# Explore the Installation
{% hint style="warning" %}
Applies to Local Install.
{% endhint %}
Before starting NSO, it is recommended to explore the installation contents.
Navigate to the newly created Installation Directory, for example:
```bash
cd ~/nso-6.0
```
## Contents of the Installation Directory
The installation directory includes the following contents:
* [Documentation](#d5e552)
* [Examples](#d5e560)
* [Network Element Drivers](#d5e564)
* [Shell scripts](#d5e604)
### Documentation
Along with the binaries, NSO installs a full set of documentation available in the `doc/` folder in the Installation Directory. There is also an [online version](https://nso-docs.cisco.com/guides).
```bash
ls -l doc/
drwxr-xr-x 5 user staff 160B Nov 29 05:19 api/
drwxr-xr-x 14 user staff 448B Nov 29 05:19 html/
-rw-r--r-- 1 user staff 202B Nov 29 05:19 index.html
drwxr-xr-x 17 user staff 544B Nov 29 05:19 pdf/
```
Run `index.html` in your browser to explore further.
### Examples
Local Install comes with a rich set of [examples](https://github.com/NSO-developer/nso-examples/tree/6.7) to start using NSO.
```bash
$ ls -1 examples.ncs/
README.md
aaa
common
device-management
getting-started
high-availability
layered-services-architecture
misc
nano-services
northbound-interfaces
scaling-performance
sdk-api
service-management
```
### Network Element Drivers (NEDs)
In order to communicate with the network, NSO uses NEDs as device drivers for different device types. Cisco has NEDs for hundreds of different devices available for customers, and several are included in the installer in the `/packages/neds` directory.
In the example below, NEDs for Cisco ASA, IOS, IOS XR, and NX-OS are shown. Also included are NEDs for other vendors including Juniper JunOS, A10, ALU, and Dell.
```bash
$ ls -1 packages/neds
a10-acos-cli-3.0
alu-sr-cli-3.4
cisco-asa-cli-6.6
cisco-ios-cli-3.0
cisco-ios-cli-3.8
cisco-iosxr-cli-3.0
cisco-iosxr-cli-3.5
cisco-nx-cli-3.0
dell-ftos-cli-3.0
juniper-junos-nc-3.0
```
{% hint style="info" %}
The example NEDs included in the installer are intended for evaluation, demonstration, and use with the [examples.ncs](https://github.com/NSO-developer/nso-examples/tree/6.7) examples. These are not the latest versions available and often do not have all the features available in production NEDs.
{% endhint %}
#### **Install New NEDs**
A large number of pre-built supported NEDs are available which can be acquired and downloaded by the customers from [Cisco Software Download](https://software.cisco.com/). Note that the specific file names and versions that you download may be different from the ones in this guide. Therefore, remember to update the paths accordingly.
Like the NSO installer, the NEDs are `signed.bin` files that need to be run to validate the download and extract the new code.
To install new NEDs:
1. Change to the working directory where your downloads are. The filenames indicate which version of NSO the NEDs are pre-compiled for (in this case NSO 6.0), and the version of the NED. An example output is shown below.
```bash
cd ~/Downloads/
ls -l ncs*.bin
# Output
-rw-r--r--@ 1 user staff 9708091 Dec 18 12:05 ncs-6.0-cisco-asa-6.7.7.signed.bin
-rw-r--r--@ 1 user staff 51233042 Dec 18 12:06 ncs-6.0-cisco-ios-6.42.1.signed.bin
-rw-r--r--@ 1 user staff 8400190 Dec 18 12:05 ncs-6.0-cisco-nx-5.13.1.1.signed.bin
```
2. Use the `sh` command to run `signed.bin` to verify the certificate and extract the NED tar.gz and other files. Repeat for all files. An example output is shown below.
```bash
sh ncs-6.0-cisco-nx-5.13.1.1.signed.bin
Unpacking...
Verifying signature...
Downloading CA certificate from http://www.cisco.com/security/pki/certs/crcam2.cer ...
Successfully downloaded and verified crcam2.cer.
Downloading SubCA certificate from http://www.cisco.com/security/pki/certs/innerspace.cer ...
Successfully downloaded and verified innerspace.cer.
Successfully verified root, subca and end-entity certificate chain.
Successfully fetched a public key from tailf.cer.
Successfully verified the signature of ncs-6.0-cisco-nx-5.13.1.1.tar.gz using tailf.cer
```
3. You now have three tar (.`tar.gz`) files. These are compressed versions of the NEDs. List the files to verify as shown in the example below.
```bash
ls -l ncs*.tar.gz
-rw-r--r-- 1 user staff 9704896 Dec 12 21:11 ncs-6.0-cisco-asa-6.7.7.tar.gz
-rw-r--r-- 1 user staff 51260488 Dec 13 22:58 ncs-6.0-cisco-ios-6.42.1.tar.gz
-rw-r--r-- 1 user staff 8409288 Dec 18 09:09 ncs-6.0-cisco-nx-5.13.1.1.tar.gz
```
4. Navigate to the `packages/neds` directory for your Local Install, for example:
```bash
cd ~/nso-6.0/packages/neds
```
5. In the `/packages/neds` directory, extract the .tar files into this directory using the `tar` command with the path to where the compressed NED is located. An example is shown below.
```
tar -zxvf ~/Downloads/ncs-6.0-cisco-nx-5.13.1.1.tar.gz
tar -zxvf ~/Downloads/ncs-6.0-cisco-ios-6.42.1.tar.gz
tar -zxvf ~/Downloads/ncs-6.0-cisco-asa-6.7.7.tar.gz
```
\
Here is a sample list of the newer NEDs extracted along with the ones bundled with the installation:
```
drwxr-xr-x 13 user staff 416 Nov 29 05:17 a10-acos-cli-3.0
drwxr-xr-x 12 user staff 384 Nov 29 05:17 alu-sr-cli-3.4
drwxr-xr-x 13 user staff 416 Nov 29 05:17 cisco-asa-cli-6.6
drwxr-xr-x 13 user staff 416 Dec 12 21:11 cisco-asa-cli-6.7
drwxr-xr-x 12 user staff 384 Nov 29 05:17 cisco-ios-cli-3.0
drwxr-xr-x 12 user staff 384 Nov 29 05:17 cisco-ios-cli-3.8
drwxr-xr-x 13 user staff 416 Dec 13 22:58 cisco-ios-cli-6.42
drwxr-xr-x 13 user staff 416 Nov 29 05:17 cisco-iosxr-cli-3.0
drwxr-xr-x 13 user staff 416 Nov 29 05:17 cisco-iosxr-cli-3.5
drwxr-xr-x 13 user staff 416 Nov 29 05:17 cisco-nx-cli-3.0
drwxr-xr-x 14 user staff 448 Dec 18 09:09 cisco-nx-cli-5.13
drwxr-xr-x 13 user staff 416 Nov 29 05:17 dell-ftos-cli-3.0
drwxr-xr-x 10 user staff 320 Nov 29 05:17 juniper-junos-nc-3.0
```
### Shell Scripts
The last thing to note is the files `ncsrc` and `ncsrc.tsch`. These are shell scripts for `bash` and `tsch` that set up your PATH and other environment variables for NSO. Depending on your shell, you need to source this file before starting NSO.
For more information on sourcing shell script, see the [Local Install steps](/guides/administration/installation-and-deployment/local-install.md).
---
# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.
Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:
```
GET https://nso-docs.cisco.com/guides/administration/installation-and-deployment/post-install-actions/explore-the-installation.md?ask=
```
The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.
Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.