A more recent router access technique is HTTP Server. Do not be misleading by the name; no computer server is involved in using HTTP Server. The "server" in HTTP Server refers to small application software running in software Cisco IOS. HTTP Server first became available in IOS Release 10.3. HTTP Server allows you to interact with the router through a browser on the Web. Figure 4.7 shows an HTTP Server screen.

Using HTTP to handle IOS command line input and output is not very ergonomic. Most network operators still prefer to use the IOS software content according to the mode because it is faster and more directly than shown by clicking. This is in contrast to the old hands jump in MS Windows to Microsoft "-DOS window to type the sys-tem-level commands, but can move the Cisco IOS gradually towards a graphical user interface for two reasons. The most obvious reason for at least offer a GUI-based alternative to working with IOS is that Cisco devices are increasingly inclined to non-specialists. The other is that with increasing complexity, the need to visualize the system even within a single router grows. Using imaging tools obviously requires a browser instead of the old-fashioned "green screen" character-based command-line interface.