Provided by: sg3-utils_1.36-1ubuntu1_amd64 
NAME
sg_inq - issue SCSI INQUIRY command, output and decode response
SYNOPSIS
sg_inq [--ata] [--cmddt] [--descriptors] [--export] [--extended] [--help] [--hex] [--id] [--len=LEN]
[--maxlen=LEN] [--page=PG] [--raw] [--vendor] [--verbose] [--version] [--vpd] DEVICE
sg_inq [-36] [-a] [-A] [-b] [-c] [-cl] [-d] [-e] [-h] [-H] [-i] [-l=LEN] [-m] [-M] [-o=OPCODE_PG]
[-p=VPD_PG] [-P] [-r] [-s] [-u] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-36] [-?] DEVICE
DESCRIPTION
This utility by default sends a SCSI INQUIRY command to the given device and then outputs the response.
All SCSI devices are meant to respond to a "standard" INQUIRY command with at least a 36 byte response
(in SCSI 2 and higher). An INQUIRY is termed as "standard" when both the EVPD and CmdDt (now obsolete)
bits are clear.
This utility supports two command line syntaxes, the preferred one is shown first in the synopsis and
explained in this section. A later section on the old command line syntax outlines the second group of
options.
An important "non-standard" INQUIRY page is the Device Identification Vital Product Data (VPD) page
[0x83]. Since SPC-3, support for this page is mandatory. The --id option decodes this page. New VPD page
information is no longer being added to this utility. To get information on new VPD pages see the
sg_vpd(8) or sdparm(8) utilities.
If the DEVICE exists and the SCSI INQUIRY fails (because the SG_IO ioctl is not supported) then an ATA
IDENTIFY (PACKET) DEVICE is tried. If it succeeds then device identification strings are output. The
--raw and --hex options can be used to manipulate the output. If the --ata option is given then the SCSI
INQUIRY is not performed and the DEVICE is assumed to be ATA (or ATAPI).
The reference document used for interpreting an INQUIRY is T10/1713-D Revision 36e (SPC-4, 24 August
2012) found at http://www.t10.org . Obsolete and reserved items in the standard INQUIRY response output
are displayed in brackets. The reference document for the ATA IDENTIFY (PACKET) DEVICE command is
ATA8-ACS found at http://www.t13.org .
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.
-a, --ata
Assume given DEVICE is an ATA or ATAPI device which can receive ATA commands from the host
operating system. Skip the SCSI INQUIRY command and use either the ATA IDENTIFY DEVICE command
(for non-packet devices) or the ATA IDENTIFY PACKET DEVICE command. To show the response in hex,
add a '--verbose' option. This option is only available in Linux.
-c, --cmddt
set the Command Support Data (CmdDt) bit (defaults to clear(0)). Used in conjunction with the
--page=PG option where PG specifies the SCSI command opcode to query. When used twice (e.g. '-cc')
this utility forms a list by looping over all 256 opcodes (0 to 255 inclusive) only outputting a
line for found commands. The CmdDt bit is now obsolete. It has been replaced by the REPORT
SUPPORTED OPERATION CODES command, see the sg_opcodes(8) utility.
-d, --descriptors
decodes and prints the version descriptors found in a standard INQUIRY response. There are up to 8
of them. Version descriptors indicate which versions of standards and/or drafts the DEVICE
complies with. The normal components of a standard INQUIRY are output (typically from the first 36
bytes of the response) followed by the version descriptors if any.
-e see entry below for --vpd.
-u, --export
prints out information obtained from the device. The output can be modified by selecting a VPD
page with PG (from --page=PG). If the device identification VPD page 0x83 is given it prints out
information in the form: "SCSI_IDENT_<assoc>_<type>=<ident>" to stdout. If the device serial
number VPD page 0x80 is given it prints out information in the form: "SCSI_SERIAL=<ident>". Other
VPD pages are not supported. If no VPD page is given it prints out information in the form:
"SCSI_VENDOR=<vendor>", "SCSI_MODEL=<model>", and "SCSI_REVISION=<rev>", taken from the standard
inquiry. This may be useful for tools like udev(7) in Linux.
