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SG_FORMAT(8) SG3_UTILS SG_FORMAT(8)
NAME
sg_format - format or resize a SCSI disk (perhaps change its block size)
SYNOPSIS
sg_format [--cmplst={0|1}] [--count=COUNT] [--dcrt] [--early] [--fmtpinfo=FPI] [--format]
[--help] [--long] [--pfu=PFU] [--pie=PIE] [--pinfo] [--poll=PT] [--resize] [--rto_req]
[--security] [--six] [--size=SIZE] [--verbose] [--version] [--wait] DEVICE
DESCRIPTION
Not all SCSI direct access devices need to be formatted and some have vendor specific for-
matting procedures. SCSI disks with rotating media are probably the largest group that do
support a 'standard' format operation. They are typically factory formatted to a block
size of 512 bytes with the largest number of blocks that the manufacturer recommends. The
manufacturer's recommendation typically leaves aside a certain number of tracks, spread
across the media, for reassignment of blocks to logical block addresses during the life of
the disk.
This utility can format modern SCSI disks and potentially change their block size (if per-
mitted) and the block count (i.e. number of accessible blocks on the media also known as
"resizing"). Resizing a disk to less than the manufacturer's recommended block count is
sometimes called "short stroking" (see NOTES section). Resizing the block count while not
changing the block size may not require a format operation. The SBC-2 standard (see
www.t10.org) has obsoleted the "format device" mode page. Many of the low level details
found in that mode page are now left up to the discretion of the manufacturer.
When this utility is used without options (i.e. it is only given a DEVICE argument) it
prints out the existing block size and block count derived from two sources. These two
sources are a block descriptor in the response to a MODE SENSE command and the response to
a READ CAPACITY command. The reason for this double check is to detect a "format corrupt"
state (see NOTES section). This usage will not modify the disk.
When this utility is used with the "--format" (or "-F") option it will attempt to format
the given DEVICE. There is a 10 second pause during which time the user is invited twice
(5 seconds apart) to abort sg_format. This occurs just prior the SCSI FORMAT UNIT command
being issued. See the NOTES section for more information.
Protection information is optional and is made up of 8 additional bytes associated with
each logical block. Four protection types are defined with protection type 0 being no
additional protection bytes. See the PROTECTION TYPES section below for more information.
OPTIONS
Arguments to long options are mandatory for short options as well. The options are
arranged in alphabetical order based on the long option name.
-C, --cmplst={0|1}
sets the CMPLST ("complete list") bit in the FORMAT UNIT cdb to 0 or 1. The
default is 1 in which case the existing GLIST (grown list) is ignored. If the
value is 0 then the existing GLIST is taken into account. See the LISTS section
below. In most cases this bit should be left set; some MO disk drives need this bit
cleared.
-c, --count=COUNT
where COUNT is the number of blocks to be formatted or media to be resized to. Can
be used with either --format or --resize. With --format this option need not be
given in which case it is assumed to be zero. With --format the interpretation of
COUNT is:
(COUNT > 0) : only format the first COUNT blocks and READ
CAPACITY will report COUNT blocks after format
(COUNT = 0) and block size unchanged : use existing block count
(COUNT = 0) and block size changed : recommended maximum block
count for new block size
(COUNT = -1) : use recommended maximum block count
(COUNT < -1) : illegal
With --resize this option must be given and COUNT has this interpretation:
(COUNT > 0) : after resize READ CAPACITY will report COUNT
blocks
(COUNT = 0) : after resize READ CAPACITY will report 0 blocks
(COUNT = -1) : after resize READ CAPACITY will report its
maximum number of blocks
(COUNT < -1) : illegal
In both cases if the given COUNT exceeds the maximum number of blocks (for the
block size) then the disk reports an error. See NOTES section below.
-D, --dcrt
this option sets the DCRT bit in the FORMAT UNIT command's parameter list header.
It will "disable certification". Certification verifies that blocks are usable dur-
ing the format process. Using this option may speed the format. The default action
of this utility (i.e. when this option is not given) is to clear the DCRT bit
thereby requesting "media certification". When the DCRT bit is set, the FOV bit
must also be set hence sg_format does that.
-e, --early
during a format operation, The default action of this utility is to poll the disk
every 60 seconds to determine the progress of the format operation until it is fin-
ished. When this option is given this utility will exit "early", that is as soon as
the format operation has commenced. Then the user can monitor the progress of the
ongoing format operation with other utilities (e.g. sg_turs(8) or sg_requests(8)).
This option and --wait are mutually exclusive.
