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About the different shells for CLI commands overview (cluster administrators only)

Contributors netapp-thomi netapp-ahibbard netapp-barbe netapp-aherbin
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The cluster has three different shells for CLI commands, the clustershell, the nodeshell, and the systemshell. The shells are for different purposes, and they each have a different command set.

  • The clustershell is the native shell that is started automatically when you log in to the cluster.

    It provides all the commands you need to configure and manage the cluster. The clustershell CLI help (triggered by ? at the clustershell prompt) displays available clustershell commands. The man command in the clustershell displays the man page for the specified clustershell command (man <command_name>). Learn more about man in the ONTAP command reference.

  • The nodeshell is a special shell for commands that take effect only at the node level.

    The nodeshell is accessible through the system node run command. Learn more about system node run in the ONTAP command reference.

    The nodeshell CLI help (triggered by ? or help at the nodeshell prompt) displays available nodeshell commands. The man command in the nodeshell displays the man page for the specified nodeshell command.

    Many commonly used nodeshell commands and options are tunneled or aliased into the clustershell and can be executed also from the clustershell.

  • The systemshell is a low-level shell that is used only for diagnostic and troubleshooting purposes.

    The systemshell and the associated “diag” account are intended for low-level diagnostic purposes. Their access requires the diagnostic privilege level and is reserved only for technical support to perform troubleshooting tasks.

Learn more about the commands described in this procedure in the ONTAP command reference.