NAME¶
sg_unmap - send SCSI UNMAP command (known as 'trim' in ATA specs)
SYNOPSIS¶
sg_unmap [
--anchor] [
--grpnum=GN] [
--help]
[
--in=FILE] [
--lba=LBA,LBA...] [
--num=NUM,NUM...]
[
--timeout=TO] [
--verbose] [
--version]
DEVICE
DESCRIPTION¶
Send a SCSI UNMAP command to
DEVICE to unmap one or more logical blocks.
This command was introduced in SBC-3 revision 18 under the broad heading of
"logical block provisioning". Logical blocks may also be unmapped by
the SCSI WRITE SAME command; see the sg_write_same utility. The unmap
capability is closely related to the ATA DATA SET MANAGEMENT command with the
"Trim" bit set.
Logical blocks to be unmapped can be specified in one of two ways to this
utility. One way is by supplying the start LBAs to the '--lba=' option and the
corresponding number(s) to unmap to the '--num=' option. The other way is by
putting start LBA and number to unmap pairs in a file whose name is given to
the '--in=' option. All values are assumed to be decimal unless prefixed by
"0x" (or "0X") or have a trailing "h" (or
"H") in which case they are interpreted as hexadecimal. Suffix
multipliers are permitted on decimal values (e.g. '--num=1m').
When the '--lba=' option is given then the '--num=' option must also be given.
If one has a comma separated list as its argument then the other must have the
same number of elements in its list. The arguments can use a single space as a
separator but need to be in quotes or escaped to not be misinterpreted by the
shell.
With the '--in=FILE' option an even number of values must be found and are
interpreted as pairs: the first value in each pair is a starting LBA and the
second value is the number to unmap from that LBA. Everything from and
including a "#" on a line is ignored as are blank lines. Values may
be comma, space and tab separated or appear on separate lines. Each line
should not exceed 1023 bytes in length.
OPTIONS¶
Arguments to long options are mandatory for short options as well.
- -a, --anchor
- sets the 'Anchor' bit in the command (introduced in sbc3r22).
- -g, --grpnum=GN
- sets the 'Group number' field to GN. Defaults to a value of zero.
GN should be a value between 0 and 31.
- -h, --help
- output the usage message then exit.
- -I, --in=FILE
- where FILE is a file name containing pairs of values. The first
member of each pair is a starting LBA and the second member of the pair is
the number of logical blocks to unmap from and including that starting
LBA. Values are interpreted as decimal unless indicated otherwise. This
option cannot be present with the '--lba=' option.
- -l, --lba=LBA,LBA...
- where LBA,LBA... is a string of comma (or space) separated values
that are interpreted as starting logical block addresses. Each number is
interpreted as decimal unless prefixed by '0x' or '0X' (or it has a
trailing 'h' or 'H'). An argument that contains any space separators needs
to be quoted (or otherwise escaped). When this option is given then the
'--num=' option must also be given and they must contain the same number
of elements in their arguments.
- -n, --num=NUM,NUM...
- where NUM,NUM... is a string of comma (or space) separated values
that are interpreted as a number of logical blocks to unmap. Each number
is interpreted as decimal unless prefixed by '0x' or '0X' (or it has a
trailing 'h' or 'H'). Note that 0 blocks is acceptable. An argument that
contains any space separators needs to be quoted (or otherwise escaped).
When this option is given then the '--lba=' option must also be given and
they must contain the same number of elements in their arguments.
- -t, --timeout=TO
- where TO is a timeout value (in seconds) for the UNMAP command. The
default value is 60 seconds.
- -v, --verbose
- increase the level of verbosity, (i.e. debug output).
- -V, --version
- print the version string and then exit.
NOTES¶
Some limits: an LBA can be up to 64 bits, a NUM up to 32 bits (imposed by
structure of UNMAP SCSI command parameter data). The NUM is further
constrained by the MAXIMUM UNMAP LBA COUNT field in the BLOCK LIMITS VPD page
(0xb0). The maximum number of LBA,NUM pairs is limited to 128 by this utility
and may be further constrained by the MAXIMUM UNMAP BLOCK DESCRIPTOR COUNT
field in the BLOCK LIMITS VPD page.
Since it is unclear how long the UNMAP command will take to execute a
'--timeout=" option has been provided. The default timeout period is 60
seconds. If all the logical blocks on a logical unit (e.g. a disk drive) are
to be unmapped then the FORMAT UNIT SCSI command (see the sg_format utility)
may be considered as an alternative.
Support for logical block provisioning is indicated by the LBPME bit in the
response to the SCSI READ CAPACITY (16) command (see the sg_readcap utility).
In SBC-3 revision 25 the LBPU and ANC_SUP bits where added to the Logical Block
Provisioning VPD page. When LBPU is set it indicates that the device supports
the UNMAP command. When the ANC_SUP bit is set it indicates the device
supports anchored LBAs.
The SCSI UNMAP command does the "right thing" with respect to command
queueing. However its ATA counterpart: the DATA SET MANAGEMENT command with
the "Trim" bit set does not interact well with SATA queueing known
as NCQ. To address this problem T13 have introduced a new command called SFQ
DATA SET MANAGEMENT which also has a Trim bit.
EXAMPLES¶
In the examples directory of the sg3_utils package there is a
sg_unmap_example.txt file that shows the format that the '--in=' option
accepts.
EXIT STATUS¶
The exit status of sg_unmap is 0 when it is successful. Otherwise see the
sg3_utils(8) man page.
AUTHORS¶
Written by Douglas Gilbert.
REPORTING BUGS¶
Report bugs to <dgilbert at interlog dot com>.
COPYRIGHT¶
Copyright © 2009-2014 Douglas Gilbert
This software is distributed under a FreeBSD license. There is NO warranty; not
even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
SEE ALSO¶
sg_format,sg_get_lba_status,sg_readcap,sg_vpd,sg_write_same(sg3_utils)