IOS XE Interface Configuration (shutdown/no shutdown) and Verification

How to shutdown / no shutdown an Interface on Cisco IOS XE

These are the commands for disabling and enabling an interface on Cisco IOS XE. Run them in interface configuration mode.

Cisco IOS XE Interface shutdown Configuration
interface [INTERFACE_NAME]
 shutdown

Cisco IOS XE Interface no shutdown Configuration
interface [INTERFACE_NAME]
 no shutdown

Field	Value
[INTERFACE_NAME]	Specify the target interface name (e.g. GigabitEthernet1)

Example: Configuring Interface shutdown

This example shuts down GigabitEthernet1. The configuration takes effect as soon as the command is entered.

Interface shutdown Example
XE1#config term
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
XE1(config)#interface GigabitEthernet1
XE1(config-if)#shutdown
XE1(config-if)#end
XE1#

Example: Configuring Interface no shutdown

This example sets no shutdown on GigabitEthernet1.

Interface no shutdown Example
XE1#config term
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
XE1(config)#interface GigabitEthernet1
XE1(config-if)#no shutdown
XE1(config-if)#end
XE1#

Checking Interface State with show interfaces

You can check the state of an interface with the show interfaces command.

Cisco IOS XE show interfaces Command
show interfaces [INTERFACE_NAME]

Field	Value
[INTERFACE_NAME]	Specify the interface name to check the state of (if omitted, all interfaces are shown)

Example: Checking the shutdown State

When shutdown is configured, it is shown as administratively down.

show interfaces Example (shutdown State)
XE1#show interfaces GigabitEthernet1
GigabitEthernet1 is administratively down, line protocol is down
  Hardware is CSR vNIC, address is 5254.007c.c4bc (bia 5254.007c.c4bc)
  Description: to GigabitEthernet1.XE2
  Internet address is 192.168.0.1/24
  MTU 1500 bytes, BW 1000000 Kbit/sec, DLY 10 usec,
     reliability 255/255, txload 1/255, rxload 1/255
  Encapsulation ARPA, loopback not set
-- snip --
XE1#

Example: Checking the no shutdown (Operating Normally) State

After no shutdown is configured, if the link is connected it is shown as up / up.

show interfaces Example (up State)
XE1#show interfaces GigabitEthernet1
GigabitEthernet1 is up, line protocol is up
  Hardware is CSR vNIC, address is 5254.007c.c4bc (bia 5254.007c.c4bc)
  Description: to GigabitEthernet1.XE2
  Internet address is 192.168.0.1/24
  MTU 1500 bytes, BW 1000000 Kbit/sec, DLY 10 usec,
     reliability 255/255, txload 1/255, rxload 1/255
  Encapsulation ARPA, loopback not set
-- snip --
XE1#

The first line, is up, line protocol is up, actually shows two separate states.

Position	Meaning
First (is up / is administratively down)	Layer 1 (physical) state. Reflects the shutdown/no shutdown configuration
Second (line protocol is up / down)	Layer 2 (data link) state. If the first is administratively down, this also goes down accordingly

Combining these two values lets you distinguish between different causes.

First State	Second State	Meaning
administratively down	down	Disabled by `shutdown` configuration
up	up	`no shutdown` is configured and the link is also up normally

Using the show ip interface brief command, you can check the state of all interfaces concisely, one line each. Note that IOS XE has no show interfaces brief command.

show ip interface brief Example
XE1#show ip interface brief
Interface              IP-Address      OK? Method Status                Protocol
GigabitEthernet1       192.168.0.1     YES manual up                    up
GigabitEthernet2       unassigned      YES unset  administratively down down
GigabitEthernet3       unassigned      YES unset  administratively down down
GigabitEthernet4       unassigned      YES unset  administratively down down
Loopback0              unassigned      YES unset  administratively down down
XE1#

GigabitEthernet2 through 4 are unconfigured and therefore shutdown, so both Status and Protocol show administratively down. GigabitEthernet1 has no shutdown configured and the link is established, so it shows up / up.

Difference in How shutdown / no shutdown Appear in show running-config

When checking the configuration with show running-config, note that shutdown and no shutdown are displayed differently.

When shutdown is configured: a shutdown line is shown within the interface configuration
When no shutdown is configured: a no shutdown line is not shown (the absence of the setting is treated as meaning the interface is enabled)

show running-config Example for the shutdown State

show running-config Example (shutdown State)
XE1#show running-config interface GigabitEthernet1
Building configuration...

Current configuration : 167 bytes
!
interface GigabitEthernet1
 description to GigabitEthernet1.XE2
 ip address 192.168.0.1 255.255.255.0
 shutdown
 negotiation auto
 no mop enabled
 no mop sysid
end

XE1#

show running-config Example for the no shutdown State

show running-config Example (no shutdown State)
XE1#show running-config interface GigabitEthernet1
Building configuration...

Current configuration : 157 bytes
!
interface GigabitEthernet1
 description to GigabitEthernet1.XE2
 ip address 192.168.0.1 255.255.255.0
 negotiation auto
 no mop enabled
 no mop sysid
end

XE1#

In the no shutdown state, the shutdown line itself does not exist, so only the other settings appear in show running-config. When checking whether an interface has been unintentionally shut down, it’s a good idea to check whether shutdown appears in show running-config.