-E, -x, --extended
prints the extended INQUIRY VPD page [0x86].
-h, --help
print out the usage message then exit. When used twice, after the usage message, there is a list
of available abbreviations than can be given to the --page=PG option.
-H, --hex
rather than decode a standard INQUIRY response, a VPD page or command support data; print out the
response in hex to stdout. Error messages and warnings are typically output to stderr. When used
twice with the ATA Information VPD page [0x89] decodes the start of the response then outputs the
ATA IDENTIFY (PACKET) DEVICE response in hexadecimal bytes (not 16 bit words). When used three
times with the ATA Information VPD page [0x89] or the --ata option, this utility outputs the ATA
IDENTIFY (PACKET) DEVICE response in hexadecimal words suitable for input to 'hdparm --Istdin'.
See note below.
-i, --id
prints the device identification VPD page [0x83].
-l, --len=LEN
the number LEN is the "allocation length" field in the INQUIRY cdb. This is the (maximum) length
of the response to be sent by the device. The default value of LEN is 0 which is interpreted as:
first request is for 36 bytes and if necessary execute another INQUIRY if the "additional length"
field in the response indicates that more than 36 bytes is available. If LEN is greater than 0
then only one INQUIRY command is performed. See paragraph below about "36 byte INQUIRYs".
-m, --maxlen=LEN
this option has the same action as the --len=LEN option. It has been added for compatibility with
the sg_vpd, sg_modes and sg_logs utilities.
-O, --old
switch to older style options.
-p, --page=PG
the PG argument can be either a number of an abbreviation for a VPD page. To enumerate the
available abbreviations for VPD pages use '-hh' or a bad abbreviation (e.g, '--page=xxx'). When
the --cmddt option is given (once) then PG is interpreted as an opcode number (so VPD page
abbreviations make little sense).
-r, --raw
output the response in binary to stdout. Error messages and warnings, if any, are sent to stderr.
-s, --vendor
output a standard INQUIRY response's vendor specific field from offset 36 to 55 in ASCII. When
used twice (i.e. '-ss') also output the vendor specific field from offset 96 in ASCII. This is
only done if the data passes some simple sanity checks.
-v, --verbose
increase level of verbosity. Can be used multiple times.
-V, --version
print out version string then exit.
-e, --vpd
set the Enable Vital Product Data (EVPD) bit (defaults to clear(0)). Used in conjunction with the
--page=PG option where PG specifies the VPD page number to query. If the --page=PG is not given
then PG defaults to zero which is the "Supported VPD pages" VPD page.
NOTES
Some devices with weak SCSI command set implementations lock up when they receive commands they don't
understand (or even response lengths that they don't expect). Such devices need to be treated carefully,
use the '--len=36' option. Without this option this utility will issue an initial standard INQUIRY
requesting 36 bytes of response data. If the device indicates it could have supplied more data then a
second INQUIRY is issued to fetch the longer response. That second command may lock up faulty devices.
ATA or ATAPI devices that use a SCSI to ATA Translation layer (see SAT at www.t10.org) may support the
ATA Information VPD page. This returns the IDENTIFY (PACKET) DEVICE response amongst other things. The
ATA Information VPD page can be fetched with '--page=ai'.
In the INQUIRY standard response there is a 'MultiP' flag which is set when the device has 2 or more
ports. Some vendors use the preceding vendor specific ('VS') bit to indicate which port is being accessed
by the INQUIRY command (0 -> relative port 1 (port "a"), 1 -> relative port 2 (port "b")). When the
'MultiP' flag is set, the preceding vendor specific bit is shown in parentheses. SPC-3 compliant devices
should use the device identification VPD page (0x83) to show which port is being used for access and the
SCSI ports VPD page (0x88) to show all available ports on the device.
