1SDPARM(8) SDPARM SDPARM(8)
2
6 sdparm - access SCSI modes pages; read VPD pages; send simple SCSI com‐
7 mands.
8
10 sdparm [--all] [--dbd] [--examine] [--flexible] [--get=STR] [--hex]
11 [--long] [--num-desc] [--out-mask=OM] [--page=PG[,SPG]] [--quiet]
12 [--readonly] [--six] [--transport=TN] [--vendor=VN] [--verbose] DEVICE
13 [DEVICE...]
14 sdparm [--clear=STR] [--defaults] [--dummy] [--flexible]
16 [--page=PG[,SPG]] [--quiet] [--readonly] [--save] [--set=STR] [--six]
17 [--transport=TN] [--vendor=VN] [--verbose] DEVICE [DEVICE...]
18 sdparm --command=CMD [--hex] [--long] [--readonly] [--verbose] DEVICE
20 [DEVICE...]
21 sdparm --inquiry [--all] [--examine] [--flexible] [--hex] [--num-desc]
23 [--page=PG[,SPG]] [--quiet] [--readonly] [--transport=TN] [--verbose]
24 DEVICE [DEVICE...]
25 sdparm --enumerate [--all] [--inquiry] [--long] [--page=PG[,SPG]]
27 [--transport=TN] [--vendor=VN]
28 sdparm --inhex=FN [--all] [--flexible] [--hex] [--inquiry] [--long]
30 [--pdt=DT] [--raw] [--six] [--transport=TN] [--vendor=VN] [--verbose]
31 sdparm --wscan [--verbose]
33 sdparm [--help] [--version]
35
37 This utility fetches and potentially changes SCSI device (e.g. disk)
38 mode pages. Inquiry data including Vital Product Data (VPD) pages can
39 also be displayed. Commands associated with starting and stopping the
40 medium; loading and unloading the medium; and other housekeeping func‐
41 tions may also be issued by this utility.
42 The first invocation shown in the synopsis is for accessing (i.e. read‐
44 ing) mode page fields held on the DEVICE. The second form is for chang‐
45 ing mode page fields held on the DEVICE. The third form is for execut‐
46 ing some simple SCSI commands. The fourth form (i.e. the '--inquiry
47 ... DEVICE' form) is for fetching and decoding VPD pages from the
48 given DEVICE. The --enumerate form is for listing out mode or VPD field
49 data held by this utility (and if a DEVICE is given then it is
50 ignored). The --inhex=FN form decodes mode or VPD response data pro‐
51 vided in the named file (or from stdin if FN=- is given); that data may
52 either be in hexadecimal or binary. The second last form is for Windows
53 only and lists the available storage device names; see the OPTIONS
54 entry for --wscan. The final form is to provide command line help or
55 the version number (and date) of this utility.
56 If no options (other than DEVICE) are given then a selection of common
58 mode page fields for that device are listed. If the --long option is
59 also given then a description of the fields is placed on the right of
60 each line. If the --all option is given then all known mode page fields
61 for that device are listed. Individual fields can be displayed with the
62 --get=STR option (e.g. '--get=WCE' to fetch the state of the Writeback
63 Cache Enable field).
64 This utility completes with an exit status of 0 when successful. For
66 other values see the EXIT STATUS section below.
67 One or more DEVICE arguments can be given. The utility will essentially
69 apply the given options to each DEVICE in the list. If a error is
70 detected, it is noted and the utility continues. Error value 5 (file
71 open or close problem) is treated as lower priority when other errors
72 are detected. The exit status is the most recently detected error value
73 (excluding error value 5 if other errors have been detected). If all
74 actions succeed the exit status is zero.
75 By default this utility shows mode pages that are common to all trans‐
77 port protocols. These are termed as "generic" mode pages. If there is
78 no match on a generic mode page name or field then those pages specific
79 to the SAS transport are checked. Transport protocol specific mode
80 pages are selected with the --transport=TN option. See the TRANSPORT
81 section below. Vendor specific mode pages are selected with the --ven‐
82 dor=VN option. See the VENDORS section below.
83 Although originally for SCSI disks (or storage devices that appear to
85 the OS as SCSI disks) many of the mode pages are for other SCSI device
86 types. These include CD/DVD players that use the ATAPI (or any other)
87 transport, SCSI tapes drives and SCSI enclosures.
88 When the --inquiry option is given without a page number then the
90 Device Identification VPD page (page number 0x83) is requested and if
91 found it is decoded and output. If no page number is given and the
92 --all option is given then a list of VPD page names (but not their con‐
93 tents) supported by the DEVICE is output. When both the --inquiry and
94 --page=PG options are given then the VPD page can be specified as an
95 abbreviation (e.g. "sp" for the SCSI ports VPD page) or numerically
96 (e.g. "0x88"). If a VPD page is returned by the DEVICE but sdparm can‐
97 not decode it or the --hex option is given then it is output in hex.
98
100 Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options as
101 well. If an option takes a numeric argument then that argument is
102 assumed to be decimal unless otherwise indicated (e.g. with a leading
103 "0x" or a trailing "h"). The options are in alphabetical order, based
104 on the long option name.
105 -a, --all
107 output all recognized fields for the device type (e.g. disk) of
108 the DEVICE. Without this option (or the --page=PG[,SPG] option)
109 the default action is to output a relatively small number of
110 commonly used fields from different pages. When a specific
111 (mode) page number is given with the --page=PG[,SPG] option then
112 all the fields of that page are output (irrespective of the set‐
113 ting of this option). For this option's action when used with
114 the --enumerate option see the ENUMERATE section below.
