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 ig‐
50 nored). The --inhex=FN form decodes mode or VPD response data provided
51 in the named file (or from stdin if FN=- is given); that data may ei‐
52 ther be in hexadecimal or binary. The second last form is for Windows
53 only and lists the available storage device names; see the OPTIONS en‐
54 try for --wscan. The final form is to provide command line help or the
55 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 de‐
70 tected, it is noted and the utility continues. Error value 5 (file open
71 or close problem) is treated as lower priority when other errors are
72 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 De‐
90 vice 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 as‐
102 sumed 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 op‐
158 tion 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 op‐
163 tions apart from the --all, --inquiry, --long, --page=PG[,SPG],
164 --transport=TN and --vendor=VN. If --enumerate is given without
165 other options then the known (generic) mode pages are listed.
166 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 se‐
180 quence of VPD pages can be probed with --page=PG[,SPG] in which
181 case VPD pages from PG (lower number) to SPG (high number) in‐
182 clusive 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 at‐
192 tempted. This option will also allow mode pages that don't be‐
193 long 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 de‐
226 fault action is to output mode pages. If the --inquiry option is
227 given without the --page=PG[,SPG] option then the device identi‐
228 fication VPD page (0x83) is decoded and output. If this option
229 and the --all option are given then the supported VPD pages page
230 (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 bi‐
250 nary.
251 -l, --long
253 output extra information. In the case of mode page fields a de‐
254 scription (with units if applicable) is output to the right. If
255 used twice, then for some fields more information about its val‐
256 ues is given on one or more following lines, each prefixed by a
257 tab character. For usage with --enumerate see the ENUMERATE sec‐
258 tion 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 de‐
265 scriptors for the given page on the DEVICE is output. Otherwise
266 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 in‐
279 terpreted 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 is‐
289 sued and a list of possibilities in the current context is given
290 (so '-p x' can be quite useful). If the STR matches a known VPD
291 page abbreviation then the --inquiry option is assumed. For us‐
292 age with --enumerate see the ENUMERATE section below.
293 -P, --pdt=DT
295 This option is only active when the --inhex=FN option is given.
296 DT is the peripheral Device Type, a value between 0 and 31 and
297 can be found in the response to the INQUIRY command. The default
298 value is -1 (which may also be given for DT) and it is inter‐
299 preted as SPC (i.e. common mode pages) or as a wild card. If
300 available this option should be supplied with the --inhex=FN op‐
301 tion.
302 -q, --quiet
304 suppress output of device name followed by the vendor, product
305 and revision strings fetched from an INQUIRY response. Without
306 this option such a line is typically the first line output by
307 sdparm. Reduces output from the device identification VPD page,
308 typically to one line (or none) for each of di_lu, di_port,
309 di_target and di_asis.
310 If this option is used twice then additionally mode page output
311 suppresses the changeable, default and saved values that are
312 usually shown in braces, if available.
313 -r, --readonly
315 override other logic to open DEVICE in read-only mode. The de‐
316 fault setting of the open read-only/read-write mode depends on
317 the operation requested (e.g. a --set=STR operation by default
318 will try a read-write mode open on DEVICE). This option may be
319 useful if a command is being sent to an ATA disk via a SCSI com‐
320 mand set. For example in Linux '-C stop' may require this option
321 to stop an ATA disk being restarted immediately.
322 -R, --raw
324 this option is only active when used with the --inhex=FN option.
325 When this option is given then the file FN is interpreted as bi‐
326 nary; the default action (i.e. when this option is not given) is
327 to interpret FN as ASCII hexadecimal.
328 -S, --save
330 when a mode page is being modified (by using the --clear=STR
331 and/or --set=STR options) then the default action is to modify
332 only the current values mode page. When this option is given
333 then the corresponding value(s) in the saved values mode page is
334 also changed. The next time the device is power cycled (or re‐
335 set) the saved values mode page becomes (i.e. is copied to) the
336 current values mode page. This option sets the SP field in the
337 MODE SELECT command. See NOTES section below.
338 -s, --set=STR
340 in its simplest form STR contains a field acronym_name or a
341 field numerical descriptor. In the absence of an explicit value,
342 each acronym_name has its value set to (all) ones. This means a
343 16 bit field will be set to 0xffff which is 65535 in decimal.
