System Administration Guide, Volume I

Chapter 25 The `format` Utility (Reference)

This chapter describes the format utility's menu and commands.

This is a list of the overview information in this chapter.

See Chapter 21, Disk Management (Overview) for a conceptual overview of when to use the format utility.

Requirements or Restrictions for Using the `format` Utility

You must be superuser to use the format utility. If you are not superuser, you will see the following error message when you try to use format.

% format
	Searching for disk...done
 
	No permission (or no disk found)!

Recommendations for Preserving Information When Using `format`

Back up all files on the disk drive before doing anything else.
Save all your defect lists in files by using format's dump command. The file name should include the drive type, model number, and serial number.
Save the paper copies of the manufacturer's defect list shipped with your drive.

Format Menu and Command Descriptions

The format main menu looks like the following:

FORMAT MENU:
        disk       - select a disk
        type       - select (define) a disk type
        partition  - select (define) a partition table
        current    - describe the current disk
        format     - format and analyze the disk
        repair     - repair a defective sector
        label      - write label to the disk
        analyze    - surface analysis
        defect     - defect list management
        backup     - search for backup labels
        verify     - read and display labels
        save       - save new disk/partition definitions
        inquiry    - show vendor, product and revision
        volname    - set 8-character volume name
        quit
format>

Table 25-1 describes the format main menu items.

Table 25-1 The format Main Menu Item Descriptions


Item	Command or Menu?	Allows You To ...
`disk`	Command	Choose the disk that will be used in subsequent operations (known as the current disk). All of the system's drives are listed.
`type`	Command	Identify the manufacturer and model of the current disk. A list of known drive types is displayed. Choose the `Auto configure` option for all SCSI-2 disk drives.
`partition`	Menu	Create and modify slices. See "The `partition` Menu" for more information.
`current`	Command	Display the following information about the current disk: Device name and type Number of cylinders, alternate cylinders, heads and sectors Physical device name
`format`	Command	Format the current disk, using one of these sources of information in this order: Information found in the `format.dat` file Information from the automatic configuration process Information you enter at the prompt if there is no `format.dat` entry
`fdisk`	Menu	Run the `fdisk` program to create a Solaris `fdisk` partition.
`repair`	Command	Repair a specific block on the disk.
`label`	Command	Write a new label to the current disk.
`analyze`	Menu	Run read, write, compare tests. See "The `analyze` Menu" for more information.
`defect`	Menu	Retrieve and print defect lists. See "The `defect` Menu" for more information.
`backup`	Command	Search for backup labels.
`verify`	Command	Print the following information about the disk: Device name and type Number of cylinders, alternate cylinders, heads and sectors Partition table
`save`	Command	Save new disk and partition information.
`inquiry`	Command	Print the vendor, product name, and revision level of the current drive (SCSI disks only).
`volname`	Command	Label the disk with a new eight-character volume name.
`quit`	Command	Exit the `format` menu.

The `partition` Menu

The partition menu looks like this.

format> partition
PARTITION MENU:
        0      - change `0' partition
        1      - change `1' partition
        2      - change `2' partition
        3      - change `3' partition
        4      - change `4' partition
        5      - change `5' partition
        6      - change `6' partition
        7      - change `7' partition
        select - select a predefined table
        modify - modify a predefined partition table
        name   - name the current table
        print  - display the current table
        label  - write partition map and label to the disk
        quit
partition>

Table 25-2 describes the partition menu items.

Table 25-2 The partition Menu Item Descriptions


The Command ...	Allows You To ...
change ``x' partition`	Specify new slice: Identification tag Permission flags Starting cylinder Size
`select`	Choose a predefined slice table.
`modify`	Change all the slices in the slice table. This command is preferred over the individual `change` ``x`' `partition` commands.
`name`	Specify a name for the current slice table.
`print`	View the current slice table.
`label`	Write the slice map and label to the current disk.
`quit`	Exit the partition menu.

x86: The `fdisk` Menu

The fdisk menu appears on x86 systems only and looks like this.

format> fdisk
             Total disk size is 1855 cylinders
             Cylinder size is 553 (512 byte) blocks
                                           Cylinders
      Partition   Status    Type      Start   End   Length    %
      =========   ======    ========  =====   ===   ======   ===
          1                 DOS-BIG       0   370     371     20
          2       Active    SOLARIS     370  1851    1482     80
 
SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
 
     1.   Create a partition
     2.   Change Active (Boot from) partition
     3.   Delete a partition
     4.   Exit (Update disk configuration and exit)
     5.   Cancel (Exit without updating disk configuration)
Enter Selection:

Table 25-3 describes the fdisk menu items.