-f, --fmtpinfo=FPI
sets the FMTPINFO field in the FORMAT UNIT cdb to a value between 0 and 3. The
default value is 0. The FMTPINFO field from SBC-3 revision 16 is a 2 bit field
(bits 7 and 6 of byte 1 in the cdb). Prior to that it was a single bit field (bit 7
of byte 1 in the cdb) and there was an accompanying bit called RTO_REQ (bit 6 of
byte 1 in the cdb). The deprecated options "--pinfo" and "--rto-req" represent the
older usage. This option should be used in their place. See the PROTECTION TYPES
section below for more information.
-F, --format
issue a SCSI FORMAT UNIT command. This will destroy all the data held on the
media. This option is required to change the block size of a disk. The user is
given a 10 second count down to ponder the wisdom of doing this, during which time
control-C (amongst other Unix commands) can be used to kill this process before it
does any damage. See NOTES section for implementation details and EXAMPLES section
for typical use.
-h, --help
print out the usage information then exit.
-l, --long
the default action of this utility is to assume 32 bit logical block addresses.
With 512 byte block size this permits more than 2 terabytes (almost 2 ** 41 bytes)
on a single disk. This option selects commands and parameters that allow for 64 bit
logical block addresses. Specifically this option sets the "longlba" flag in the
MODE SENSE (10) command and uses READ CAPACITY (16) rather than READ CAPACITY (10).
If this option is not given and READ CAPACITY (10) or MODE SELECT detects a disk
the needs more than 32 bits to represent its logical blocks then it is set inter-
nally. This option does not set the LONGLIST bit in the FORMAT UNIT command. The
LONGLIST bit is set as required depending other parameters (e.g. when '--pie=PIE'
is greater than zero).
-P, --pfu=PFU
sets the "Protection Field Usage" field in the parameter block associated with a
FORMAT UNIT command to PFU. The default value is 0, the only other defined value
currently is 1. See the PROTECTION TYPES section below for more information.
-q, --pie=PIE
sets the "Protection Interval Exponent" field in the parameter block associated
with a FORMAT UNIT command to PIE. The default value is 0. This field first
appeared in SBC-3 revision 18.
-p, --pinfo
this option is deprecated, use the --fmtpinfo=FPI option instead. If used, then it
sets bit 7 of byte 1 in the FORMAT UNIT cdb and that is equivalent to setting
--fmtpinfo=2. [So if --pinfo is used (plus --fmtpinfo=FPI and --pfu=PFU are not
given or their arguments are 0) then protection type 1 is selected.]
-x, --poll=PT
where PT is the type of poll used. If PT is 0 then a TEST UNIT READY command is
used, otherwise a REQUEST SENSE command is used. The default is currently 0 but
this will change to 1 in the near future. See the NOTES sections below.
-r, --resize
rather than format the disk, it can be resized. This means changing the number of
blocks on the device reported by the READ CAPACITY command. This option should be
used with the --count=COUNT option. The contents of all logical blocks on the
media remain unchanged when this option is used. This means that any resize opera-
tion can be reversed. This option cannot be used together with either --format or a
--size=SIZE whose argument is different to the existing block size.
-R, --rto_req
The option is deprecated, use the --fmtpinfo=FPI option instead. If used, then it
sets bit 6 of byte 1 in the FORMAT UNIT cdb.
-S, --security
sets the "Security Initialization" (SI) bit in the FORMAT UNIT command's initial-
ization pattern descriptor within the parameter list. According to SBC-3 the
default initialization pattern "shall be written using a security erasure write
technique". See the NOTES section on the SCSI SANITIZE command.
-6, --six
Use 6 byte variants of MODE SENSE and MODE SELECT. The default action is to use the
10 byte variants. Some MO drives need this option set when doing a format.
-s, --size=SIZE
where SIZE is the block size (i.e. number of bytes in each block) to format the
device to. The default value is whatever is currently reported by the block
descriptor in a MODE SENSE command. If the block size given by this option is dif-
ferent from the current value then a MODE SELECT command is used to change it prior
to the FORMAT UNIT command being started (as recommended in the draft standard).
Many SCSI disks have 512 byte sectors by default and allow up to 16 bytes extra in
a sector (i.e. 528 byte sectors). If the given size in unacceptable with the disk,
most likely an "Invalid field in parameter list" message will appear in sense data
(requires the use of '-v' to decode sense data).
-v, --verbose
increase the level of verbosity, (i.e. debug output). "-vvv" gives a lot more debug
output.
-V, --version
print the version string and then exit.
-w, --wait
the default format action is to set the "IMMED" bit in the FORMAT UNIT command's
(short) parameter header. If this option (i.e. --wait) is given then the "IMMED"
bit is not set. If --wait is given the FORMAT UNIT command waits until the format
operation completes before returning its response. This can be many hours on large
disks. This utility sets a 15 hour timeout on such a FORMAT UNIT command!