In the 2.4 series of Linux kernels the DEVICE must be a SCSI generic (sg) device. In the 2.6 series block
devices (e.g. disks and ATAPI DVDs) can also be specified. For example "sg_inq /dev/sda" will work in the
2.6 series kernels. From lk 2.6.6 other SCSI "char" device names may be used as well (e.g. "/dev/st0m").
The number of bytes output by --hex and --raw is 36 bytes or the number given to --len=LEN (or
--maxlen=LEN). That number is reduced if the "resid" returned by the HBA indicates less bytes were sent
back from DEVICE.
ATA DEVICES
There are two major types of ATA devices: non-packet devices (e.g. ATA disks) and packet devices (ATAPI).
The majority of ATAPI devices are CD/DVD/BD drives in which the ATAPI transport carries the MMC set (i.e.
a SCSI command set). Further, both types of ATA devices can be connected to a host computer via a "SCSI"
(or some other) transport. When an ATA disk is controlled via a SCSI (or non-ATA) transport then two
approaches are commonly used: tunnelling (e.g. STP in Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)) or by emulating a SCSI
device (e.g. with a SCSI to ATA translation layer, see SAT at www.t10.org ). Even when the physical
transport to the host computer is ATA (especially in the case of SATA) the operating system may choose to
put a SAT layer in the driver "stack" (e.g. libata in Linux).
The main identifying command for any SCSI device is an INQUIRY. The corresponding command for an ATA
non-packet device is IDENTIFY DEVICE while for an ATA packet device it is IDENTIFY PACKET DEVICE.
When this utility is invoked for an ATAPI device (e.g. a CD/DVD/BD drive with "sg_inq /dev/hdc") then a
SCSI INQUIRY is sent to the device and if it responds then the response to decoded and output and this
utility exits. To see the response for an ATA IDENTIFY PACKET DEVICE command add the --ata option (e.g.
"sg_inq --ata /dev/hdc).
This utility doesn't decode the response to an ATA IDENTIFY (PACKET) DEVICE command, hdparm does a good
job at that. The '-HHH' option has been added for use with either the '--ata' or '--page=ai' option to
produce a format acceptable to "hdparm --Istdin". An example: 'sg_inq --ata -HHH /dev/hdc | hdparm
--Istdin'. See hdparm.
EXIT STATUS
The exit status of sg_inq is 0 when it is successful. Otherwise see the sg3_utils(8) man page.
OLDER COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
The options in this section were the only ones available prior to sg3_utils version 1.23 . In sg3_utils
version 1.23 and later these older options can be selected by either setting the SG3_UTILS_OLD_OPTS
environment variable or using --old (or -O) as the first option.
-36 only requests 36 bytes of response data for an INQUIRY. Furthermore even if the device indicates
in its response it can supply more data, a second (longer) INQUIRY is not performed. This is a
paranoid setting. Equivalent to '--len=36' in the main description.
-a fetch the ATA Information VPD page [0x89]. Equivalent to '--page=ai' in the main description. This
page is defined in SAT (see at www.t10.org).
-A Assume given DEVICE is an ATA or ATAPI device. Equivalent to --ata in the main description.
-b decodes the Block Limits VPD page [0xb0]. Equivalent to '--page=bl' in the main description. This
page is defined in SBC-2 (see www.t10.org).
-c set the Command Support Data (CmdDt) bit (defaults to clear(0)). Used in
conjunction with the -o=OPCODE_PG option to specify the SCSI command opcode to query. Equivalent
to --cmddt in the main description.
-cl lists the command data for all supported commands (followed by the command name) by looping
through all 256 opcodes. This option uses the CmdDt bit which is now obsolete. See the
sg_opcodes(8) utility. Equivalent to '--cmddt --cmddt' in the main description.
-d decodes depending on context. If -e option is given, or any option that implies -e (e.g. '-i' or
'-p=80'), then this utility attempts to decode the indicated VPD page. Otherwise the version
descriptors (if any) are listed following a standard INQUIRY response. In the version descriptors
sense, equivalent to --descriptors in the main description.