115 When used together with the --inquiry option and a DEVICE, the
116 Supported VPD Pages VPD page [0x0] is output. When this option
117 is used twice (short form: '-iaa') then all VPD pages (listed in
118 the Supported VPD Pages VPD page) are output.
119 By default --inhex=FN will only decode the first mode page found
120 in FN. With this option, more mode pages will be decoded if
121 present. When --transport=TN or --vendor=VN is also given then
122 if a given mode page is not defined for that transport or ven‐
123 dor, then it is decoded as a generic mode page.
124 -c, --clear=STR
126 In its simplest form STR contains a field acronym_name or a
127 field numerical descriptor. In the absence of an explicit value
128 argument (e.g. '--clear=WCE=1'), the field has its value cleared
129 to zero. See the PARAMETERS section below.
130 -C, --command=CMD
132 Perform given CMD. See section below on COMMANDS. To enumerate
133 supported commands use '-e -C x' (using any CMD name, valid or
134 otherwise).
135 -B, --dbd
137 disable block descriptors. This is a bit in MODE SENSE cdbs that
138 rarely needs to be set. One known case is a MODE SENSE 6 issued
139 to a Reduced Block Commands (RBC) device where the RBC standard
140 says it shall be set.
141 -D, --defaults
143 sets the given mode page to its default values. Requires the
144 --page=PG[,SPG] option to be given to specify the mode page. To
145 make the default mode page values also the saved mode page val‐
146 ues, use the --save option as well.
147 when this option is used twice, the current values in all modes
148 pages are reverted to their defaults. If the --save option is
149 given as well, then the current and saved values in all modes
150 pages are reverted to their defaults. This feature uses the RTD
151 bit in the MODE SELECT command which was added in draft SPC-5
152 revision 11.
153 -d, --dummy
155 when set inhibits changes being placed in the DEVICE's mode
156 page. Instead the mode data that would have been sent to a MODE
157 SELECT command, is output in ASCII hex to the console. This
158 option is mainly for testing.
159 -e, --enumerate
161 lists out descriptive information about the pages and fields
162 known to this utility. Ignores the DEVICE argument and other
163 options apart from the --all, --inquiry, --long,
164 --page=PG[,SPG], --transport=TN and --vendor=VN. If --enumerate
165 is given without other options then the known (generic) mode
166 pages are listed. See the ENUMERATE section below.
167 -E, --examine
169 for mode pages only those with known field names are probed when
170 the --all option is given. For VPD pages only those pages listed
171 in "Supported VPD pages page" are decoded. In both cases some
172 pages may be missed. With this option (i.e. --examine) all mode
173 and VPD pages can be probed.
174 For mode pages, this option will probe all mode pages from page
175 number 0x0 to 0x3e. To probe mode subpages give a mode page num‐
176 ber with --page=PG and then all subpages (from 0x0 to 0xfe) are
177 probed.
178 For VPD pages, use this option with --inquiry. This will cause
179 all VPD pages from 0x0 to 0xbf to be probed by default. A
180 sequence of VPD pages can be probed with --page=PG[,SPG] in
181 which case VPD pages from PG (lower number) to SPG (high number)
182 inclusive are probed. Vendor specific VPD pages run from 0xc0 to
183 0xff and can be probed by setting SPG from 0xc0 to 0xff.
184 -f, --flexible
186 Some devices, bridges and/or drivers attempt crude transforma‐
187 tions between mode sense 6 and 10 byte commands without cor‐
188 rectly rebuilding the response. This will cause the response to
189 be mis-interpreted (usually with an error saying the response is
190 malformed). With this option, the length of the response is
191 checked, and if it looks wrong, various corrections are
192 attempted. This option will also allow mode pages that don't
193 belong to the current device's peripheral type to be listed.
194 -g, --get=STR
196 In its simplest form STR contains a field acronym_name or a
197 field numerical descriptor. The field is fetched from mode page.
198 See the PARAMETERS section below. The --long and --hex options
199 effect the output format. Also if a value of "1" is given (e.g.
200 '--get=WCE=1') only the current value is output (i.e. not the
201 change mask, the default value and the saved value).
202 -h, --help
204 output the usage message then exit.
205 -H, --hex
207 rather than trying to decode mode (or VPD) pages, print them out
208 in hex. When used with the --get=STR option the corresponding
209 current, changeable, default and saved values are output in hex,
210 prefixed by "0x" and space separated. If a value of "1" is given
211 with the --get=STR option (e.g. '--get=WCE=1') then only the
212 current value is output in hex, prefixed by "0x". If a value of
213 "2" is given with the --get=STR option then only the current
214 value is output as a (signed) integer. This option can be used
215 multiple times (e.g. '-HH'). Useful with the ATA Information VPD
216 page which usually outputs its IDENTIFY (PACKET) DEVICE response
217 in 16 bit hex words; with '-HH' outputs that response in hex
218 bytes; with '-HHH' outputs the same response in a format suit‐
219 able for 'hdparm --Istdin' to decode.
220 Mode page output with the '-HHH' option is suitable for a later
221 invocation of sdparm with the --inhex=FN option.