LISTS
The SBC-3 draft (revision 29) defines PLIST, CLIST, DLIST and GLIST in section 4.13 on
"Medium defects". Briefly, the PLIST is the "primary" list of manufacturer detected
defects, the CLIST ("certification" list) contains those detected during the format opera-
tion, the DLIST is a list of defects that can be given to the format operation. The GLIST
is the grown list which starts in the format process as CLIST+DLIST and can "grow" later
due to automatic reallocation (see the ARRE and AWRE bits in the read-write error recovery
mode page (see sdparm(8))) and use of the SCSI REASSIGN BLOCKS command (see sg_reas-
sign(8)).
The CMPLST bit (controlled by the --cmplst=0|1 option) determines whether the existing
GLIST, when the format operation is invoked, is taken into account. The sg_format utility
sets the FOV bit to zero which causes DPRY=0, so the PLIST is taken into account, and
DCRT=0, so the CLIST is generated and used during the format process.
The sg_format utility does not permit a user to provide a defect list (i.e. DLIST).
PROTECTION TYPES
SBC-3 drafts have added several "protection types" to the "protection information" intro-
duced in the SBC-2 standard. See the "protection information" section (section 4.21 in
draft SBC-3 rev 29). 8 bytes of protection information are added to each logical block (a
2 byte "logical block guard" (CRC), a 2 byte "logical block application guard", and a 4
byte "logical block reference tag"). SBC-3 defines 4 protection types (types 0 to 3) with
protection type 0 meaning no protection information is maintained.
A device that supports protection information (i.e. supports one or more protection types
of 1 or higher) sets the "PROTECT" bit in its standard INQUIRY response. It also sets the
SPT field in the EXTENDED INQUIRY VPD page response to indicate which protection types it
supports. The current protection type of a disk can be found in the "P_TYPE" and "PROT_EN"
fields in the response of a READ CAPACITY (16) command (e.g. with the 'sg_readcap --long'
utility).
Given that a device supports a particular protection type, a user can then choose to for-
mat that disk with that protection type by setting the "FMTPINFO" and "Protection Field
Usage" fields in the FORMAT UNIT command. Those fields correspond to the --fmtpinfo=FPI
and the --pfu=PFU options in this utility. The list below shows the four protection types
followed by the options of this utility needed to select them:
0 : --fmtpinfo=0 --pfu=0
1 : --fmtpinfo=2 --pfu=0
2 : --fmtpinfo=3 --pfu=0
3 : --fmtpinfo=3 --pfu=1
The default value of FPI (in --fmtpinfo=FPI) is 0 and the default value of PFU (in
--pfu=PFU) is 0. So if neither --fmtpinfo=FPI nor --pfu=PFU are given then protection type
0 (i.e. no protection information) is chosen.
NOTES
The SBC-2 standard states that the REQUEST SENSE command should be used for obtaining
progress indication when the format command is underway. However, tests on a selection of
disks shows that TEST UNIT READY commands yield progress indications (but not REQUEST
SENSE commands). So the current version of this utility defaults to using TEST UNIT READY
commands to poll the disk to find out the progress of the format. The --poll=PT option has
been added to control this.
When the --format option is given without the --wait option then the SCSI FORMAT UNIT com-
mand is issued with the IMMED bit set which causes the SCSI command to return after it has
started the format operation. The --early option will cause sg_format to exit at that
point. Otherwise the DEVICE is polled every 60 seconds with TEST UNIT READY or REQUEST
SENSE commands until it reports an "all clear" (i.e. the format operation has completed).
Normally these polling commands will result in a progress indicator (expressed as a per-
centage) being output to the screen. If the user gets bored watching the progress report
then sg_format process can be terminated (e.g. with control-C) without affecting the for-
mat operation which continues. However a target or device reset (or a power cycle) will
probably cause the device to become "format corrupt".
When the --format and --wait options are both given then this utility may take a long time
to return. In this case care should be taken not to send any other SCSI commands to the
disk as it may not respond leaving those commands queued behind the active format command.
This may cause a timeout in the OS driver (in a lot shorter period than 15 hours applica-
ble to some format operations). This may result in the OS resetting the disk leaving the
format operation incomplete. This may leave the disk in a "format corrupt" state requiring
another format to remedy the situation.
When the block size (i.e. the number of bytes in each block) is changed on a disk two SCSI
commands must be sent: a MODE SELECT to change the block size followed by a FORMAT com-
mand. If the MODE SELECT command succeeds and the FORMAT fails then the disk may be in a
state that the draft standard calls "format corrupt". A block descriptor in a subsequent
MODE SENSE will report the requested new block size while a READ CAPACITY command will
report the existing (i.e. different) block size. Alternatively the READ CAPACITY command
may fail, reporting the device is not ready, potentially requiring a format. The solution
to this situation is to do a format again (and this time the new block size does not have
to be given) or change the block size back to the original size.
