet1)# exit
sonic01(config)# exit
sonic01# show interface status
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name Description Oper Reason AutoNeg Speed MTU Alternate Name
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ethernet0 - up oper-up off 25000 9100 Eth1/1
Ethernet1 - up oper-up off 25000 9100 Eth1/2
Ethernet2 - down admin-down off 25000 9100 Eth1/3Ping communication check
linux01:~# ip addr
1: lo: <LOOPBACK> mtu 65536 qdisc noop state DOWN qlen 1000
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
2: eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP qlen 1000
link/ether 0c:bc:d4:d9:00:00 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet6 fe80::ebc:d4ff:fed9:0/64 scope link
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
3: eth0.10@eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP qlen 1000
link/ether 0c:bc:d4:d9:00:00 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 192.168.1.1/24 scope global eth0.10
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 fe80::ebc:d4ff:fed9:0/64 scope link
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
linux01:~# ping 192.168.1.2
PING 192.168.1.2 (192.168.1.2): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.1.2: seq=0 ttl=64 time=12.270 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.2: seq=1 ttl=64 time=8.806 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.2: seq=2 ttl=64 time=8.556 msIf you would like to see use case configuration commands such as VLAN settings, LACP settings, and ACL settings, please refer to the document below.
*Reference materials can be found here
Summary
In this article, we focused on SONiC 's two CLI systems and introduced everything from basic configuration operations to practical use in a virtual environment using GNS3.
We hope you will also make use of the presentation materials to further improve your SONiC operational skills.
Related information
Click here for list of materials
In addition to introducing products handled by Macnica,
We publish materials related to open networking, such as BGP cross network automatic construction files and network operation test evaluation reports.
Click here for details
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Aviz Networks
We are pioneers of SONiC, an open source network operating system, providing observability, configuration automation tools and support from a team of SONiC experts.
Edgecore Networks
We continue to be a pioneer in open networking by developing and selling products related to OpenNetworking/white Box switches.
IP Infusion
As a market leader among open networking providers, we provide reliable network solutions to over 600 customers, including carriers, service providers, and data centers.
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