GUI vs CLI in Computer Networking - GeeksforGeeks (2024)

CLI is the word form used for Command Line Interface. CLI permits users to put in writing commands associate degree exceedingly in a terminal or console window to interact with an operating system and GUI stands for Graphical User Interface. GUI permits users to use the graphics to interact with an operating system. In the graphical user interface, menus are provided such as windows, scrollbars, buttons, wizards, painting pictures, alternative icons, etc. It’s intuitive, simple to find out, and reduces psychological feature load.

In this article, we will see the difference between GUI and CLI in computer networking.

GUI in Networking:

GUI stands for Graphical User Interface. It is a user interface that allows users to interact with network devices using a mouse and keyboard through graphical icons. There are many network engineers who like GUIs, and on the other hand, some engineers don’t like GUIs either. A graphical user interface is easier to use than a command-line interface because learning commands or using them to solve small things is difficult and time-consuming.

• It requires pointing devices like a Mouse for selecting and choosing items.
• In graphics, user interface spelling mistakes and typo errors are avoided.
• Network engineers can observe and operate different things at the same time with the graphical user interface.
• Graphics User Interface requires more memory.

CLI in Networking:

CLI stands for Command Line Interface. It is a user interface that allows users to interact with network devices through commands using only the keyboard. There are many network engineers who prefer the command line interface because of its faster processing speed than the graphical user interface. In the networking world, not all problems can be solved through a graphical user interface. Therefore, engineers must use the command line interface to solve problems, not the graphical user interface.

• It does not require pointing devices like a Mouse for selecting and choosing items. It only needs a keyboard.
• In the command line interface, spelling and typo errors cannot be avoided.
• The command-line interface is harder to use than the graphical user interface.
• The command-line interface requires less memory.

Difference between GUI vs CLI in Networking:

As per our requirement, we can switch from Graphics User Interface to Command Line Interface or Command Line Interface to Graphics User Interface to solve problems because some problems can be easily solved with Graphics User Interface or some problems required Command Lines Interface.