Table 25-3 The fdisk Menu Item Descriptions


The Command ...	Allows You To ...
`Create a partition`	Create an `fdisk` partition. You must create a separate partition for each operating environment such as Solaris or DOS. There is a maximum of 4 partitions per disk. You will be prompted for the size of the `fdisk` partition as a percentage of the disk.
`Change Active partition`	Specify which partition will be used for booting. This identifies where the first stage boot program will look for the second stage boot program.
`Delete a partition`	Delete a previously created partition. This command will destroy all the data in the partition.
`Exit`	Write a new version of the partition table and exit the `fdisk` menu.
`Cancel`	Exit the `fdisk` menu without modifying the partition table.

The `analyze` Menu

The analyze menu looks like this.

format> analyze
 
ANALYZE MENU:
    read     - read only test   (doesn't harm SunOS)
    refresh  - read then write  (doesn't harm data)
    test     - pattern testing  (doesn't harm data)
    write    - write then read      (corrupts data)
    compare  - write, read, compare (corrupts data)
    purge    - write, read, write   (corrupts data)
    verify   - write entire disk, then verify (corrupts data)
    print    - display data buffer
    setup    - set analysis parameters
    config   - show analysis parameters
    quit
analyze>

Table 25-4 describes the analyze menu items.

Table 25-4 The analyze Menu Item Descriptions


The Command ...	Allows You To ...
`read`	Read each sector on this disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default.
`refresh`	Read then write data on the disk without harming the data. Repairs defective blocks as a default.
`test`	Write a set of patterns to the disk without harming the data. Repairs defective blocks as a default.
`write`	Write a set of patterns to the disk then read the data on the disk back. Destroys existing data on the disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default.
`compare`	Write a set of patterns to the disk, read the data back, and compare it to the data in the write buffer. Destroys existing data on the disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default.
`purge`	Remove all data from the disk so that the data can't be retrieved by any means. Data is removed by writing three distinct patterns over the entire disk (or section of the disk), then writing an hex-bit pattern if the verification passes. Repairs defective blocks as a default.
`verify`	Write unique data to each block on the entire disk in the first pass. Read and verify the data in the next pass. Destroys existing data on the disk. Repairs defective blocks as a default.
`print`	View the data in the read/write buffer.
`setup`	Specify the following analysis parameters Analyze entire disk? `yes` Starting block number: `depends on drive` Ending block number: `depends on drive` Loop continuously? `no` Number of passes: `2` Repair defective blocks? `yes` Stop after first error? `no` Use random bit patterns? `no` Number of blocks per transfer: `126 (0/``n``/``nn``)` Verify media after formatting? `yes` Enable extended messages? `no` Restore defect list? `yes` Restore disk label? `yes` Defaults are shown in bold.
`config`	View the current analysis parameters.
`quit`	Exit the `analyze` menu.

The `defect` Menu

The defect menu looks like this.

format> defect
 
DEFECT MENU:
        primary  - extract manufacturer's defect list
        grown    - extract manufacturer's and repaired defects lists
        both     - extract both primary and grown defects lists
        print    - display working list
        dump     - dump working list to file
        quit
defect>

Table 25-5 describes the defect menu items.

Table 25-5 The defect Menu Item Descriptions


The Command ...	Allows You To ...
`primary`	Read the manufacturer's defect list from the disk drive and update the in-memory defect list.
`grown`	Read the grown defect list (defects that have been detected during analysis) and update the in-memory defect list.
`both`	Read both the manufacturer's and grown defect list and update the in-memory defect list.
`print`	View the in-memory defect list.
`dump`	Save the in-memory defect list to a file.
`quit`	Exit the `defect` menu.

Files Used by `format`--`format.dat`

The format data file, /etc/format.dat, contains:

Disk types
Default slice tables

The format.dat file shipped with the Solaris operating environment supports many standard disks. If your disk drive is not listed in the format.dat file, you can choose to add an entry for it or allow format to prompt you for the information it needs while it is performing operations.

Adding an entry to the format.dat file can save time if the disk drive will be used throughout your site. To use the format.dat file on other systems, copy the file to each system that will use the specific disk drive you added to the format.dat file.

You should modify the data file for your system if you have one of the following:

A disk that is not supported by the Solaris operating environment
A disk with a slice table that is different from the Solaris operating environment default configuration

Note -

Do not alter default entries. If you want to alter the default entries, copy the entry, give it a different name, and make the modification to avoid confusion.

Structure

The format.dat contains specific disk drive information used by the format utility. Three items are defined in the format.dat file:

Search paths
Disk types
Slice tables

Syntax

The following syntax rules apply to the data file:

The pound sign (#) is the comment character. Any text on a line after a pound sign is not interpreted by format.
Each definition in the format.dat file appears on a single logical line. If the definition is more than one line long, all but the last line of the definition must end with a backslash (\).
A definition consists of a series of assignments that have an identifier on the left side and one or more values on the right side. The assignment operator is the equal sign (=). The assignments within a definition must be separated by a colon (:).
White space is ignored by format. If you want an assigned value to contain white space, enclose the entire value in double quotes ("). This will cause the white space within the quotes to be preserved as part of the assignment value.
Some assignments can have multiple values on the right hand side. Separate values by a comma.