222 -i, --inquiry
224 output a VPD page which is in the response of a SCSI INQUIRY
225 command sent to DEVICE. In the absence of this option the
226 default action is to output mode pages. If the --inquiry option
227 is given without the --page=PG[,SPG] option then the device
228 identification VPD page (0x83) is decoded and output. If this
229 option and the --all option are given then the supported VPD
230 pages page (0x0) is decoded and output.
231 -I, --inhex=FN
233 FN is expected to be a file name (or '-' for stdin) which con‐
234 tains ASCII hexadecimal (or binary) representing the response to
235 MODE SENSE(10). If --six is also given then the response from
236 MODE SENSE(6) is assumed. A MODE SENSE response contains a mode
237 parameter header, then 0 or more block descriptors followed by
238 one or more mode pages. This utility will only decode the first
239 mode page unless the --all option is given. In order to decode a
240 mode page the peripheral device type is often needed and can be
241 supplied with the --pdt=DT option. If the --pdt=DT is not given
242 then a mode page found in two device type standards (e.g. SBC
243 and SSC) may be decoded twice.
244 If --inquiry is given then FN is interpreted as the response
245 data of a single VPD page.
246 The hexadecimal in FN should be arranged as 1 or 2 digits repre‐
247 senting a byte each of which is whitespace or comma separated.
248 Anything from and including a hash mark to the end of line is
249 ignored. If the --raw option is given then FN is treated as
250 binary.
251 -l, --long
253 output extra information. In the case of mode page fields a
254 description (with units if applicable) is output to the right.
255 If used twice, then for some fields more information about its
256 values is given on one or more following lines, each prefixed by
257 a tab character. For usage with --enumerate see the ENUMERATE
258 section below.
259 When this option is used along with --command=capacity then the
260 READ CAPACITY(16) is sent to the DEVICE and if successful its
261 extended response is output.
262 -n, --num-desc
264 for a mode page that can have descriptors, the number of
265 descriptors for the given page on the DEVICE is output. Other‐
266 wise 0 is output.
267 -o, --out-mask=OM
269 OM is a bit mask for mode page selections that will be
270 printed/output. The 0x1 value is for the 'current' values, 0x2
271 is for the 'changeable' values, 0x4 is for the 'default' values
272 and 0x8 is for the 'saveable' values. The default value is 0xf
273 (i.e. the OR of all four values set). The option is useful for
274 limiting the amount of output with the '-HHH'.
275 -p, --page=PG[,SPG]
277 supply the page number (PG) and optionally the sub page number
278 (SPG) of the mode (or VPD) page to fetch. These numbers are
279 interpreted as decimal unless prefixed with "0x" or a trailing.
280 Sub page numbers are only valid for mode pages (not VPD pages).
281 Alternatively an abbreviation for a page can be given (see next
282 entry).
283 -p, --page=STR
285 a two or three letter abbreviation for a page can be given.
286 Known mode page abbreviations are checked first followed by
287 known VPD page abbreviations. For example '--page=ca' matches
288 the caching mode page. If no match is found then an error is
289 issued and a list of possibilities in the current context is
290 given (so '-p x' can be quite useful). If the STR matches a
291 known VPD page abbreviation then the --inquiry option is
292 assumed. For usage with --enumerate see the ENUMERATE section
293 below.
294 -P, --pdt=DT
296 This option is only active when the --inhex=FN option is given.
297 DT is the peripheral Device Type, a value between 0 and 31 and
298 can be found in the response to the INQUIRY command. The default
299 value is -1 (which may also be given for DT) and it is inter‐
300 preted as SPC (i.e. common mode pages) or as a wild card. If
301 available this option should be supplied with the --inhex=FN
302 option.
303 -q, --quiet
305 suppress output of device name followed by the vendor, product
306 and revision strings fetched from an INQUIRY response. Without
307 this option such a line is typically the first line output by
308 sdparm. Reduces output from the device identification VPD page,
309 typically to one line (or none) for each of di_lu, di_port,
310 di_target and di_asis.
311 If this option is used twice then additionally mode page output
312 suppresses the changeable, default and saved values that are
313 usually shown in braces, if available.
314 -r, --readonly
316 override other logic to open DEVICE in read-only mode. The
317 default setting of the open read-only/read-write mode depends on
318 the operation requested (e.g. a --set=STR operation by default
319 will try a read-write mode open on DEVICE). This option may be
320 useful if a command is being sent to an ATA disk via a SCSI com‐
321 mand set. For example in Linux '-C stop' may require this option
322 to stop an ATA disk being restarted immediately.
323 -R, --raw
325 this option is only active when used with the --inhex=FN option.
326 When this option is given then the file FN is interpreted as
327 binary; the default action (i.e. when this option is not given)
328 is to interpret FN as ASCII hexadecimal.
329 -S, --save
331 when a mode page is being modified (by using the --clear=STR
332 and/or --set=STR options) then the default action is to modify
333 only the current values mode page. When this option is given
334 then the corresponding value(s) in the saved values mode page is
335 also changed. The next time the device is power cycled (or
336 reset) the saved values mode page becomes (i.e. is copied to)
337 the current values mode page. This option sets the SP field in
338 the MODE SELECT command. See NOTES section below.
339 -s, --set=STR
341 in its simplest form STR contains a field acronym_name or a
342 field numerical descriptor. In the absence of an explicit value,
343 each acronym_name has its value set to (all) ones. This means a
344 16 bit field will be set to 0xffff which is 65535 in decimal.
345 Alternatively each acronym_name or numerical descriptor may be
346 followed by "=<n>" where <n> is the value to set that field to.
