If you work with Alcatel OmniSwitch switches, sooner or later you’ll need to drop into the command line to troubleshoot a port, configure a VLAN, check a stack, manage PoE or investigate a network problem.
I’ve put together this list of the Alcatel OmniSwitch CLI commands I find most useful, based on working with OmniSwitch equipment in real-world environments.
The commands in this guide have been tested on Alcatel OmniSwitch 6400 and 6850 switches. They may also work on other OmniSwitch models, but command availability and syntax can vary depending on the switch model and AOS version.
Important: Always check the command against your particular OmniSwitch model and AOS version before using it on a production switch. Some commands in this guide can be disruptive or destructive.
Alcatel OmniSwitch CLI Basics
OmniSwitch uses a command-line interface that is slightly different from Cisco IOS, so if you’re more familiar with Cisco switches, some of the syntax may look unfamiliar initially.
One of the useful things about OmniSwitch CLI is that commands are generally quite descriptive. Once you become familiar with the structure, day-to-day configuration and troubleshooting becomes relatively straightforward.
This guide covers:
- Factory resetting a switch
- Saving and synchronising configuration
- System information
- Hostname and management information
- DNS and NTP
- VLAN configuration
- Port configuration
- Management interfaces
- LACP/link aggregation
- PoE
- Network services
- Useful troubleshooting commands
1. Reset an OmniSwitch to Factory Defaults
Use this with extreme caution.
If you need to completely reset an OmniSwitch, the configuration files can be removed from the working and certified directories before rebooting the switch.
cd working
rm boot.cfg
cd ..
cd certified
rm boot.cfg
reload
The switch will reboot and come back without the previous configuration.
After the reboot, you can verify that a new configuration has been created with:
show configuration snapshot
or:
write terminal
⚠️ Important
This is a destructive operation. Make sure you have a backup of the configuration before doing this.
I would strongly recommend confirming that you’re connected to the correct switch before running the commands, particularly when working remotely.
2. Save the Switch Configuration
One thing worth understanding with OmniSwitch is the distinction between the Working and Certified configurations.
To save the current working configuration:
write memory
To copy the working configuration to the certified configuration:
copy working certified
For a stack containing multiple switches, you can synchronise the configuration across the slots:
copy working certified flash-synchro
You can then check the current configuration and synchronisation state with:
show running-directory
A healthy switch should show something similar to:
CONFIGURATION STATUS
Running CMM : PRIMARY,
CMM Mode : MONO CMM,
Current CMM Slot : 1,
Running configuration : WORKING,
Certify/Restore Status : CERTIFIED
SYNCHRONIZATION STATUS
Running Configuration : SYNCHRONIZED,
Why this matters
Saving the configuration to the working configuration isn’t necessarily the same thing as having a certified configuration ready for the next reboot.
For production switches, I recommend checking show running-directory after making significant configuration changes.
3. Change the Switch Name
Giving switches meaningful names makes life considerably easier when you’re managing multiple devices.
For example:
system name Switch1
session prompt default "Switch1>"
Replace Switch1 with whatever naming convention you use.
For example:
system name LON-CORE-SW01
session prompt default "LON-CORE-SW01>"
This changes both the system name and the CLI prompt.
4. Configure System Location and Contact Information
You can also configure basic information describing where the switch is located and who is responsible for it.
system location "Local Data Center"
system contact "admin@domain.com"
Check the configuration with:
show system
This is particularly useful in larger environments where a switch may be physically located somewhere different from the person administering it.
5. Configure DNS and NTP
Configure a DNS server with:
ip name-server 192.168.0.1
Configure the DNS domain:
ip domain-name ad.domain.com
Configure an NTP server:
ntp server 192.168.0.1
Enable the NTP client:
ntp client enable
For production networks, accurate time is particularly important for troubleshooting and log correlation.
If you’re investigating an issue across switches, firewalls and servers, having every device using the same time source makes a huge difference.