Keywords

The data file contains disk definitions that are read in by format when it is started. Each definition starts with one of the following keywords: search_path, disk_type, and partition, which are described in Table 25-6.

Table 25-6 format.dat Keyword Descriptions


Keyword	Use
`search_path`	This keyword is no longer used in the `format.dat` file. Starting with the Solaris 2.0 release, the `format` utility searchs the logical device hierarchy (`/dev`)so there is no need to set this keyword to find a system's disks.
`disk_type`	Defines the controller and disk model. Each `disk_type` definition contains information concerning the physical geometry of the disk. The default data file contains definitions for the controllers and disks that the Solaris operating environment supports. You need to add a new `disk_type` only if you have an unsupported disk. You can add as many `disk_type` definitions to the data file as you want.
`partition`	Defines a slice table for a specific disk type. The slice table contains the slice information, plus a name that lets you refer to it in `format`. The default data file contains default slice definitions for several kinds of disk drives. Add a slice definition if you recreated slices on any of the disks on your system. Add as many slice definitions to the data file as you need.

Disk Type

disk_type defines the controller and disk model. Each disk_type definition contains the physical geometry of the disk. The default data file contains definitions for the controllers and disks that the Solaris operating environment supports. You need to add a new disk_type only if you have an unsupported disk. You can add as many disk_type definitions to the data file as you want.

The keyword itself is assigned the name of the disk type. This name appears in the disk's label, and is used to identify the disk type whenever format is run. Enclose the name in double quotes to preserve any white space in the name. Table 25-7 describes the identifiers that must also be assigned values in all disk_type definitions.

Table 25-7 Required disk_type Identifiers


Identifier	Description
`ctlr`	Valid controller type for the disk type. Currently, the supported values for this assignment are SCSI and ISP-80 (IPI controller).
`ncyl`	The number of data cylinders in the disk type. This determines how many logical cylinders of the disk the system will be allowed to access.
`acyl`	The number of alternate cylinders in the disk type. These cylinders are used by `format` to store information such as the defect list for the drive. You should always leave at least two cylinders for alternates.
`pcyl`	The number of physical cylinders in the disk type. This number is used to calculate the boundaries of the disk media. This number is usually equal to `ncyl` plus `acyl`.
`nhead`	The number of heads in the disk type. This number is used to calculate the boundaries of the disk media.
`nsect`	The number of data sectors per track in the disk type. This number is used to calculate the boundaries of the disk media. Note that this is only the data sectors, any spares are not reflected in the assignment.
`rpm`	The rotations per minute of the disk type. This information is put in the label and later used by the file system to calculate the optimal placement of file data.

Other assignments may be necessary depending on the controller. Table 25-8 describes the assignments required for SCSI controllers.

Table 25-8 disk_type Identifiers for SCSI Controllers


Identifier	Description
`fmt_time`	A number indicating how long it takes to format a given drive. See the controller manual for more information.
`cache`	A number that controls the operation of the onboard cache while `format` is operating. See the controller manual for more information.
`trks_zone`	A number that specified how many tracks you have per defect zone, to be used in alternate sector mapping. See the controller manual for more information.
`asect`	The number assigned to this parameter specifies how many sectors are available for alternate mapping within a given defect zone. See the controller manual for more information.

Below are some examples of disk_type definitions:

disk_type = "SUN0535" \
	: ctlr = SCSI : fmt_time = 4 \
	: ncyl = 1866 : acyl = 2 : pcyl = 2500 : nhead = 7 : nsect = 80 \
	: rpm = 5400
disk_type = "SUN0669" \
	: ctlr = SCSI : fmt_time = 4 \
	: trks_zone = 15 : asect = 5 : atrks = 30 \
	: ncyl =  1614 : acyl = 2 : pcyl = 1632 : nhead = 15 : nsect = 54 \
	: rpm = 3600 : bpt = 31410
disk_type = "SUN1.0G" \
	: ctlr = SCSI : fmt_time = 4 \
	: trks_zone = 15 : asect = 5 : atrks = 30 \
	: ncyl =  1703 : acyl = 2 : pcyl = 1931 : nhead = 15 : nsect = 80 \
	: rpm = 3597 : bpt = 41301

Slice Tables

A partition definition keyword is assigned the name of the slice table. Enclose the name in double quotes to preserve any white space in the name. Table 25-9 describes the identifiers that must be assigned values in all slice tables.