347 See the PARAMETERS section below.
348 -6, --six
350 The default action of this utility is to issue MODE SENSE and
351 MODE SELECT SCSI commands with 10 byte cdbs. When this option is
352 given the 6 byte cdb variants are used. RBC and old SCSI devices
353 may need this option. This utility outputs a suggestion to use
354 this option if the SCSI status indicates that the 10 byte cdb
355 variant is not supported.
356 The SPC-4 standard (and SPC-5 drafts) include a note stating
357 that implementers migrate away from the SCSI MODE SELECT(6) and
358 MODE SENSE(6) commands in favour of the 10 byte variants (e.g.
359 MODE SEMSE(10)).
360 -t, --transport=TN
362 Specifies the transport protocol where TN is either a number in
363 the range 0 to 15 (inclusive) or an abbreviation (e.g. "fcp" for
364 the Fibre Channel Protocol). Some transports accept multiple
365 abbreviations, for example srp (SCSI RDMA Protocol) and ib
366 (short for InfiniBand) both are accepted for transport protocol
367 0x4 . Also both upper and lower case are accepted so iscsi and
368 iSCSI are accepted for transport protocol 0x5 . One way to list
369 available transport protocols numbers and their associated
370 abbreviations is to give an invalid transport protocol name such
371 as '-t x'; another way is '-e -l'. N.B. The --all option may
372 still be needed to show all available fields.
373 -M, --vendor=VN
375 Specifies the vendor (i.e. manufacturer) where VN is either a
376 number (0 or more) or an abbreviation (e.g. "sea" for Seagate
377 disk vendor specific). For tape drives "lto5" and "lto6" are
378 treated as vendors. One way to list the available vendor numbers
379 and their associated abbreviations is to give an invalid vendor
380 number such as '-M x'; another way is '-e -l'.
381 This option only effects mode page decodes, not VPD pages. For
382 vendor specific VPD pages see the sg_vpd utility.
383 -v, --verbose
385 increase the level of verbosity, (i.e. debug output). In some
386 cases more decoding is done (e.g. fields within a standard
387 INQUIRY response).
388 -V, --version
390 print the version string and then exit.
391 -w, --wscan
393 this option is available in Windows only. It lists storage
394 device names and the corresponding volumes, if any. When used
395 twice it adds the "bus type" of the closest transport (e.g. a
396 SATA disk in a USB connected enclosure has bus type Usb). When
397 used three times a SCSI adapter scan is added. When used four
398 times only a SCSI adapter scan is shown. See examples below and
399 the "Win32 port" section in the README file.
400
402 The reference document used for interpreting mode and VPD pages (and
403 the INQUIRY standard response) is T10/BSR INCITS 502 Revision 17
404 (SPC-5, 19 September 2017) found at http://www.t10.org . Obsolete and
405 reserved items in the standard INQUIRY response output are displayed in
406 brackets. Recent drafts of other T10 documents are also used: SBC-4
407 (disks), SSC-5 (tapes), SPL-5 (SAS transport) and SAT-4 (SCSI to ATA
408 Translation).
409 A mode page for which no abbreviation is known (e.g. a vendor specific
411 mode page) can be listed in hexadecimal by using the option combination
412 '--page=PG --hex'.
413 Numbers input to sdparm (e.g. in the command line arguments) are
415 assumed to be in decimal unless there is a hexadecimal indicator. A
416 hexadecimal indicator is either a leading '0x' or '0X' (i.e. the C lan‐
417 guage convention) or a trailing 'h' or 'H' (i.e. the convention used at
418 www.t10.org ). In the case of --page= either a string or number is
419 expected, so hex numbers like 'ch' (12) should be prefixed by a zero
420 (e.g. '0ch').
421 The SPC-4 draft (rev 2) says that devices that implement no distinction
423 between current and saved pages can return an error (ILLEGAL REQUEST,
424 invalid field in cdb) if the SP bit (which corresponds to the --save
425 option) is _not_ set. In such cases the --save option needs to be
426 given.
427 If the --save option is given but the existing mode page indicates (via
429 its PS bit) that the page is not saveable, then this utility generates
430 an error message. That message suggests to try again without the --save
431 option.
432 Since the device identification VPD page (acronym_name "di") poten‐
434 tially contains a lot of diverse designators, several associated
435 acronyms are available. They are "di_lu" for designators associated
436 with the addressed logical unit, "di_port" for designators associated
437 with the target port (which the command arrived via) and "di_target"
438 for designators associated with the target device. When "di" is used
439 designators are grouped by lu, then port and then target device. To
440 see all designators decoded in the order that they appear in the VPD
441 page use "di_asis".
442 Only those VPD pages defined by t10.org are decoded by this utility.
444 SPC-4 sets aside VPD pages codes from 0xc0 to 0xff (inclusive) for ven‐
445 dor specific pages some of which are decoded in the sg_vpd utility.
446 To see all VPD pages supported by a DEVICE use 'sg_vpd --all'.
448 In the linux kernel 2.6 and 3 series any device node that understands a
450 SCSI command set (e.g. SCSI disks and CD/DVD drives) may be specified.
451 More precisely the driver that "owns" the device node must support the
452 SG_IO ioctl. In the lk 2.4 series only SCSI generic (sg) device nodes
453 support the SG_IO ioctl. However in the lk 2.4 series other SCSI device
454 nodes are mapped within this utility to their corresponding sg device
455 nodes. So if there is a SCSI disk at /dev/sda then 'sdparm /dev/sda'
456 will work in both the lk 2.4 series and later. However if there is an
457 ATAPI cd/dvd drive at /dev/hdc then 'sdparm /dev/hdc' will only work in
458 the lk 2.6 series and later.