344 Alternatively each acronym_name or numerical descriptor may be
345 followed by "=<n>" where <n> is the value to set that field to.
346 See the PARAMETERS section below.
347 -6, --six
349 The default action of this utility is to issue MODE SENSE and
350 MODE SELECT SCSI commands with 10 byte cdbs. When this option is
351 given the 6 byte cdb variants are used. RBC and old SCSI devices
352 may need this option. This utility outputs a suggestion to use
353 this option if the SCSI status indicates that the 10 byte cdb
354 variant is not supported.
355 The SPC-4 standard (and SPC-5 drafts) include a note stating
356 that implementers migrate away from the SCSI MODE SELECT(6) and
357 MODE SENSE(6) commands in favour of the 10 byte variants (e.g.
358 MODE SEMSE(10)).
359 -t, --transport=TN
361 Specifies the transport protocol where TN is either a number in
362 the range 0 to 15 (inclusive) or an abbreviation (e.g. "fcp" for
363 the Fibre Channel Protocol). Some transports accept multiple ab‐
364 breviations, for example srp (SCSI RDMA Protocol) and ib (short
365 for InfiniBand) both are accepted for transport protocol 0x4 .
366 Also both upper and lower case are accepted so iscsi and iSCSI
367 are accepted for transport protocol 0x5 . One way to list avail‐
368 able transport protocols numbers and their associated abbrevia‐
369 tions is to give an invalid transport protocol name such as '-t
370 x'; another way is '-e -l'. N.B. The --all option may still be
371 needed to show all available fields.
372 -M, --vendor=VN
374 Specifies the vendor (i.e. manufacturer) where VN is either a
375 number (0 or more) or an abbreviation (e.g. "sea" for Seagate
376 disk vendor specific). For tape drives "lto5" and "lto6" are
377 treated as vendors. One way to list the available vendor numbers
378 and their associated abbreviations is to give an invalid vendor
379 number such as '-M x'; another way is '-e -l'.
380 This option only effects mode page decodes, not VPD pages. For
381 vendor specific VPD pages see the sg_vpd utility.
382 -v, --verbose
384 increase the level of verbosity, (i.e. debug output). In some
385 cases more decoding is done (e.g. fields within a standard IN‐
386 QUIRY response).
387 -V, --version
389 print the version string and then exit.
390 -w, --wscan
392 this option is available in Windows only. It lists storage de‐
393 vice names and the corresponding volumes, if any. When used
394 twice it adds the "bus type" of the closest transport (e.g. a
395 SATA disk in a USB connected enclosure has bus type Usb). When
396 used three times a SCSI adapter scan is added. When used four
397 times only a SCSI adapter scan is shown. See examples below and
398 the "Win32 port" section in the README file.
399
401 The reference document used for interpreting mode and VPD pages (and
402 the INQUIRY standard response) is T10/BSR INCITS 502 Revision 17
403 (SPC-5, 19 September 2017) found at http://www.t10.org . Obsolete and
404 reserved items in the standard INQUIRY response output are displayed in
405 brackets. Recent drafts of other T10 documents are also used: SBC-4
406 (disks), SSC-5 (tapes), SPL-5 (SAS transport) and SAT-4 (SCSI to ATA
407 Translation).
408 A mode page for which no abbreviation is known (e.g. a vendor specific
410 mode page) can be listed in hexadecimal by using the option combination
411 '--page=PG --hex'.
412 Numbers input to sdparm (e.g. in the command line arguments) are as‐
414 sumed to be in decimal unless there is a hexadecimal indicator. A hexa‐
415 decimal indicator is either a leading '0x' or '0X' (i.e. the C language
416 convention) or a trailing 'h' or 'H' (i.e. the convention used at
417 www.t10.org ). In the case of --page= either a string or number is ex‐
418 pected, so hex numbers like 'ch' (12) should be prefixed by a zero
419 (e.g. '0ch').
