About the Command Line Interface 13About the Command Line InterfaceThis guide is intended for system administrators, developers, and engineerswho need to use the command line interface (CLI) tool and its associatedcommands and script files. Selected CLI commands perform functions thatyou can also access from the Modular Disk (MD) Storage Manager, which isthe graphical user interface (GUI) to the storage array. See the User’s Guide,which describes the Storage Manager software that is used to create and managemultiple storage arrays. For additional information, see the hardware andsoftware manuals that shipped with your system.NOTE: Always check for updates on support.dell.com and read the updates firstbecause they often supersede information in other documents.NOTE: CLI commands do not have interactive warnings for destructive commands.The command line interface (CLI) is a software tool that enables storagearray installers, developers, and engineers to configure and monitor storagearrays. Using the command line interface, you can issue commands from anoperating system prompt, such as the Microsoft® Windows® commandprompt (C:\) or a Linux operating system terminal.Each command performs a specific action for managing a storage array orreturning information about the status of a storage array. You can enterindividual commands, or run script files when you need to perform operationsmore than once (such as installing the same configuration on several storagearrays). A script file can be loaded and run from the command line interface.You can also run commands in an interactive mode. Interactive mode enablesyou to connect to a specific storage array and rapidly enter a command,determine the effect on the storage array, and then enter a new command.The command line interface gives you direct access to a script engine utilityin the Dell™ PowerVault™ Modular Disk Storage Manager software (MDStorage Manager). The script engine reads the commands, or runs a scriptfile, from the command line and performs the operations instructed by thecommands.