459 In the Linux 2.6 and 3 series, especially with ATA disks, using sdparm
461 to stop (spin down) a disk may not be sufficient and other mechanisms
462 will start the disk again some time later. The user might additionally
463 mark the disk as "offline" with 'echo offline >
464 /sys/block/sda/device/state' where sda is the block name of the disk.
465 To restart the disk "offline" can be replaced with "running".
466
468 In their simplest form the --clear=, --get= and --set= options (or
469 their short forms) take an acronym_name such as "WCE". In the case of
470 '--get=WCE' the value of "Writeback Cache Enable" in the caching mode
471 page will be fetched. In the case of '--set=WCE' that bit will be set
472 (to one). In the case of '--clear=WCE' that bit will be cleared (to
473 zero). When an acronym_name is given then the mode page is imputed from
474 that acronym_name (e.g. WCE is in the caching mode page).
475 Instead of an acronym_name a field within a mode page can be described
477 numerically with a <start_byte>:<start_bit>:<num_bits> tuple. These are
478 the <start_byte> (origin 0) within the mode page, a <start_bit> (0 to 7
479 inclusive) and <num_bits> (1 to 64 inclusive). For example, the low
480 level representation of the RCD bit (the "Read Cache Disable bit in the
481 caching mode page) is "2:0:1". The <start_byte> can optionally be given
482 in hex (e.g. '--set=0x2:0:1' or '--set=2h:0:1'). With this form the
483 --page= option is required to establish which mode page is to be used.
484 Either form can optionally be followed by "=<val>". By default <val> is
486 decimal but can be given in hex in the normal fashion. Here are some
487 examples: '--set=2h:0:1=1h' and '-s MRIE=0x3'. When the acronym_name or
488 numeric form following --clear= is not given an explicit '=<val>' then
489 the value defaults to zero. When the acronym_name or numeric form fol‐
490 lowing --set= is not given an explicit '=<val>' then the value defaults
491 to "all ones" (i.e. as many as <num_bits> permits). For example
492 '--clear=WCE' and '--clear=WCE=0' have the same meaning: clear Write‐
493 back Cache Enable or, put more simply: turn off the writeback cache.
494 Multiple fields within the same mode page can be changed by giving a
496 comma separated list of acronym_names and/or the numerical form. For
497 example: '--set=TEST,MRIE=6'.
498 Some mode page have multiple descriptors. They typically have a fixed
500 header section at the start of the mode page that includes a field con‐
501 taining the number of descriptors that follow. Following the header is
502 a variable number of descriptors. An example is the SAS Phy Control and
503 Discover mode page. An acronym_name may include a trailing '.<num>'
504 where "<num>" is a descriptor number (origin 0). For example '-t sas -g
505 PHID.0' and '-t sas -g PHID' will yield the phy identifier of the first
506 descriptor of the above mode page; '-t sas -g PHID.1' will yield the
507 phy identifier of the second descriptor.
508
510 The --enumerate option essentially dumps out static information held by
511 this utility. A list of --enumerate variants and their actions follows.
512 For brevity subsequent examples of options are shown in their shorter
513 form.
514 --enumerate list generic mode page information
516 -e --all list generic mode page contents
517 (i.e. parameters)
518 -e --page=rw list contents of read write error
519 recovery mode page
520 -e --inquiry list VPD pages this utility can decode
521 -e --long list generic mode pages, transport
522 protocols, mode pages for each
523 supported transport protocol and
524 supported commands
525 -e -l --all additionally list the contents of
526 each mode page
527 -e --transport=fcp list mode pages for the fcp
528 transport protocol
529 -e -t fcp --all additionally list the contents of
530 each mode page
531 -e --vendor=sea list vendor specific mode pages for
532 "sea" (Seagate)
533 -e -M sea --all additionally list the contents of vendor
534 specific mode pages for "sea" (Seagate)
535 -e -p pcd -l list contents of SAS phy control and
536 discovery mode page plus (due to "-l")
537 some descfriptor format information
538 When known mode pages are listed (via the --enumerate option) each
540 line starts with a two or three letter abbreviation. This is followed
541 by the page number (in hex prefixed by "0x") optionally followed by a
542 comma and the subpage number. Finally the descriptive name of the mode
543 page (e.g. as found in SPC-4) is output.
544 When known parameters (fields) of a mode page are listed, each line
546 starts with an acronym (indented a few spaces). This will match (or be
547 an acronym for) the description for that field found in the (draft)
548 standards. Next are three numbers, separated by colons, surrounded by
549 brackets. These are the start byte (in hex, prefixed by "0x") of the
550 beginning of the field within the mode page; the starting bit (0
551 through 7 inclusive) and then the number of bits. The descriptive name
552 of the parameter (field) is then given. If appropriate the descriptive
553 name includes units (e.g. "(ms)" means the units are milliseconds).
554 Adding the '-ll' option will list information about possible field val‐
555 ues for selected mode page parameters.
556 Mode parameters for which the num_bits is greater than 1 can be viewed
558 as unsigned integers. Often 16 and 32 bit fields are set to 0xffff and
559 0xffffffff respectively (all ones) which usually has a special meaning
560 (see drafts). This utility outputs such values as "-1" to save space
561 (rather than their unsigned integer equivalents). "-1" can also be
562 given as the value to a mode page field acronym (e.g. '--set=INTT=-1'
563 sets the interval timer field in the Informational Exceptions control
564 mode page to 0xffffffff).