420 The SPC-4 draft (rev 2) says that devices that implement no distinction
422 between current and saved pages can return an error (ILLEGAL REQUEST,
423 invalid field in cdb) if the SP bit (which corresponds to the --save
424 option) is _not_ set. In such cases the --save option needs to be
425 given.
426 If the --save option is given but the existing mode page indicates (via
428 its PS bit) that the page is not saveable, then this utility generates
429 an error message. That message suggests to try again without the --save
430 option.
431 Since the device identification VPD page (acronym_name "di") poten‐
433 tially contains a lot of diverse designators, several associated acro‐
434 nyms are available. They are "di_lu" for designators associated with
435 the addressed logical unit, "di_port" for designators associated with
436 the target port (which the command arrived via) and "di_target" for
437 designators associated with the target device. When "di" is used desig‐
438 nators are grouped by lu, then port and then target device. To see all
439 designators decoded in the order that they appear in the VPD page use
440 "di_asis".
441 Only those VPD pages defined by t10.org are decoded by this utility.
443 SPC-4 sets aside VPD pages codes from 0xc0 to 0xff (inclusive) for ven‐
444 dor specific pages some of which are decoded in the sg_vpd utility.
445 To see all VPD pages supported by a DEVICE use 'sg_vpd --all'.
447 In the linux kernel 2.6 and 3 series any device node that understands a
449 SCSI command set (e.g. SCSI disks and CD/DVD drives) may be specified.
450 More precisely the driver that "owns" the device node must support the
451 SG_IO ioctl. In the lk 2.4 series only SCSI generic (sg) device nodes
452 support the SG_IO ioctl. However in the lk 2.4 series other SCSI device
453 nodes are mapped within this utility to their corresponding sg device
454 nodes. So if there is a SCSI disk at /dev/sda then 'sdparm /dev/sda'
455 will work in both the lk 2.4 series and later. However if there is an
456 ATAPI cd/dvd drive at /dev/hdc then 'sdparm /dev/hdc' will only work in
457 the lk 2.6 series and later.
458 In the Linux 2.6 and 3 series, especially with ATA disks, using sdparm
460 to stop (spin down) a disk may not be sufficient and other mechanisms
461 will start the disk again some time later. The user might additionally
462 mark the disk as "offline" with 'echo offline > /sys/block/sda/de‐
463 vice/state' where sda is the block name of the disk. To restart the
464 disk "offline" can be replaced with "running".
465
467 In their simplest form the --clear=, --get= and --set= options (or
468 their short forms) take an acronym_name such as "WCE". In the case of
469 '--get=WCE' the value of "Writeback Cache Enable" in the caching mode
470 page will be fetched. In the case of '--set=WCE' that bit will be set
471 (to one). In the case of '--clear=WCE' that bit will be cleared (to
472 zero). When an acronym_name is given then the mode page is imputed from
473 that acronym_name (e.g. WCE is in the caching mode page).
474 Instead of an acronym_name a field within a mode page can be described
476 numerically with a <start_byte>:<start_bit>:<num_bits> tuple. These are
477 the <start_byte> (origin 0) within the mode page, a <start_bit> (0 to 7
478 inclusive) and <num_bits> (1 to 64 inclusive). For example, the low
479 level representation of the RCD bit (the "Read Cache Disable bit in the
480 caching mode page) is "2:0:1". The <start_byte> can optionally be given
481 in hex (e.g. '--set=0x2:0:1' or '--set=2h:0:1'). With this form the
482 --page= option is required to establish which mode page is to be used.