6. Check System and Hardware Information
These are some of the first commands I use when connecting to an unfamiliar OmniSwitch.
General system information
show system
Chassis information
show chassis
Stack topology
show stack topology
CPU health
show health all cpu
Memory health
show health all memory
These commands are particularly useful when troubleshooting performance or unexpected behaviour.
7. VLAN Configuration
Create a VLAN
To create VLAN 10 and give it a name:
vlan 10 name "Guest"
This creates VLAN 10 with the description Guest.
Delete a VLAN
To remove VLAN 10:
no vlan 10
Be careful: removing a VLAN can immediately affect any ports, interfaces or services using it.
Configure an Access/Untagged Port
To assign ports 1 through 24 on slot 1 to VLAN 10:
vlan 10 port default 1/1-24
This makes those ports untagged/default members of VLAN 10.
For example, if VLAN 10 is your guest network, this could be used to place a group of access ports into that VLAN.
Configure a Tagged Port
To add port 1 on slot 1 to VLAN 10 as an 802.1Q tagged member:
vlan 10 802.1q 1/1
This is useful for trunk/uplink-style connections where multiple VLANs need to traverse the same physical interface.
Remove VLAN Membership
To remove the default VLAN membership:
no vlan 10 port default 1/1-24
To remove tagged membership:
no vlan 10 802.1q 1/1
Check a VLAN
To display the configuration of VLAN 10:
show vlan 10
To see the ports associated with the VLAN:
show vlan 10 port
These are useful commands when troubleshooting VLAN-related connectivity problems.
8. Interface and Port Configuration
Show Port Status
To see the status of the switch ports:
show interfaces status
This is one of the first commands I’d use when troubleshooting a device that cannot connect to the network.
Show Detailed Port Information
show interfaces port
This provides more detailed information about the interfaces.
Check a Specific Port
OmniSwitch identifies interfaces using a slot/port format.
For example:
show interfaces 1/5
This displays information for port 5 on slot 1.
9. Configure Port Speed and Duplex
The following examples use port 1/5.
Disable auto-negotiation
interfaces 1/5 autoneg disable
To enable it again:
interfaces 1/5 autoneg enable
Set duplex
interfaces 1/5 duplex full
Set interface speed
For example:
interfaces 1/5 speed 100
⚠️ Be careful with manual speed/duplex
In modern Ethernet networks, auto-negotiation should generally be preferred unless there is a specific reason to manually configure speed and duplex.
A mismatch can result in poor performance, errors or an unreliable connection.
10. Administratively Disable or Enable a Port
To shut down port 1/5:
interfaces 1/5 admin down
To bring it back up:
interfaces 1/5 admin up
This is useful when troubleshooting a device or deliberately taking a port out of service.
11. Give a Port an Alias
Adding a description to a port makes switch management much easier.
For example:
interfaces 1/5 alias "Server01"
You could also use something more descriptive:
interfaces 1/5 alias "AP - Reception"
I highly recommend doing this wherever practical.
When troubleshooting months later, a useful port description can save a lot of time.
12. Configure a Management Interface
You can create an IP interface on a VLAN for switch management.
For example:
ip interface "mgnt_IP" address 192.168.0.10 mask 255.255.255.0 vlan 3
In this example:
- Interface name:
mgnt_IP - IP address:
192.168.0.10 - Subnet mask:
255.255.255.0 - Management VLAN:
3
Check the configured IP interfaces with:
show ip interface
To remove the interface:
no ip interface "mgnt_IP"
13. LACP / Link Aggregation
OmniSwitch supports link aggregation, including LACP.
For example, the following creates a LACP aggregation using ports 19 through 22 on slot 1:
lacp linkagg 2 size 4 admin state enable
lacp linkagg 2 actor admin key 5
lacp agg 1/19 actor admin key 5
lacp agg 1/20 actor admin key 5
lacp agg 1/21 actor admin key 5
lacp agg 1/22 actor admin key 5
In this example:
- Link aggregation ID =
2 - Number of ports =
4 - LACP key =
5 - Physical ports =
1/19through1/22
You can then assign the required VLAN to the aggregation.
