At some point in your career as an administrator, it’s a
good bet that you’ve used a script to automate some common task. Maybe you’ve
written scripts in your Linux bash
shell or with Windows Scripting
Host (WSH).
However, up until recently, there wasn’t a scripting
language for Cisco routers; there were some available tools, but no open
scripting language. Cisco changed this with Cisco IOS 12.3(2)T by adding the Tool
Command Language (TCL) to the Cisco IOS. Let’s take a closer look.
Pronounced as “tickle,” TCL is a powerful but easy
way to learn dynamic scripting language. It’s an open programming language
developed by John Ousterhout.
While the scope of this article prevents us from exploring
TCL in detail, let’s take a look at the basics of using TCL as well as some
examples. You can find more information on TCL programming and its syntax by checking out its Wikipedia entry.
Before trying to use TCL on your router, make sure that you’re
using release 12.3(2)T, 12.2(25)S, or greater. To determine whether your router
includes TCL, enter the tclsh command
in Global Configuration Mode. Here’s an example:
Router# tclsh
If the router does have TCL, the prompt will look like the
following:
Router(tcl)#
If the router doesn’t include TCL, it will think you’re
trying to Telnet to a host called tclsh, and it will try to perform a DNS
lookup on that host.
Once you’re at the IOS TCL prompt, enter the tclq command to exit, as shown below:
Router(tcl)# tclq Router#
Now, let’s look at some examples of using TCL. To run a User
EXEC Mode command on a Cisco router, you would begin each command with exec and place the actual command in
quotes. Here’s an example:
Router(tcl)# exec "show version"
To use a Global Configuration Mode command, begin the
command with ios_config. Then, put the Global Configuration Mode
command in quotes, following with the sub-command in quotes. Don’t forget that
you must put the command and sub-commands on the same TCL command line, or they
won’t work. Here’s an example:
Router(tcl)# ios_config "interface serial0/0" "ip address 1.1.1.1 255.0.0.0"
These are two simple examples of using TCL with a single
command. But once you’ve learned the TCL scripting language, you can write much
more complex scripts.
For example, you could write a script to ping a list of IP addresses,
or you could write one to filter output from commands and format it to your
liking. You could even write a script to send an e-mail message from a router.
Once you understand the basics of TCL in the IOS, you’ll
quickly find that it’s easier to edit TCL scripts on the desktop and transfer
them to the router with a TFTP server (such as tftpd32.exe), rather than manually entering
scripts at the router.
TCL on Cisco IOS routers is a relatively new feature, but
this feature will likely grow in popularity over time as admins become more
familiar with it. For more information, check out the Cisco
IOS Scripting with Tcl documentation.
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David Davis has worked
in the IT industry for 12 years and holds several certifications, including
CCIE, MCSE+I, CISSP, CCNA, CCDA, and CCNP. He currently manages a group of
systems/network administrators for a privately owned retail company and
performs networking/systems consulting on a part-time basis.