-e enable (i.e. sets) the Vital Product Data (EVPD) bit (defaults to clear(0)). Used in conjunction
with the -p=VPD_PG option to specify the VPD page to fetch. If -p=VPD_PG is not given then VPD
page 0 (list supported VPD pages) is assumed.
-h outputs INQUIRY response in hex rather than trying to decode it. Equivalent to --hex in the main
description.
-H same action as -h. Equivalent to --hex in the main description.
-i decodes the Device Identification VPD page [0x83]. Equivalent to --id in the main description.
This page is made up of several "designation descriptors". If -h is given then each descriptor
header is decoded and the identifier itself is output in hex. To see the whole VPD 0x83 page
response in hex use '-p=83 -h'.
-m decodes the Management network addresses VPD page [0x85]. Equivalent to '--page=mna' in the main
description.
-M decodes the Mode page policy VPD page [0x87]. Equivalent to '--page=mpp' in the main description.
-N switch to the newer style options.
-o=OPCODE_PG
used in conjunction with the -e or -c option. If neither given then the -e option assumed. When
the -e option is also given (or assumed) then the argument to this option is the VPD page number.
The argument is interpreted as hexadecimal and is expected to be in the range 0 to ff inclusive.
Only VPD page 0 is decoded and it lists supported VPD pages and their names (if known). To decode
the mandatory device identification page (0x83) use the -i option. A now obsolete usage is when
the -c option is given in which case the argument to this option is assumed to be a command opcode
number. Recent SCSI draft standards have moved this facility to a separate command (see
sg_opcodes(8)). Defaults to 0 so if -e is given without this option then VPD page 0 is output.
-p=VPD_PG
same action as -o=OPCODE_PG option described in the previous entry. Since the opcode value with
the CmdDt is now obsolete, the main use of this option is to specify the VPD page number. The
argument is interpreted as hexadecimal and is expected to be in the range 0 to ff inclusive.
Defaults to 0 so if -e is given without this option then VPD page 0 is output.
-P decodes the Unit Path Report VPD page [0xc0] which is EMC specific. Equivalent to '--page=upr' in
the main description.
-r outputs the response in binary to stdout. Equivalent to --raw in the main description. Can be
used twice (i.e. '-rr' (and '-HHH' has same effect)) and if used with the -A or -a option yields
output with the same format as "cat /proc/ide/hd<x>/identify" so that it can then be piped to
"hdparm --Istdin".
-s decodes the SCSI Ports VPD page [0x88]. Equivalent to '--page=sp' in the main description.
-u equivalent to '--export' in the main description.
-v increase level of verbosity. Can be used multiple times.
-V print out version string then exit.
-x decodes the Extended INQUIRY data VPD [0x86] page. Equivalent to '--page=ei' in the main
description.
-? output usage message and exit. Ignore all other parameters.
EXAMPLES
The examples in this page use Linux device names. For suitable device names in other supported Operating
Systems see the sg3_utils(8) man page.
To view the standard inquiry response use without options:
sg_inq /dev/sda
Some SCSI devices include version descriptors indicating the various SCSI standards and drafts they
support. They can be viewed with:
sg_inq -d /dev/sda
Modern SCSI devices include Vital Product Data (VPD)pages which can be viewed with the SCSI INQUIRY
command. To list the supported VPD pages (but not their contents) try:
sg_inq -e /dev/sda
Some VPD pages can be read with the sg_inq utility but a newer utility called sg_vpd specializes in
showing their contents. The sdparm utility can also be used to show the contents of VPD pages.
Further examples of sg_inq together with some typical output can be found on
http://sg.danny.cz/sg/sg3_utils.html web page.
AUTHOR
Written by Douglas Gilbert
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to <dgilbert at interlog dot com>.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2001-2013 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_opcodes(8), sg_vpd(8), sdparm(8), hdparm(8), sgdiag(scsirastools)
sg3_utils-1.36 May 2013 SG_INQ(8)