For example:
vlan 3 port default 2
Important
The configuration on the device at the other end of the LACP connection must match the intended aggregation design.
For example, if these ports connect to another switch, server or firewall, make sure the corresponding LACP configuration and VLAN tagging are configured correctly on that device.
14. PoE Configuration
If you’re using an OmniSwitch model with Power over Ethernet, you can control PoE at either the slot or individual-port level.
Start PoE on a slot
lanpower start 1
Stop PoE on a slot
lanpower stop 1
Replace 1 with the appropriate slot number.
Control PoE on an individual port
Start PoE:
lanpower start 1/5
Stop PoE:
lanpower stop 1/5
This can be particularly useful when troubleshooting an access point, phone, camera or other PoE-powered device.
A PoE restart can often be performed without physically accessing the device.
15. Enable and Disable Network Services
OmniSwitch supports several system services, including:
- FTP
- SSH
- Telnet
- HTTP
- HTTPS / secure HTTP
- UDP relay
- SNMP
To enable SSH:
ip service ssh
To disable SSH:
no ip service ssh
The same general approach can be used for other services.
For example:
ip service snmp
or:
no ip service snmp
Security recommendation
Where possible, avoid using insecure management protocols such as Telnet and HTTP on production networks.
SSH and HTTPS should generally be preferred for switch administration.
Only enable services that are actually required.
16. Useful Troubleshooting Commands
When troubleshooting an OmniSwitch, I generally start with a small number of commands rather than immediately changing configuration.
Check the switch
show system
Check the hardware
show chassis
Check the stack
show stack topology
Check all ports
show interfaces status
Check detailed port information
show interfaces port
Check a specific interface
show interfaces 1/5
Check a VLAN
show vlan 10
Check VLAN port membership
show vlan 10 port
Check IP interfaces
show ip interface
Check configuration/synchronisation
show running-directory
These commands give you a good starting point before making changes.
17. A Quick OmniSwitch Command Cheat Sheet
If you just need the commands without all the explanation, here’s the condensed version.
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| Show system | show system |
| Show chassis | show chassis |
| Show stack | show stack topology |
| Show port status | show interfaces status |
| Show port details | show interfaces port |
| Show specific port | show interfaces 1/5 |
| Show VLAN | show vlan 10 |
| Show VLAN ports | show vlan 10 port |
| Show IP interfaces | show ip interface |
| Show running directory | show running-directory |
| Create VLAN | vlan 10 name "Guest" |
| Delete VLAN | no vlan 10 |
| Add untagged port | vlan 10 port default 1/5 |
| Add tagged port | vlan 10 802.1q 1/5 |
| Disable port | interfaces 1/5 admin down |
| Enable port | interfaces 1/5 admin up |
| Set port alias | interfaces 1/5 alias "Device" |
| Save configuration | write memory |
| Certify configuration | copy working certified |
| Start PoE | lanpower start 1/5 |
| Stop PoE | lanpower stop 1/5 |
| Enable SSH | ip service ssh |
| Disable SSH | no ip service ssh |
Final Thoughts
Alcatel OmniSwitch may not be the first platform that comes to mind when you think about enterprise switching, but once you’re familiar with the CLI, it is a capable and relatively straightforward platform to manage.
The commands above are the ones I find particularly useful for day-to-day administration, configuration and troubleshooting.
My original notes were created after working with OmniSwitch 6400 and 6850 hardware, so that’s where I’ve tested the commands in this guide. If you’re working with a different OmniSwitch model or a different AOS release, check the command syntax before using configuration commands in production.
If you’re troubleshooting a problem, my recommendation is simple: start with the show commands before changing anything. Confirm the switch, port, VLAN and configuration state first. It can save you from turning a simple problem into a much bigger one.
I’ll keep adding useful commands to this page as I come across them.