483 Either form can optionally be followed by "=<val>". By default <val> is
485 decimal but can be given in hex in the normal fashion. Here are some
486 examples: '--set=2h:0:1=1h' and '-s MRIE=0x3'. When the acronym_name or
487 numeric form following --clear= is not given an explicit '=<val>' then
488 the value defaults to zero. When the acronym_name or numeric form fol‐
489 lowing --set= is not given an explicit '=<val>' then the value defaults
490 to "all ones" (i.e. as many as <num_bits> permits). For example
491 '--clear=WCE' and '--clear=WCE=0' have the same meaning: clear Write‐
492 back Cache Enable or, put more simply: turn off the writeback cache.
493 Multiple fields within the same mode page can be changed by giving a
495 comma separated list of acronym_names and/or the numerical form. For
496 example: '--set=TEST,MRIE=6'.
497 Some mode page have multiple descriptors. They typically have a fixed
499 header section at the start of the mode page that includes a field con‐
500 taining the number of descriptors that follow. Following the header is
501 a variable number of descriptors. An example is the SAS Phy Control and
502 Discover mode page. An acronym_name may include a trailing '.<num>'
503 where "<num>" is a descriptor number (origin 0). For example '-t sas -g
504 PHID.0' and '-t sas -g PHID' will yield the phy identifier of the first
505 descriptor of the above mode page; '-t sas -g PHID.1' will yield the
506 phy identifier of the second descriptor.
507
509 The --enumerate option essentially dumps out static information held by
510 this utility. A list of --enumerate variants and their actions follows.
511 For brevity subsequent examples of options are shown in their shorter
512 form.
513 --enumerate list generic mode page information
515 -e --all list generic mode page contents
516 (i.e. parameters)
517 -e --page=rw list contents of read write error
518 recovery mode page
519 -e --inquiry list VPD pages this utility can decode
520 -e --long list generic mode pages, transport
521 protocols, mode pages for each
522 supported transport protocol and
523 supported commands
524 -e -l --all additionally list the contents of
525 each mode page
526 -e --transport=fcp list mode pages for the fcp
527 transport protocol
528 -e -t fcp --all additionally list the contents of
529 each mode page
530 -e --vendor=sea list vendor specific mode pages for
531 "sea" (Seagate)
532 -e -M sea --all additionally list the contents of vendor
533 specific mode pages for "sea" (Seagate)
534 -e -p pcd -l list contents of SAS phy control and
535 discovery mode page plus (due to "-l")
536 some descfriptor format information
537 When known mode pages are listed (via the --enumerate option) each
539 line starts with a two or three letter abbreviation. This is followed
540 by the page number (in hex prefixed by "0x") optionally followed by a
541 comma and the subpage number. Finally the descriptive name of the mode
542 page (e.g. as found in SPC-4) is output.
543 When known parameters (fields) of a mode page are listed, each line
545 starts with an acronym (indented a few spaces). This will match (or be
546 an acronym for) the description for that field found in the (draft)
547 standards. Next are three numbers, separated by colons, surrounded by
548 brackets. These are the start byte (in hex, prefixed by "0x") of the
549 beginning of the field within the mode page; the starting bit (0
550 through 7 inclusive) and then the number of bits. The descriptive name
551 of the parameter (field) is then given. If appropriate the descriptive
552 name includes units (e.g. "(ms)" means the units are milliseconds).
553 Adding the '-ll' option will list information about possible field val‐
554 ues for selected mode page parameters.
555 Mode parameters for which the num_bits is greater than 1 can be viewed
557 as unsigned integers. Often 16 and 32 bit fields are set to 0xffff and
558 0xffffffff respectively (all ones) which usually has a special meaning
559 (see drafts). This utility outputs such values as "-1" to save space
560 (rather than their unsigned integer equivalents). "-1" can also be
561 given as the value to a mode page field acronym (e.g. '--set=INTT=-1'
562 sets the interval timer field in the Informational Exceptions control
563 mode page to 0xffffffff).
564
566 SCSI transport protocols are a relatively specialized area that can be
567 safely ignored by the majority of users.
568 Some transport protocols have protocol specific mode pages. These are
570 usually the disconnect-reconnect (0x2), the protocol specific logical
571 unit (0x18) and the protocol specific port (0x19) mode pages. In some
572 cases the latter mode page has several subpages. The most common trans‐
573 port protocol abbreviations likely to be used are "fcp", "spi" and
574 "sas".
