Which command provides detailed information about the components that are installed on a router, such as the model, PID, and serial number?

The show inventory command is the standard Cisco IOS command used to display a detailed list of the physical components installed in a Cisco device. The output provides a hierarchical view of the hardware, including the chassis, modules, power supplies, and other field-replaceable units. For each component, it lists critical identification information such as the Product ID (PID), Version ID (VID), and Serial Number (SN), which is precisely what the question requires for hardware identification and asset management.

show chassis: This is not a standard Cisco IOS command for displaying component details. It is more commonly associated with other network operating systems like Juniper's Junos OS or specific Cisco platforms like IOS XR. show items: This is not a valid or recognized command within the Cisco IOS command-line interface. show router: This is not a valid or recognized command within the Cisco IOS command-line interface.

1. Cisco Systems, Inc., "Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference," Release 12.2. This document details the show inventory command.

Reference: Under the "show inventory" command description, it states, "To display the Cisco products inventory information, use the show inventory command in privileged EXEC mode." The sample output description confirms it lists the PID, VID, and SN. (Document available via Cisco's official documentation portal).

2. Cisco Systems, Inc., "Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.x (Catalyst 9300 Switches) Command Reference," Chapter: show commands: ip-sla through show mpls.

Reference: In the section for show inventory, the purpose is stated as: "To display inventory information about the hardware, use the show inventory command in privileged EXEC mode." The sample output clearly shows fields for "NAME", "DESCR", "PID", "VID", and "SN".

3. Cisco Systems, Inc., "Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Router System Management Command Reference, IOS XR Release 7.3.x," Chapter: show.

Reference: This document for IOS XR also lists the show inventory command, stating its purpose is to "Display the hardware inventory." This demonstrates the command's consistent use across different Cisco operating systems for this specific function.