Cisco CLI - Show Command Section Filter and Other CLI Shortcuts

One of the most useful Cisco show filters ever is the new(ish) section filter. This lets you view information from the section you specify. For example, show run | section include ephone  12 will return all the config lines in the running config which pertain to your ephone 12. The section command (like all Cisco show command filters) is case sensitive and doesn't allow tab completions or etc - you need to type exactly what you're looking for (or at least the beginning of what you're looking for).Note that per one site: "Cisco considers a section to be a line with no leading blank and includes all lines following it until the start of the next section."

! awesome. Now I don't have to filter through the config looking for the ephone  12 config.
2821#sh run | s i ephone  12
ephone  12
 device-security-mode none
 description Ryan IP Communicator
 video
 mac-address 0023.AE7F.0000
 type CIPC
 button  1:2 2:10
2821#

When I first start working on a router, I'll usually grab a copy of the running config and throw it into a txt file. Then I search through it for whatever I want. Once I find the relevant pieces, I'll copy them over to a new text file and prep the changes I want to make. Then I'll apply the changes to the router.

! term len 0 sets the terminal length to no pauses so you can get the complete config at once.
Rtr#term len 0
Rtr#sh run
! now do a copy all to clipboard from putty and paste into a text document. 

Verifying the changes is where the section filter can really be helpful. Rather than getting a complete new copy of the config and sifting through it, just do a sh run | s i whatever I'm looking for

. On major changes, I will always save the starting configs and the ending configs and compare them with WinMerge. However, the section command works very well to make sure everything is going well as I make each change.
 

So overall, the section command filter is a great shortcut. However, if you are looking for data on an interface, you should use show run interface . This method will allow for tabbed completions, abbreviations and isn't case sensitive so it is faster and better for this type of work than the section filter. It won't work with the variety of items that the section command will though. 

! annoying because I had to type this all the way out and even capitalize it correctly
2821#sh run | s i interface GigabitEthernet0/0
interface GigabitEthernet0/0
 no ip address
 duplex auto
 speed auto
 bridge-group 1

! less annoying - just do sh run int and use tab completion or abbreviations like you normally would.
2821#sh run int gigabitEthernet 0/0
Building configuration...

Current configuration : 92 bytes
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/0
 no ip address
 duplex auto
 speed auto
 bridge-group 1
end

2821#

Show Section Command Filter Links
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/12_3t/12_3t2/feature/guide/gtshfltr.html
http://www.techexams.net/forums/ccna-ccent/37408-show-run-section.html
http://cciepursuit.wordpress.com/2007/07/17/must-use-command-filtering-output-with-the-section-command/
http://www.nil.com/C1256F0A00429755/html/EnhanceIOSUI/
Cisco Documentation:

Command Reference

This section documents new commands. All other commands used with this feature are documented in the Cisco IOS Release 12.3 T command reference publications.

•show section

show section

To filter the output of a show command to match a given expression as well as any lines associated with that expression, use the show command section command in privileged EXEC mode.

show command | section [include | exclude] regular-expression

Syntax Description

command	Any Cisco IOS show command.
include	(Optional) Includes only the lines that contain a particular regular expression. This is the default keyword when none is specified.
exclude	(Optional) Excludes any lines that contain a particular regular expression.
regular-expression	Any regular-expression (text string) found in show command output.

Command Modes

Privileged EXEC

Command History

Release	Modification
12.3(2)T	This command was introduced.

Usage Guidelines

In many cases, it is useful to filter the output of a show command to match a specific expression. Filtering provides some control over the type and amount of information displayed by the system. The show section command provides enhanced filtering capabilities by matching lines in the show command output containing specific expressions as well as matching any entries associated with those expressions. Filtering is especially useful, for example, when displaying large configuration files using the show running-configuration command or the show interfaces command.

If the include or exclude keyword is not specified, include is the default.

If there are no associated entries for an expression, then only the line matching the expression is displayed.

Examples

The following examples compare the filtering characteristics of the show running-config | include command with the show running-config | section command. The first example gathers just the lines from the configuration file with "interface" in them.

Router# show running-config | include interface

interface Ethernet0/0 
interface Ethernet1/0 
interface Serial2/0 
interface Serial3/0

The next example uses the show command section command to gather the lines in the configuration file with "interface" in them as well as any lines associated with those entries. In this example, interface configuration information is captured.

Router# show running-config | section include interface

interface Ethernet0/0 
 shutdown 
 no cdp enable

interface Ethernet1/0 
 shutdown 
 no cdp enable 
interface Serial2/0 
 shutdown 
 no cdp enable 
interface Serial3/0 
 shutdown 
 no cdp enable

Related Commands

Command	Description
show append	Redirects the output of any show command and adds it to the end of an existing file.
show exclude	Filters show command output so that it excludes lines that contain a particular regular expression.
show include	Filters show command output so that it displays only lines that contain a particular regular expression.
show redirect	Redirects the output of any show command to a specified file.

Information About the Show Command Section Filter

The Show Command Section Filter feature enhances the functionality of the Cisco IOS CLI by filtering show command output matching a regular expression (text string) as well as filtering output associated with that expression. Prior to this enhancement, the level of filtering offered by the show command was limited to the individual lines of the output.

In many cases, it is useful to filter the output of a show command to match a specific expression. Filtering provides some control over the type and amount of information displayed by the system. With section filtering, show command output not only displays the individual entries matching the expression in the command output but also displays the section of entries associated with that expression.

Filtering is especially useful, for example, when displaying a large configuration file. In this case, it is helpful to display sections of the configuration file without having to enter multiple commands to gather the related configuration information.