DS CLI command help

You can obtain online help for each CLI command. To obtain the help, type the word help and the command name at the dscli command prompt. There are additional parameters that you can use with the help command that designate the type of help information that you can receive.

The help command contains the following parameters that influence the type of help information that you can receive:

Command	Description
help	Displays a list of all the DS CLI commands that are available for use.
help -s	Displays a list of commands with brief descriptions.
help -l	Displays a list of commands with their associated syntax.
command_name -h command_name -help command_name -? help command_name	Displays the reference page (man page) for the command name.
help -s command_name	Displays the brief description for the command name.
help -l command_name	Displays the usage statement for the command name.

Note: You cannot use the -s and -l parameters with the following help command flags: -h, -help, and -?.

Examples

The following examples represent the type of information that is displayed when you use various parameters with the help command. Each of these examples start at the dscli command prompt.

Note: Much of the information that is associated with the help command is displayed in list format. You can include the page (-p on) and row (-r number) controls; for example, dscli>help -p on -r 20. This command pauses your page listing after 20 entries and prompts you to press any key to continue.

Example 1

dscli>help

This line of input provides the entire list of DS CLI commands. Only the command names are displayed. No other details are provided.

Example 2

dscli>help -s

This line of input provides the entire list of DS CLI commands and a short description for each command. The short description explains what each command accomplishes.

Example 3

dscli>help -l

This line of input provides the entire list of DS CLI commands and the syntax for each command. In addition, you see all the help syntax and formatting parameters, which can make your reading of the help difficult. For example, you can see something similar to the following for each command:

lsextpool [ { -help|-h|-? } ] [ { -l (long)|-s (short) } ]
 [-fmt default|xml|delim|stanza] [-p on|off] [-delim char]
 [-hdr on|off] [-bnr on|off ] [-r #] [-v on|off] [-fullid]
 [-hmc1 SMC1] [-hmc2 SMC2] [-user username] [-passwd password]
 -dev storage_image_ID [-stgtype fb|ckd] [-rankgrp 0|1]
 [Extent_Pool_ID ... | -]

The following line is the actual syntax for the lsextpool command: -dev storage_image_ID [-stgtype fb|ckd] [-rankgrp 0|1] [Extent_Pool_ID ... | -]

Example 4

dscli>lssi -h
dscli>lssi -help
dscli>lssi -?
dscli>help lssi

Any of the previous lines of input generates the entire help page that is associated with the lssi command. This is the same information that is found in the IBM^® System Storage™ DS6000™ Command-Line Interface User's Guide or in the Information Center for the lssi command.

Example 5

dscli>help -s lssi

This line of input provides the short description that is associated with the designated command. For instance, you might see the following:

lssi

The lssi command displays a list of storage images in a storage complex.
You can use this command to look at the status of each storage image in the
list. The storage image worldwide node name (WWNN) is displayed when this
command is used. You must use the storage image WWNN when using the
lsavailpprcport and mkpprcpath commands.

Example 6

dscli>help -l lssi

This line of input displays the entire reference page found in both the IBM System Storage DS6000 Command-Line Interface User's Guide and in the Information Center for the lssi command.