575 Many of the field names are re-used in the same position so the acro‐
577 nym_name namespaces have been divided between generic mode pages (i.e.
578 when the --transport= option is _not_ given) and a namespace for each
579 transport protocol. A LUPID field from the protocol specific logical
580 unit (0x18) mode page and the PPID field from protocol specific port
581 (0x19) mode page are included in the generic modes pages; this is so
582 the respective (transport) protocol identifiers can be seen. In most
583 cases the user will know what the "port" transport is (i.e. the same
584 transport as the HBA in the computer) but the logical unit's transport
585 could be different.
586
588 SCSI leaves a lot of space for vendor specific information. Often this
589 is described in product manuals. The --vendor=VN (or -M=VN) option al‐
590 lows known vendor specific mode pages to be examined and/or modified by
591 acronym.
592 In this utility the syntax and semantics of vendor specific mode pages
594 is very similar to those of transport protocol specific mode pages.
595 Both cannot be specified together. Vendor specific modes pages can
596 still be accessed numerically (as shown at the end of the EXAMPLES sec‐
597 tion).
598
600 The command option sends a SCSI command to the DEVICE. If the command
601 fails then this is reflected in the non-zero exit status. To obtain
602 more information about the error use the -v option.
603 capacity
605 sends a READ CAPACITY(10) command (valid for disks and cd/dvd
606 media) by default. If successful yields "blocks: " [the number
607 of blocks], "block_length: " [typically either 512 or 2048] and
608 "capacity_mib: " [capacity in MibiBytes (1048576 byte units)].
609 If the number of blocks is too large to fit in the 4 byte field pro‐
611 vided by READ CAPACITY(10) or, the --long option is given, then the
612 READ CAPACITY(16) command is sent. If the --long option is given, then
613 the extra fields found in the READ CAPACITY(16) response are output.
614 eject stops the medium and ejects it from the device. Note that ejec‐
616 tion (by command or button) may be prevented in which case the
617 'unlock' command may be useful in extreme cases. Typically only
618 appropriate for cd/dvd drives and disk drives with removable me‐
619 dia. Objects if sent to another peripheral device type (but ob‐
620 jection can be overridden with '-f' option).
621 load loads the medium and starts it (i.e. spins it up). See 'eject'
623 command for supported device types.
624 profile
626 lists the various formats that a CD/DVD/HD-DVD/BD drive sup‐
627 ports. These are called "profiles" in the MMC standard. The pro‐
628 files are listed one per line. If media is in the drive then
629 the profile that matches the media (if any) has an "*" to the
630 right of the line.
631 ready sends the "Test Unit Ready" SCSI command to the DEVICE. No error
633 is reported if the device will respond to data requests (e.g.
634 READ) in a reasonable timescale. For example, if a disk is
635 stopped then it will report "not ready". All devices should re‐
636 spond to this command.
637 sense sends a REQUEST SENSE command. It reports a hardware threshold
639 exceeded, warning or low power condition if flagged. If a
640 progress indication is present (e.g. during a format) then it
641 will be output as a percentage. Yields a process status of 0 if
642 the command succeeds and the sense key is 0; else yields 1. The
643 --quiet option can be used to lessen output, and --hex to output
644 sense data in hex.
645 speed=SPEED
647 permits the speed of a CD, DVD, HD_DVD or BD disc in a drive to
648 be set (or at least influenced). It has this format: --com‐
649 mand=speed=SPEED where SPEED is in kilobytes per second. In this
650 case a kilobyte is 1000 bytes. The "times one" speed for a CD is
651 176.4 kB/s, for a DVD is 1350 kB/s and for both HD-DVD and BD it
652 is 4500 kB/s. If SPEED is zero then the drive is set to the
653 speed that it considers gives optimal performance. This command
654 sends a SET STREAMING multi-media command (MMC) to the drive.
