Using the ACLI

You can access the ACLI either through a direct console connection or an SSH connection.

Privilege Levels

There are two privilege levels in the ACLI, User and Superuser. Both are password-protected.

User—At User level, you can access a limited set of Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller monitoring capabilities. You can:
- View configuration versions and a large amount if statistical data for the system’s performance.
- Handle certificate information for IPSec and TLS functions.
- Test pattern rules, local policies, and session translations.
- Display system alarms.
- Set the system’s watchdog timer.
- Set the display dimensions for your terminal.
  You know you are in User mode when your system prompt ends in the angle bracket (>).
Superuser—At Superuser level, you are allowed access to all system commands and configuration privileges. You can use all of the commands set out in this guide, and you can perform all configuration tasks.
You know you are in Superuser mode when your system prompt ends in the pound sign (#).

Enabling Superuser Mode

To enable Superuser mode:

At the ACLI User prompt, type the enable command. You will be asked for your Superuser password.
```
ORACLE> enable
Password:
```
Enter your password and press <Enter>.
```
Password: [Your password does not echo on the display.]
ORACLE#
```
If your entry is incorrect, the system issues an error message and you can try again. You are allowed three failed attempts before the system issues an error message telling you that there are excess failures. If this occurs, you will be returned to User mode where you can start again.

Debug Mode

Debug mode refers to a set of commands used to access low level functionality on the Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller. Users should not access debug mode commands unless specifically instructed to do so by Oracle Engineering or Support.

After booting your Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller for the first time with this image, if you have not executed the debug-enable command, you may not run debug level commands. The following appears on the screen:

ORACLE# shell

Shell access is disabled on this Session Director
ORACLE#

To enable debug mode access, use the debug-enable command. See the debug-enable command description in the ACLI Reference Guide.

Once you have executed the debug-enable command to set a debug level password, if you downgrade the software image, the password you set with debug-enable becomes the new shell password for earlier versions.

System Access

You can access the ACLI using the different means described in this section.

Local Console Access

Console access takes place via a serial connection to the console port directly on the Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller chassis. When you are working with the Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller at the console, the ACLI comes up automatically.

Accessing the ACLI through a console connection is the most secure method of connection, given that the physical location is itself secure.

Remote SSH Access

SSH provides strong authentication and secure communications over unsecured channels. Accessing the ACLI via an SSH connection gives you the flexibility to connect to your Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller from a remote location over an insecure connection.

ACLI Help and Display

The Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller’s ACLI offers several features that aid with navigation and allow you to customize the ACLI so that you can work more efficiently.

Alphabetized help output—When you enter either a command followed by a question mark, the output is now sorted alphabetically and aligned in columns. The exception is the exit command, which always appears at the end of a column.
Partial command entry help—When you enter a partial command followed by a question mark, the new Help output displays only commands that match the letter you type rather than the entire list.
The more prompt—You can set a more option in the ACLI that controls whether or not you can use more with any of the following commands: show, display, acl-show, and view-log-file. Turning this option on gives you the ability to view output from the command one page at a time. By default, this option is enabled. Your setting is persistent across ACLI sessions.
With the more feature enabled, the ACLI displays information one page at a time and does so universally across the ACLI. A line at the bottom of the screen prompts you for the action you want to take: view the displays’s next line or next page, show the entire display at once, or quit the display. You cannot change setting persistently, and need to change them every time you log in.
Configurable page size—The page size defaults to 24 X 80. You can change the terminal screen size by using the new cli terminal height and cli terminal width commands. The settings for terminal size are not preserved across ACLI sessions.

Exiting the ACLI

Typing exit at any ACLI prompt moves you to the next “higher” level in the ACLI. After exiting out of the User mode, you are logged out of the system.

Navigation Tips

This section provides information about hotkeys used to navigate the ACLI. This information applies to both User mode and Superuser mode, although the specific commands available to those modes differ.

Hotkeys

Hotkeys can assist you in navigating and editing the ACLI, and they also allow you to scroll through a list of commands that you have recently executed. These hotkeys are similar to those found in many other CLIs. The following table lists ACLI hotkeys and a description of each.

The following list describes general system hotkeys:

<Ctrl-D>—Equivalent of the done command when used at the end of a command line. When used within a command line, this hotkey deletes the character at the cursor.
<UParrow>—Scrolls forward through former commands.
<DOWNarrow>—Scrolls backward through former commands.
<tab>—Completes a partial command or lists all options available if the characters entered match multiple commands. Executed at the beginning of the command line, this hotkey lists the available commands or configurable elements/parameters.
The following list describes context-sensitive help hotkeys:
<?>—Provides context-sensitive help. It functions both for ACLI commands and configuration elements and is displayed in alphabetical order.
The following list describes hotkeys to move the cursor:
<Ctrl-B>—Moves the cursor back one character.
<Esc-B>—Moves the cursor back one word.
<Ctrl-F>—Moves the cursor forward one character.
<Esc-F>—Moves the cursor forward one word.
<Ctrl-A>—Moves the cursor to the beginning of the command line.
<Ctrl-E>—Moves the cursor to the end of the command line.
<Ctrl-L>—Redraws the screen.
The following list describes hotkeys to delete characters:
<Delete>—Deletes the character at the cursor.
<Backspace>—Deletes the characters behind the cursor.
<Ctrl-D>—Deletes the character at the cursor when used from within the command line.
<Ctrl-K>—Deletes all characters from the cursor to the end of the command line.
<Ctrl-W>—Deletes the word before the cursor.
<Esc-D>—Deletes the word after the cursor.
The following list describes hotkeys to display previous command lines:
<Ctrl-P>—Scrolls backward through the list of recently executed commands.