Commented IP Access List Entries

Feature Overview
You can now include comments (remarks) about entries in any IP access list. The remarks make the access list easier for the network administrator to understand. Each remark is limited to 100 characters.

Benefits
User-Friendly
Remarks about entries in an IP access list make the list easier to understand and scan. For example, it is not immediately clear what the purpose of the following entry is:
access-list 1 permit 171.69.2.88

It is much easier to read a remark about the entry to understand its effect, as follows:
access-list 1 remark Permit only Jones workstation through access-list 1 permit 171.69.2.88

Related Documents
For complete information on how to configure IP access lists, refer to the following:

Configuring IP Services chapter in the Cisco IOS Release 12.0 Network Protocols Configuration Guide, Part 1. IP Services Commands chapter in the Cisco IOS Release 12.0 Network Protocols Command Reference, Part 1. Access Control Lists: Overview and Guidelines chapter in the Cisco IOS Release 12.0 Security Configuration Guide.

Supported Platforms

Cisco 800 Cisco 1000 series Cisco 1400 Cisco 1600 series
Commented IP Access List Entries 1

Write Comments in a Named Access List

Cisco 1720 Cisco 2500 series Cisco 2600 series Cisco 3600 series Cisco 3810 Cisco 4000 series Cisco 7100 Cisco 7200 series Cisco 7500 series AS5200 AS5300 AS5800 UBR900 series

Supported Standards, MIBs, and RFCs

None

Configuration Tasks
The remark can go before or after a permit or deny statement. You should be consistent about where you put the remark so it is clear which remark describes which permit or deny statement. For example, it would be confusing to have some remarks before the associated permit or deny statements and some remarks after the associated statements. Remember to apply the access list to an interface or terminal line after the access list is created. Refer to the related documentation for information on how to apply the access list. To include remarks in an access list, perform one of the following tasks, depending on whether you are using a named or numbered access list:

Write Comments in a Named Access List Write Comments in a Numbered Access List

Write Comments in a Named Access List

To write a comment about an entry in a named IP access list, use the following commands in the order shown. Step 1 is performed once; Step 2 can be performed multiple times in the access list, before or after any permit or deny command.
Step
1

Command
Router(config)# ip access-list standard name

Purpose Identifies the access list by name.

or
Router(config)# ip access-list extended name

Cisco IOS Release 12.0(2)T

Write Comments in a Numbered Access List

Step
2

Command
Router(config-std-nacl)# remark remark

Purpose Indicates the purpose of the permit or deny statement.

or
Router(config-ext-nacl)# remark remark

Write Comments in a Numbered Access List

To write a comment about an entry in a numbered IP access list, use the following command before or after any access-list permit or access-list deny command:
Command
Router(config)# access-list access-list-number remark remark

Purpose Indicates the purpose of the permit or deny statement.

Configuration Examples
In the following example of a numbered access list, the workstation belonging to Jones is allowed access and the workstation belonging to Smith is not allowed access:
access-list access-list access-list access-list 1 1 1 1 remark Permit only Jones workstation through permit 171.69.2.88 remark Do not allow Smith workstation through deny 171.69.3.13

In the following example of a numbered access list, the Winter and Smith workstations are not allowed to browse the web:
access-list access-list access-list access-list 100 100 100 100 remark Do deny host remark Do deny host not allow Winter to browse the web 171.69.3.85 any eq http not allow Smith to browse the web 171.69.3.13 any eq http

In the following example of a named access list, the Jones subnet is not allowed access:
ip access-list standard prevention remark Do not allow Jones subnet through deny 171.69.0.0 0.0.255.255

In the following example of a named access list, the Jones subnet is not allowed to use outbound Telnet:
ip access-list extended telnetting remark Do not allow Jones subnet to telnet out deny tcp host 171.69.2.88 any eq telnet

Command Reference
This section documents new commands. All other commands used with this feature are documented in the Cisco IOS Release 12.0 command references.

access-list remark remark

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access-list remark

access-list remark
To write a helpful comment (remark) for an entry in a numbered IP access list, use the access-list remark global configuration command. To remove the remark, use the no form of this command. access-list access-list-number remark remark no access-list access-list-number remark remark

Syntax Description
access-list-number remark Number of an IP access list. Comment that describes the access list entry, up to 100 characters long.

Default
The access list entries have no remarks.

Command Mode
Global configuration

Usage Guidelines
This command first appeared in Cisco IOS Release 12.0(2)T. The remark can be up to 100 characters; anything longer is truncated. If you want to write a comment about an entry in a named access list, use the remark command.

Examples
In the following example, the workstation belonging to Jones is allowed access and the workstation belonging to Smith is not allowed access:
access-list access-list access-list access-list 1 1 1 1 remark Permit only Jones workstation through permit 171.69.2.88 remark Do not allow Smith workstation through deny 171.69.3.13

Related Commands
access-list (extended) access-list (standard) remark

Cisco IOS Release 12.0(2)T

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remark
To write a helpful comment (remark) for an entry in a named IP access list, use the remark access-list configuration command. To remove the remark, use the no form of this command. remark remark no remark remark

Syntax Description
remark Comment that describes the access-list entry, up to 100 characters long.

Default
The access list entries have no remarks.

Command Mode
Access-list configuration

Usage Guidelines
This command first appeared in Cisco IOS Release 12.0(2)T. The remark can be up to 100 characters; anything longer is truncated. If you want to write a comment about an entry in a numbered IP access list, use the access-list remark command.

Examples
In the following example, the Jones subnet is not allowed to use outbound Telnet:
ip access-list extended telnetting remark Do not allow Jones subnet to telnet out deny tcp host 171.69.2.88 any eq telnet

Related Commands
access-list remark deny ip access-list permit

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Cisco IOS Release 12.0(2)T