655 The EXACT bit is clear so the drive will round the given SPEED
656 as necessary. The command is designed to control read speed;
657 setting write speed should be left to "burning" programs.
658 start starts the medium (i.e. spins it up). Harmless if medium has al‐
660 ready been started. See 'eject' command for supported device
661 types. If the DEVICE is an ATA disk in Linux the '--readonly'
662 option may be required.
663 stop stops the medium (i.e. spins it down). Harmless if medium has
665 already been stopped. See 'eject' command for supported device
666 types. If the DEVICE is an ATA disk in Linux the '--readonly'
667 option may be required. See the NOTES section above.
668 sync sends a SYNCHRONIZE CACHE command. The device should flush any
670 data held in its (volatile) buffers to the media.
671 unlock tells a device to allow medium removal. It uses the SCSI "pre‐
673 vent allow medium removal" command. This is desperation stuff,
674 possibly overriding a prevention applied by the OS on a mounted
675 file system. The "eject" utility (from the "eject" package) is
676 more graceful and should be tried first. This command is only
677 appropriate for devices with removable media.
678 For loading and ejecting tapes the mt utility should be used (i.e. not
680 these commands). The 'ready' command is valid for tape devices.
681
683 To list the common (generic) mode parameters of a disk:
684 sdparm /dev/sda
686 To list the designators within the device identification VPD page of a
688 disk:
689 sdparm --inquiry /dev/sda
691 To see all parameters for the caching mode page:
693 sdparm --page=ca /dev/sda
695 To see all parameters for the caching mode page with parameter descrip‐
697 tions to the right:
698 sdparm --page=ca --long /dev/sda
700 To get the WCE values (current changeable default and saved) in hex:
702 sdparm -g WCE -H /dev/sda
704 0x01 0x00 0x01 0x01
705 To get the WCE current value in hex:
707 sdparm -g WCE=1 -H /dev/sda
709 0x01
710 To set the "Writeback Cache Enable" bit in the current values page:
712 sdparm --set=WCE /dev/sda
714 To set the "Writeback Cache Enable" bit in the current and saved values
716 page:
717 sdparm --set=WCE --save /dev/sda
719 To set the "Writeback Cache Enable" and clear "Read Cache Disable":
721 sdparm --set=WCE --clear=RCD --save /dev/sda
723 The previous example can also by written as:
725 sdparm -s WCE=1,RCD=0 -S /dev/sda
727 To re-establish the manufacturer's defaults in the current and saved
729 values of the caching mode page:
730 sdparm --page=ca --defaults --save /dev/sda
732 If an ATAPI cd/dvd drive is at /dev/hdc then its common (mode) parame‐
734 ters could be listed in the lk 2.6 and 3 series with:
735 sdparm /dev/hdc
737 If there is a DVD in the drive at /dev/hdc then it could be ejected in
739 the lk 2.6 and 3 series with:
740 sdparm --command=eject /dev/hdc
742 If the ejection is being prevented by software then that can be over‐
744 ridden with:
745 sdparm --command=unlock /dev/hdc
747 One disk vendor has a "Performance Mode" bit (PM) in the vendor spe‐
749 cific unit attention mode page [0x0,0x0]. PM=0 is server mode (the de‐
750 fault) while PM=1 is desktop mode. Desktop mode can be set (both cur‐
751 rent and saved values) with:
752 sdparm --page=0 --set=2:7:1=1 --save /dev/sda
754 The resultant change can be viewed in hex with the --hex option as
756 there are no acronyms for vendor extensions yet. The PM bit is now cov‐
757 ered by vendor specific mode pages and the above can also be accom‐
758 plished with:
759 sdparm --vendor=sea --set=PM --save /dev/sda
761 What follows are some examples from Windows using the '--wscan' option.
763 The idea is to list the storage device names on the system that might
764 be invoked by other uses of sdparm.