The SBC-2 standard states that the block count can be set back to the manufacturer's maxi-
mum recommended value in a format or resize operation. This can be done by placing an
address of 0xffffffff (or the 64 bit equivalent) in the appropriate block descriptor field
to a MODE SELECT command. In signed (two's complement) arithmetic that value corresponds
to the manufacturer's maximum recommended value. To see exactly which SCSI commands are
being executed and parameters passed add the "-vvv" option to the sg_format command line.
Short stroking is a technique to trade off capacity for performance. Rotating disk perfor-
mance is usually highest on the outer tracks (i.e. lower logical block addresses) so by
resizing or reformatting a disk to a smaller capacity, average performance will usually be
increased.
Other utilities may be useful in finding information associated with formatting. These
include sg_inq(8) to fetch standard INQUIRY information (e.g. the PROTECT bit) and to
fetch the EXTENDED INQUIRY VPD page (e.g. RTO and GRD_CHK bits). The sdparm(8) utility can
be used to access and potentially change the now obsolete format mode page.
scsiformat is another utility available for formatting SCSI disks with Linux. It dates
from 1997 (most recent update) and may be useful for disks whose firmware is of that vin-
tage.
The COUNT numeric argument may include a multiplicative suffix or be given in hexadecimal.
See the "NUMERIC ARGUMENTS" section in the sg3_utils(8) man page.
The SCSI SANITIZE command was introduced in SBC-3 revision 27. It is closely related to
the ATA sanitize disk feature set and can be used to remove all existing data from a disk.
Sanitize is more likely to be implemented on modern disks (including SSDs) than FORMAT
UNIT's security initialization feature (see the --security option) and in some cases much
faster.
EXAMPLES
These examples use Linux device names. For suitable device names in other supported Oper-
ating Systems see the sg3_utils(8) man page.
In the first example below simply find out the existing block count and size derived from
two sources: a block descriptor in a MODE SELECT command response and from the response of
a READ CAPACITY commands. No changes are made:
# sg_format /dev/sdm
Now a simple format, leaving the block count and size as they were previously. The FORMAT
UNIT command is executed in IMMED mode and the device is polled every 60 seconds to print
out a progress indication:
# sg_format --format /dev/sdm
Now the same format, but waiting (passively) until the format operation is complete:
# sg_format --format --wait /dev/sdm
Next is a format in which the block size is changed to 520 bytes and the block count is
set to the manufacturer's maximum value (for that block size). Note, not all disks support
changing the block size:
# sg_format --format --size=520 /dev/sdm
Now a resize operation so that only the first 0x10000 (65536) blocks on a disk are acces-
sible. The remaining blocks remain unaltered.
# sg_format --resize --count=0x10000 /dev/sdm
Now resize the disk back to its normal (maximum) block count:
# sg_format --resize --count=-1 /dev/sdm
One reason to format a SCSI disk is to add protection information. First check which pro-
tection types are supported by a disk (by checking the SPT field in the Extended inquiry
VPD page together with the Protect bit in the standard inquiry response):
# sg_vpd -p ei -l /dev/sdb
extended INQUIRY data VPD page:
ACTIVATE_MICROCODE=0
SPT=1 [protection types 1 and 2 supported]
....
Format with type 1 protection:
# sg_format --format --fmtpinfo=2 /dev/sdm
After a successful format with type 1 protection, READ CAPACITY(16) should show something
like this:
# sg_readcap -l /dev/sdm
Read Capacity results:
Protection: prot_en=1, p_type=0, p_i_exponent=0 [type 1 protection]
Logical block provisioning: lbpme=0, lbprz=0
....
To format with type 3 protection:
# sg_format --format --fmtpinfo=3 --pfu=1 /dev/sdm
For the disk shown above this will probably fail because the Extended inquiry VPD page
showed only types 1 and 2 protection are supported.
EXIT STATUS
The exit status of sg_format is 0 when it is successful. Otherwise see the sg3_utils(8)
man page. Unless the --wait option is given, the exit status may not reflect the success
of otherwise of the format. Using sg_turs(8) and sg_readcap(8) after the format operation
may be wise.
AUTHORS
Written by Grant Grundler, James Bottomley and Douglas Gilbert.
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to <dgilbert at interlog dot com>.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 2005-2013 Grant Grundler, James Bottomley and Douglas Gilbert
This software is distributed under the GPL version 2. There is NO warranty; not even for
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
SEE ALSO
sg_turs(8), sg_requests(8), sg_inq(8), sg_modes(8), sg_vpd(8), sg_reassign(8), sg_read-
cap(8), sg3_utils(8), sg_sanitize(8) [all in sg3_utils], sdparm(8), scsiformat (old),
hdparm(8)
sg3_utils-1.37 June 2013 SG_FORMAT(8)
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