565
567 SCSI transport protocols are a relatively specialized area that can be
568 safely ignored by the majority of users.
569 Some transport protocols have protocol specific mode pages. These are
571 usually the disconnect-reconnect (0x2), the protocol specific logical
572 unit (0x18) and the protocol specific port (0x19) mode pages. In some
573 cases the latter mode page has several subpages. The most common trans‐
574 port protocol abbreviations likely to be used are "fcp", "spi" and
575 "sas".
576 Many of the field names are re-used in the same position so the acro‐
578 nym_name namespaces have been divided between generic mode pages (i.e.
579 when the --transport= option is _not_ given) and a namespace for each
580 transport protocol. A LUPID field from the protocol specific logical
581 unit (0x18) mode page and the PPID field from protocol specific port
582 (0x19) mode page are included in the generic modes pages; this is so
583 the respective (transport) protocol identifiers can be seen. In most
584 cases the user will know what the "port" transport is (i.e. the same
585 transport as the HBA in the computer) but the logical unit's transport
586 could be different.
587
589 SCSI leaves a lot of space for vendor specific information. Often this
590 is described in product manuals. The --vendor=VN (or -M=VN) option
591 allows known vendor specific mode pages to be examined and/or modified
592 by acronym.
593 In this utility the syntax and semantics of vendor specific mode pages
595 is very similar to those of transport protocol specific mode pages.
596 Both cannot be specified together. Vendor specific modes pages can
597 still be accessed numerically (as shown at the end of the EXAMPLES sec‐
598 tion).
599
601 The command option sends a SCSI command to the DEVICE. If the command
602 fails then this is reflected in the non-zero exit status. To obtain
603 more information about the error use the -v option.
604 capacity
606 sends a READ CAPACITY(10) command (valid for disks and cd/dvd
607 media) by default. If successful yields "blocks: " [the number
608 of blocks], "block_length: " [typically either 512 or 2048] and
609 "capacity_mib: " [capacity in MibiBytes (1048576 byte units)].
610 If the number of blocks is too large to fit in the 4 byte field pro‐
612 vided by READ CAPACITY(10) or, the --long option is given, then the
613 READ CAPACITY(16) command is sent. If the --long option is given, then
614 the extra fields found in the READ CAPACITY(16) response are output.
615 eject stops the medium and ejects it from the device. Note that ejec‐
617 tion (by command or button) may be prevented in which case the
618 'unlock' command may be useful in extreme cases. Typically only
619 appropriate for cd/dvd drives and disk drives with removable
620 media. Objects if sent to another peripheral device type (but
621 objection can be overridden with '-f' option).
622 load loads the medium and starts it (i.e. spins it up). See 'eject'
624 command for supported device types.
625 profile
627 lists the various formats that a CD/DVD/HD-DVD/BD drive sup‐
628 ports. These are called "profiles" in the MMC standard. The pro‐
629 files are listed one per line. If media is in the drive then
630 the profile that matches the media (if any) has an "*" to the
631 right of the line.
632 ready sends the "Test Unit Ready" SCSI command to the DEVICE. No error
634 is reported if the device will respond to data requests (e.g.
635 READ) in a reasonable timescale. For example, if a disk is
636 stopped then it will report "not ready". All devices should
637 respond to this command.
638 sense sends a REQUEST SENSE command. It reports a hardware threshold
640 exceeded, warning or low power condition if flagged. If a
641 progress indication is present (e.g. during a format) then it
642 will be output as a percentage. Yields a process status of 0 if
643 the command succeeds and the sense key is 0; else yields 1. The
644 --quiet option can be used to lessen output, and --hex to output
645 sense data in hex.
646 speed=SPEED
648 permits the speed of a CD, DVD, HD_DVD or BD disc in a drive to
649 be set (or at least influenced). It has this format: --com‐
650 mand=speed=SPEED where SPEED is in kilobytes per second. In this
651 case a kilobyte is 1000 bytes. The "times one" speed for a CD is
652 176.4 kB/s, for a DVD is 1350 kB/s and for both HD-DVD and BD it
653 is 4500 kB/s. If SPEED is zero then the drive is set to the
654 speed that it considers gives optimal performance. This command
655 sends a SET STREAMING multi-media command (MMC) to the drive.
656 The EXACT bit is clear so the drive will round the given SPEED
657 as necessary. The command is designed to control read speed;
658 setting write speed should be left to "burning" programs.
659 start starts the medium (i.e. spins it up). Harmless if medium has
661 already been started. See 'eject' command for supported device
662 types. If the DEVICE is an ATA disk in Linux the '--readonly'
663 option may be required.
664 stop stops the medium (i.e. spins it down). Harmless if medium has
666 already been stopped. See 'eject' command for supported device
667 types. If the DEVICE is an ATA disk in Linux the '--readonly'
668 option may be required. See the NOTES section above.
669 sync sends a SYNCHRONIZE CACHE command. The device should flush any
671 data held in its (volatile) buffers to the media.
672 unlock tells a device to allow medium removal. It uses the SCSI "pre‐
674 vent allow medium removal" command. This is desperation stuff,
675 possibly overriding a prevention applied by the OS on a mounted
676 file system. The "eject" utility (from the "eject" package) is
677 more graceful and should be tried first. This command is only
678 appropriate for devices with removable media.
