Using Pipe (|) Filter Functions

Pipe (|) Filter Functions

This topic describes the pipe (|) filter functions supported in the Pica8 PicOS L2/L3 CLI (command-line interface). The PicOS L2/L3 mode has a growing number of CLI commands that users can use to troubleshoot common problems. These commands usually generate a lot of output. The use of pipe (|) filter functions increases readability of command output, making troubleshooting more effective.

The following filter functions are available with the PicOS L2/L3:

FunctionDescription
compareCompare configuration changes with a prior version
countCount occurrences
displayDisplay additional configuration information
exceptShow only the lines of output that do not contain a pattern
findShow output starting from the first occurrence of a pattern
matchShow only the lines of output that contain a pattern
no-moreDisable pagination of command output

Comparing Configurations

The compare filter compares the current committed configuration with a previously committed configuration.

admin@XorPlus# show | compare rollback nn

nn is the index into the list of previously committed configurations, also known as the rollback number. The range of values for nn is 01-48.

For example:

admin@XorPlus# show | compare rollback 03

Counting the Number of Output Lines

To count the number of lines in the output of a command, enter count after the pipe symbol (|).

The following example uses count with the show command in configuration mode to display the number of non-default configuration lines:

admin@XorPlus# show | count
Count: 11 lines

Displaying Output that Matches a Pattern

To display only the lines of output that match a pattern, enter match after the pipe symbol (|).

The following example displays the status of only TbE (terabit Ethernet) interfaces:

admin@XorPlus> show interface brief | match te-
te-1/1/1    Enabled     Down    Disabled      Full    Auto    
te-1/1/2    Enabled     Down    Disabled      Full    Auto    
te-1/1/3    Enabled     Down    Disabled      Full    Auto    
te-1/1/4    Enabled     Down    Disabled      Full    Auto    
te-1/1/5    Enabled     Down    Disabled      Full    Auto    
te-1/1/6    Enabled     Down    Disabled      Full    Auto    
te-1/1/7    Enabled     Down    Disabled      Full    Auto    
te-1/1/8    Enabled     Down    Disabled      Full    Auto    
te-1/1/9    Enabled     Down    Disabled      Full    Auto    
te-1/1/10   Enabled     Down    Disabled      Full    Auto
<Some output omitted>   

Omitting Output that Matches a Pattern

To omit lines from the output of a command that make up a pattern, enter except after the pipe symbol (|).

The following example uses except with the show interface brief command in the operation mode to list the interfaces that are not down:

admin@XorPlus> show interface brief | except Down

Preventing Output from Being Paginated

By default, if the output of a command is longer than the length of terminal screen, user will see the --More-- message to display the remaining output. Press the space bar to display the remaining output.

User can disable pagination by entering no-more after the pipe symbol (|).

The following example displays the output of show command, executed in PicOS L2/L3 configuration mode, all at once:

admin@XorPlus# show | no-more

This feature is useful, for example, when user wants to copy the entire output of a command and paste it into an e-mail to be sent to technical support.

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