In the era of the early high-end Catalyst switches, the operating system and
command interface was significantly different from the IOS, mode navigation
interfaces available on all newer Catalyst platforms. The two interfaces have
different features and a different prompt.
Catalyst Software
Interface
The original Catalyst interface is sometimes referred to as
the "Set based" or, more recently, "Catalyst software"
command line interface.
In the Catalyst software, commands are executed
at the switch prompt, which can be either nonprivileged, where a limited subset
of user level commands are available, or at a password protected privileged
mode, where all commands are available. Configuration commands are prefaced
with the keyword "set". In the example below, the Catalyst software
commands are shown to execute the following: first, show the status of a port;
second, move to enable mode which requires a password; third the port is
enabled.
Example: Using Catalyst Software Commands
Console>show port
3/5
Console>enable
Enter password:
Console(enable)>set port enable
3/5