679 For loading and ejecting tapes the mt utility should be used (i.e. not
681 these commands). The 'ready' command is valid for tape devices.
682
684 To list the common (generic) mode parameters of a disk:
685 sdparm /dev/sda
687 To list the designators within the device identification VPD page of a
689 disk:
690 sdparm --inquiry /dev/sda
692 To see all parameters for the caching mode page:
694 sdparm --page=ca /dev/sda
696 To see all parameters for the caching mode page with parameter descrip‐
698 tions to the right:
699 sdparm --page=ca --long /dev/sda
701 To get the WCE values (current changeable default and saved) in hex:
703 sdparm -g WCE -H /dev/sda
705 0x01 0x00 0x01 0x01
706 To get the WCE current value in hex:
708 sdparm -g WCE=1 -H /dev/sda
710 0x01
711 To set the "Writeback Cache Enable" bit in the current values page:
713 sdparm --set=WCE /dev/sda
715 To set the "Writeback Cache Enable" bit in the current and saved values
717 page:
718 sdparm --set=WCE --save /dev/sda
720 To set the "Writeback Cache Enable" and clear "Read Cache Disable":
722 sdparm --set=WCE --clear=RCD --save /dev/sda
724 The previous example can also by written as:
726 sdparm -s WCE=1,RCD=0 -S /dev/sda
728 To re-establish the manufacturer's defaults in the current and saved
730 values of the caching mode page:
731 sdparm --page=ca --defaults --save /dev/sda
733 If an ATAPI cd/dvd drive is at /dev/hdc then its common (mode) parame‐
735 ters could be listed in the lk 2.6 and 3 series with:
736 sdparm /dev/hdc
738 If there is a DVD in the drive at /dev/hdc then it could be ejected in
740 the lk 2.6 and 3 series with:
741 sdparm --command=eject /dev/hdc
743 If the ejection is being prevented by software then that can be over‐
745 ridden with:
746 sdparm --command=unlock /dev/hdc
748 One disk vendor has a "Performance Mode" bit (PM) in the vendor spe‐
750 cific unit attention mode page [0x0,0x0]. PM=0 is server mode (the
751 default) while PM=1 is desktop mode. Desktop mode can be set (both cur‐
752 rent and saved values) with:
753 sdparm --page=0 --set=2:7:1=1 --save /dev/sda
755 The resultant change can be viewed in hex with the --hex option as
757 there are no acronyms for vendor extensions yet. The PM bit is now cov‐
758 ered by vendor specific mode pages and the above can also be accom‐
759 plished with:
760 sdparm --vendor=sea --set=PM --save /dev/sda
762 What follows are some examples from Windows using the '--wscan' option.
764 The idea is to list the storage device names on the system that might
765 be invoked by other uses of sdparm.
766 # sdparm --wscan
768 PD0 [C] FUJITSU MHY2160BH 0000
769 PD1 [DF] WD 2500BEV External 1.05 WD-WXE90
770 CDROM0 [E] MATSHITA DVD/CDRW UJDA775 CB03
771 So 'sdparm -a CDROM0' and 'sdparm -a E' will show all the (known) mode
773 page fields for the Matshita DVD/CD drive. By using the '--wscan'
774 option twice, the bus type (as seen by the OS) is added to the output:
775 # sdparm -ww
777 PD0 [C] <Ata > FUJITSU MHY2160BH 0000
778 PD1 [DF] <Usb > WD 2500BEV External 1.05 WD-WXE90
779 CDROM0 [E] <Atapi> MATSHITA DVD/CDRW UJDA775 CB03
780 And the pattern continues to add a SCSI adapter scan. This may be use‐
782 ful if there are specialized storage related devices (e.g. a SES device
783 in an enclosure) but does add much extra information in this case.
784 # sdparm -www
786 PD0 [C] <Ata > FUJITSU MHY2160BH 0000
787 PD1 [DF] <Usb > WD 2500BEV External 1.05 WD-WXE90
788 CDROM0 [E] <Atapi> MATSHITA DVD/CDRW UJDA775 CB03
789 SCSI0:0,0,0 claimed=1 pdt=0h FUJITSU MHY2160BH 0000
791 SCSI1:0,0,0 claimed=1 pdt=5h MATSHITA DVD/CDRW UJDA775 CB03
792
794 To aid scripts that call sdparm, the exit status is set to indicate
795 success (0) or failure (1 or more). Note that some of the lower values
796 correspond to the SCSI sense key values. The exit status values are:
797 0 success
799 1 syntax error. Either illegal command line options, options with
801 bad arguments or a combination of options that is not permitted.
802 2 the DEVICE reports that it is not ready for the operation
804 requested. The device may be in the process of becoming ready
805 (e.g. spinning up but not at speed) so the utility may work
806 after a wait.
807 3 the DEVICE reports a medium or hardware error (or a blank
809 check). For example an attempt to read a corrupted block on a
810 disk will yield this value.
811 5 the DEVICE reports an "illegal request" with an additional sense
813 code other than "invalid operation code". This is often a sup‐
814 ported command with a field set requesting an unsupported capa‐
815 bility. For commands that require a "service action" field this
816 value can indicate that the command is not supported.