765 # sdparm --wscan
767 PD0 [C] FUJITSU MHY2160BH 0000
768 PD1 [DF] WD 2500BEV External 1.05 WD-WXE90
769 CDROM0 [E] MATSHITA DVD/CDRW UJDA775 CB03
770 So 'sdparm -a CDROM0' and 'sdparm -a E' will show all the (known) mode
772 page fields for the Matshita DVD/CD drive. By using the '--wscan' op‐
773 tion twice, the bus type (as seen by the OS) is added to the output:
774 # sdparm -ww
776 PD0 [C] <Ata > FUJITSU MHY2160BH 0000
777 PD1 [DF] <Usb > WD 2500BEV External 1.05 WD-WXE90
778 CDROM0 [E] <Atapi> MATSHITA DVD/CDRW UJDA775 CB03
779 And the pattern continues to add a SCSI adapter scan. This may be use‐
781 ful if there are specialized storage related devices (e.g. a SES device
782 in an enclosure) but does add much extra information in this case.
783 # sdparm -www
785 PD0 [C] <Ata > FUJITSU MHY2160BH 0000
786 PD1 [DF] <Usb > WD 2500BEV External 1.05 WD-WXE90
787 CDROM0 [E] <Atapi> MATSHITA DVD/CDRW UJDA775 CB03
788 SCSI0:0,0,0 claimed=1 pdt=0h FUJITSU MHY2160BH 0000
790 SCSI1:0,0,0 claimed=1 pdt=5h MATSHITA DVD/CDRW UJDA775 CB03
791
793 To aid scripts that call sdparm, the exit status is set to indicate
794 success (0) or failure (1 or more). Note that some of the lower values
795 correspond to the SCSI sense key values. The exit status values are:
796 0 success
798 1 syntax error. Either illegal command line options, options with
800 bad arguments or a combination of options that is not permitted.
801 2 the DEVICE reports that it is not ready for the operation re‐
803 quested. The device may be in the process of becoming ready
804 (e.g. spinning up but not at speed) so the utility may work af‐
805 ter a wait.
806 3 the DEVICE reports a medium or hardware error (or a blank
808 check). For example an attempt to read a corrupted block on a
809 disk will yield this value.
810 5 the DEVICE reports an "illegal request" with an additional sense
812 code other than "invalid operation code". This is often a sup‐
813 ported command with a field set requesting an unsupported capa‐
814 bility. For commands that require a "service action" field this
815 value can indicate that the command is not supported.
816 6 the DEVICE reports a "unit attention" condition. This usually
818 indicates that something unrelated to the requested command has
819 occurred (e.g. a device reset) potentially before the current
820 SCSI command was sent. The requested command has not been exe‐
821 cuted by the device. Note that unit attention conditions are
822 usually only reported once by a device.
823 7 the DEVICE reports a "data protect" sense key. This implies some
825 mechanism has blocked writes (or possibly all access to the me‐
826 dia).
827 9 the DEVICE reports an illegal request with an additional sense
829 code of "invalid operation code" which means that it doesn't
830 support the requested command.
831 10 the DEVICE reports a "copy aborted". This implies another com‐
833 mand or device problem has stopped a copy operation. The EX‐
834 TENDED COPY family of commands (including WRITE USING TOKEN) may
835 return this sense key.
836 11 the DEVICE reports an aborted command. In some cases aborted
838 commands can be retried immediately (e.g. if the transport
839 aborted the command due to congestion).
840 14 the DEVICE reports a miscompare sense key. VERIFY and COMPARE
842 AND WRITE commands may report this.
843 15 the utility is unable to open, close or use the given DEVICE.
845 The given file name could be incorrect or there may be permis‐
846 sion problems. Adding the -v option may give more information.
847 20 the DEVICE reports it has a check condition but "no sense".
849 Some polling commands (e.g. REQUEST SENSE) can react this way.
850 It is unlikely that this value will occur as an exit status.
851 21 the DEVICE reports a "recovered error". The requested command
853 was successful. Most likely a utility will report a recovered
854 error to stderr and continue, probably leaving the utility with
855 an exit status of 0 .