Table 25-9 Required Identifiers for Slice Tables


Identifier	Description
`disk`	The name of the `disk_type` that this slice table is defined for. This name must appear exactly as it does in the `disk_type` definition.
`ctlr`	The disk controller type this slice table can be attached to. Currently, the supported values for this assignment are ISP-80 for IPI controllers and SCSI for SCSI controllers. The controller type specified here must also be defined for the `disk_type` chosen above.

The other assignments in a slice definition describe the actual slice information. The identifiers are the numbers 0 through 7. These assignments are optional. Any slice not explicitly assigned is set to 0 length. The value of each of these assignments is a pair of numbers separated by a comma. The first number is the starting cylinder for the slice, and the second is the number of sectors in the slice. Below are some examples of slice definitions:

partition = "SUN0535" \
	: disk = "SUN0535" : ctlr = SCSI \
	: 0 = 0, 64400 : 1 = 115, 103600 : 2 = 0, 1044960 : 6 = 300, 876960
partition = "SUN0669" \
	: disk = "SUN0669" : ctlr = SCSI \
	: 0 = 0, 32400 : 1 = 40, 64800 : 2 = 0, 1307340 : 6 = 120, 1210140
partition = "SUN1.0G" \
	: disk = "SUN1.0G" : ctlr = SCSI \
	: 0 = 0, 32400 : 1 = 27, 64800 : 2 = 0, 2043600 : 6 = 81, 1946400

Location

The format utility learns of the location of your data file by the following methods.

If a filename is given with the -x command line option, that file is always used as the data file.
If the -x option is not specified, then format looks in the current directory for a file named format.dat. If the file exists, it is used as the data file.
If neither of these methods yields a data file, format uses /etc/format.dat as the data file. This file is shipped with the Solaris operating environment and should always be present.

Rules for Input to `format` Commands

When using the format utility, you need to provide various kinds of information. This section describes the rules for this information. See "Help" for information on using format's help facility when inputting data.

Numbers

Several places in format require an integer as input. You must either specify the data or select one from a list of choices. In either case, the help facility causes format to print the upper and lower limits of the integer expected. Simply enter the number desired. The number is assumed to be in decimal format unless a base is explicitly specified as part of the number (for example, 0x for hexadecimal).

The following are examples of integer input:

Enter number of passes [2]: 34
Enter number of passes [34] Oxf

Block Numbers

Whenever you are required to specify a disk block number, there are two ways to input the information:

Block number as an integer
Block number in the cylinder/head/sector format

You can specify the information as an integer representing the logical block number. You can specify the integer in any base, but the default is decimal. The maximum operator (a dollar sign, $) can also be used here to let format select the appropriate value. Logical block format is used by the SunOS disk drivers in error messages.

The other way to specify a block number is by the cylinder/head/sector designation. In this method, you must specify explicitly the three logical components of the block number: the cylinder, head, and sector values. These values are still logical, but they allow you to define regions of the disk related to the layout of the media.

If any of the cylinder/head/sector numbers are not specified, the appropriate value is assumed to be zero. You can also use the maximum operator in place of any of the numbers and let format select the appropriate value. Below are some examples of cylinder, head, and sector entries:

Enter defective block number: 34/2/3
Enter defective block number: 23/1/
Enter defective block number: 457//
Enter defective block number: 12345
Enter defective block number: Oxabcd
Enter defective block number: 334/$/2
Enter defective block number: 892//$

The format utility always prints block numbers, in both of the above formats. Also, the help facility shows you the upper and lower bounds of the block number expected, in both formats.

Command Names

Command names are needed as input whenever format is displaying a menu prompt. You can abbreviate the command names, as long as what you enter is sufficient to uniquely identify the command desired.

For example, use p to enter the partition menu from the format menu. Then enter p to display the current slice table.

format> p
PARTITION MENU:
        0      - change `0' partition
        1      - change `1' partition
        2      - change `2' partition
        3      - change `3' partition
        4      - change `4' partition
        5      - change `5' partition
        6      - change `6' partition
        7      - change `7' partition
        select - select a predefined table
        modify - modify a predefined partition table
        name   - name the current table
        print  - display the current table
        label  - write partition map and label to the disk
        quit
partition> p

Other Names

There are certain times in format when you must name something. In these cases, you are free to specify any string desired for the name. If the name has white space in it, the entire name must be enclosed in double quotes ("). Otherwise, only the first word of the name is used.

Help

The format utility provides a help facility you can use whenever format is expecting input. You can request help about what information is expected by entering a question mark (?). The format utility displays a brief description of what type of input is needed.

If you enter a ? at a menu prompt, a list of available commands is displayed.

Associated Man Pages

The man pages associated with the format utility is format(1M), which describes the basic format utility capabilities and provides descriptions of all command line variables, and format.dat(4), which describes disk drive configuration information for the format utility.

Chapter 25 The format Utility (Reference)

Requirements or Restrictions for Using the format Utility

Recommendations for Preserving Information When Using format