817 6 the DEVICE reports a "unit attention" condition. This usually
819 indicates that something unrelated to the requested command has
820 occurred (e.g. a device reset) potentially before the current
821 SCSI command was sent. The requested command has not been exe‐
822 cuted by the device. Note that unit attention conditions are
823 usually only reported once by a device.
824 7 the DEVICE reports a "data protect" sense key. This implies some
826 mechanism has blocked writes (or possibly all access to the
827 media).
828 9 the DEVICE reports an illegal request with an additional sense
830 code of "invalid operation code" which means that it doesn't
831 support the requested command.
832 10 the DEVICE reports a "copy aborted". This implies another com‐
834 mand or device problem has stopped a copy operation. The
835 EXTENDED COPY family of commands (including WRITE USING TOKEN)
836 may return this sense key.
837 11 the DEVICE reports an aborted command. In some cases aborted
839 commands can be retried immediately (e.g. if the transport
840 aborted the command due to congestion).
841 14 the DEVICE reports a miscompare sense key. VERIFY and COMPARE
843 AND WRITE commands may report this.
844 15 the utility is unable to open, close or use the given DEVICE.
846 The given file name could be incorrect or there may be permis‐
847 sion problems. Adding the -v option may give more information.
848 20 the DEVICE reports it has a check condition but "no sense".
850 Some polling commands (e.g. REQUEST SENSE) can react this way.
851 It is unlikely that this value will occur as an exit status.
852 21 the DEVICE reports a "recovered error". The requested command
854 was successful. Most likely a utility will report a recovered
855 error to stderr and continue, probably leaving the utility with
856 an exit status of 0 .
857 22 the DEVICE reports that the current command or its parameters
859 imply a logical block address (LBA) that is out of range.
860 24 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "reservation conflict". This
862 means access to the DEVICE with the current command has been
863 blocked because another machine (HBA or SCSI "initiator") holds
864 a reservation on this DEVICE. On modern SCSI systems this is
865 related to the use of the PERSISTENT RESERVATION family of com‐
866 mands.
867 25 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "condition met". Currently
869 only the PRE-FETCH command (see SBC-4) yields this status.
870 26 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "busy". SAM-5 defines this
872 status as the logical unit is temporarily unable to process a
873 command. It is recommended to re-issue the command.
874 27 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "task set full".
876 28 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "ACA active". ACA is "auto
878 contingent allegiance" and is seldom used.
879 29 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "task aborted". SAM-5 says:
881 "This status shall be returned if a command is aborted by a com‐
882 mand or task management function on another I_T nexus and the
883 Control mode page TAS bit is set to one".
884 33 the command sent to DEVICE has timed out. This occurs in Linux
886 only; in other ports a command timeout will appear as a trans‐
887 port (or OS) error.
888 40 the command sent to DEVICE has received an "aborted command"
890 sense key with an additional sense code of 0x10. This group is
891 related to problems with protection information (PI or DIF). For
892 example this error may occur when reading a block on a drive
893 that has never been written (or is unmapped) if that drive was
894 formatted with type 1, 2 or 3 protection.
895 48 this is an internal message indicating a NVMe status field (SF)
897 is other than zero after a command has been executed (i.e. some‐
898 thing went wrong). Work in this area is currently experimental.
899 49 low level driver reports a response's residual count (i.e. num‐
901 ber of bytes actually received by HBA is 'requested_bytes -
902 residual_count') that is too high. So no useful processing can
903 be done with that response.
904 50 + <os_error_number>
906 OS system calls that fail often return a small integer number to
907 help indicate what the error is. For example in Unix the inabil‐
908 ity of a system call to allocate memory returns (in 'errno')
909 ENOMEM which often is associated with the integer 12. So 62
910 (i.e. '50 + 12') may be returned by a utility in this case.
911 97 the response to a SCSI command failed sanity checks.
913 98 the DEVICE reports it has a check condition but the error
915 doesn't fit into any of the above categories.
916 99 any errors that can't be categorized into values 1 to 98 may
918 yield this value. This includes transport and operating system
919 errors after the command has been sent to the device.
920 126 the utility was found but could not be executed. That might
922 occur if the executable does not have execute permissions.
923 127 This is the exit status for utility not found. That might occur
925 when a script calls a utility in this package but the PATH envi‐
926 ronment variable has not been properly set up, so the script
927 cannot find the executable.
928 128 + <signum>
930 If a signal kills a utility then the exit status is 128 plus the
931 signal number. For example if a segmentation fault occurs then a
932 utility is typically killed by SIGSEGV which according to 'man 7
933 signal' has an associated signal number of 11; so the exit sta‐
934 tus will be 139 .
935 255 the utility tried to yield an exit status of 255 or larger. That
937 should not happen; given here for completeness.
938 Most of the error conditions reported above will be repeatable (an
940 example of one that is not is "unit attention") so the utility can be
941 run again with the -v option (or several) to obtain more information.
942
944 Written by Douglas Gilbert.
945
947 Report bugs to <dgilbert at interlog dot com>.
948
950 Copyright © 2005-2020 Douglas Gilbert
951 This software is distributed under a FreeBSD license. There is NO war‐
952 ranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PUR‐
953 POSE.
954
956 There is a web page discussing this package at
957 http://sg.danny.cz/sg/sdparm.html .
958
960 hdparm(hdparm), sg_modes, sg_wr_mode, sginfo, sg_inq, sg_vpd(all in
961 sg3_utils), smartmontools(smartmontools.sourceforge.net), mt,
962 eject(eject),
963sdparm-1.11 March 2020 SDPARM(8)