scsicontrol(1m)scsicontrol(1m)NAMEscsicontrol - probe and control scsi devices
SYNOPSIS
/usr/sbin/scsicontrol [-CDHIRSacdegilmqsv] [-b blockize] device ...
DESCRIPTIONscsicontrol may be used to print info from the SCSI inquiry commands,
which normally indicate the device type, manufacturer, and similar info.
Other options may be used show more data, or to issue commands that
control the operation of the device, or the bus as a whole. By using the
debug option (-d), the exact command sent, and the data returned (if any)
is displayed, along with more extensive error information.
The device(s) may be specified without the normal /dev/scsi prefix, if
desired.
-C Send the SGI-specific command that causes the CD-ROM drive to reply
to the inquiry command (see -i below) as a CD-ROM drive. On
poweron, or after a SCSI bus reset (either as part of error recovery
or from a user issued command), the CD-ROM drives sold by SGI
respond to inquiry as a hard disk. This was done because older
systems would otherwise refuse to boot from the CD-ROM drive.
-D Send the SCSI self test (diagnostic) command to the device.
-H Send the SCSI halt, or stop, command. This causes the device to
stop the media, or in some cases, to unload it.
-R Display the Logical Unit Numbers of all configured logical units on
the device.
-S Send the SCSI start, or load, command. This causes the device to
start the media, or in some cases, to load it.
-a Attempt to negotiate with the device to operate in asynchronous
mode. This will usually mean a lower data rate on the SCSI bus, but
is less sensitive to scsi cabling problems, etc. Some devices will
negotiate synchronous mode, but may not work correctly in that mode.
This can also be forced by changing the configuration variables for
the scsi controller driver (e.g., the wd93_syncenable array in the
file /var/sysgen/master.d/wd93). Also see the -s option below.
-d Debug mode. This causes all commands sent to the device and the
data that is returned, if any, to be printed. Extensive information
about errors is also printed when they occur.
-e Open the device in exclusive mode. This will fail (with busy
status) if the device is in use by some other process or SCSI
driver. If it succeeds, other opens will then fail. This mode
applies to the host controller driver, and does not issue any SCSI
commands to the device (in particular, the reserve unit command is
Page 1
scsicontrol(1m)scsicontrol(1m)
not sent).
-g Get the host adapter flags for this SCSI bus. This is mostly of
interest to driver writer's, but it does provide a way to determine
if the SCSI disconnect option has been disabled on the bus.
-i Send the SCSI inquiry command, and display the info in a readable
fashion. The information typically includes the device type, the
manufacturer, the SCSI version, and some of the optional SCSI
features the device supports. Also see -I below.
-I display all the data from the -i or -v options in both hex and ascii
form. Implies -i if neither -i or -v were given on the command
line.
-q Quiet mode. Don't print the name of each device as it is opened,
unless an error occurs.
-s Attempt to negotiate with the device to operate in synchronous mode.
This is normally done by the operating system when the device is
first used, but that may fail, and the system will not then re-
attempt to negotiate. Some drivers will suppress the negotiation.
Operating in synchronous mode will usually mean a higher data rate
on the SCSI bus, but this mode is more sensitive to SCSI cabling
problems. Additionally, some devices will negotiate successfully
for this mode, but will not work correctly. Also see the -a option
above.
-v Issue the SCSI inquiry command with the vital products modifier, and
display the data in a readable fashion. The vital product data
often includes the serial number, and the additional information
about the device. Also see -I above.
-c Read Capacity. For devices that support the readcapacity command,
print the capacity of the device, and if it's block oriented, the
number of bytes per block.
-b blocksize
Set the blocksize (for disks, CDROMs, and some types of tape drives)
to the given value, and also report the previous value. blocksize
may be given in decimal, hex (with leading 0x), or octal (with
leading 0). Not all devices support changing their block size.
-l Print the current values of all the supported logsense pages. This
can sometimes be useful in debugging device problems, but almost
always requires the device specific manual from it's manufacturer,
to be of use.
-m Print the current values of all the supported modesense pages.
Mostly of use to people debugging problems or writing devscsi
drivers.
Page 2
scsicontrol(1m)scsicontrol(1m)FILES
/dev/scsi/sc* - the generic scsi driver devices /dev/scsi/jag* - the
generic scsi driver devices
SEE ALSOdsopen(3X), ds(7M), scsiha(1M), scsiha(7M).
NOTE
This command is normally usable only by the superuser, because the
standard permissions of the devices in /dev/scsi restrict access to other
users.
The source to this program is also shipped as sample source code in the
irix_dev.gifts.scsi subsystem as part of IDO.
Page 3