856 22 the DEVICE reports that the current command or its parameters
858 imply a logical block address (LBA) that is out of range.
859 24 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "reservation conflict". This
861 means access to the DEVICE with the current command has been
862 blocked because another machine (HBA or SCSI "initiator") holds
863 a reservation on this DEVICE. On modern SCSI systems this is re‐
864 lated to the use of the PERSISTENT RESERVATION family of com‐
865 mands.
866 25 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "condition met". Currently
868 only the PRE-FETCH command (see SBC-4) yields this status.
869 26 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "busy". SAM-5 defines this
871 status as the logical unit is temporarily unable to process a
872 command. It is recommended to re-issue the command.
873 27 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "task set full".
875 28 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "ACA active". ACA is "auto
877 contingent allegiance" and is seldom used.
878 29 the DEVICE reports a SCSI status of "task aborted". SAM-5 says:
880 "This status shall be returned if a command is aborted by a com‐
881 mand or task management function on another I_T nexus and the
882 Control mode page TAS bit is set to one".
883 33 the command sent to DEVICE has timed out. This occurs in Linux
885 only; in other ports a command timeout will appear as a trans‐
886 port (or OS) error.
887 40 the command sent to DEVICE has received an "aborted command"
889 sense key with an additional sense code of 0x10. This value is
890 related to problems with protection information (PI or DIF). For
891 example this error may occur when reading a block on a drive
892 that has never been written (or is unmapped) if that drive was
893 formatted with type 1, 2 or 3 protection.
894 48 this is an internal message indicating a NVMe status field (SF)
896 is other than zero after a command has been executed (i.e. some‐
897 thing went wrong). Work in this area is currently experimental.
898 49 low level driver reports a response's residual count (i.e. num‐
900 ber of bytes actually received by HBA is 'requested_bytes -
901 residual_count') that is too high. So no useful processing can
902 be done with that response.
903 50 + <os_error_number>
905 OS system calls that fail often return a small integer number to
906 help indicate what the error is. For example in Unix the inabil‐
907 ity of a system call to allocate memory returns (in 'errno')
908 ENOMEM which often is associated with the integer 12. So 62
909 (i.e. '50 + 12') may be returned by a utility in this case.
910 97 the response to a SCSI command failed sanity checks.
912 98 the DEVICE reports it has a check condition but the error
914 doesn't fit into any of the above categories.
915 99 any errors that can't be categorized into values 1 to 98 may
917 yield this value. This includes transport and operating system
918 errors after the command has been sent to the device.
919 126 the utility was found but could not be executed. That might oc‐
921 cur if the executable does not have execute permissions.
922 127 This is the exit status for utility not found. That might occur
924 when a script calls a utility in this package but the PATH envi‐
925 ronment variable has not been properly set up, so the script
926 cannot find the executable.
927 128 + <signum>
929 If a signal kills a utility then the exit status is 128 plus the
930 signal number. For example if a segmentation fault occurs then a
931 utility is typically killed by SIGSEGV which according to 'man 7
932 signal' has an associated signal number of 11; so the exit sta‐
933 tus will be 139 .
934 255 the utility tried to yield an exit status of 255 or larger. That
936 should not happen; given here for completeness.
937 Most of the error conditions reported above will be repeatable (an ex‐
939 ample of one that is not is "unit attention") so the utility can be run
940 again with the -v option (or several) to obtain more information.
941
943 Written by Douglas Gilbert.
944
946 Report bugs to <dgilbert at interlog dot com>.
947
949 Copyright © 2005-2021 Douglas Gilbert
950 This software is distributed under a FreeBSD license. There is NO war‐
951 ranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PUR‐
952 POSE.
953
955 There is a web page discussing this package at
956 https://sg.danny.cz/sg/sdparm.html .
957
959 hdparm(hdparm), sg_modes, sg_wr_mode, sginfo, sg_inq, sg_vpd(all in
960 sg3_utils), smartmontools(smartmontools.sourceforge.net), mt,
961 eject(eject),
962sdparm-1.12 April 2021 SDPARM(8)