SCSI Read Capacity Command

The SCSI Read Capacity command is used to obtain data capacity information from a target device.

The command descriptor block (CDB) structure is:

bit→
↓byte		 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
0 Operation code = 25h
1 LUN Reserved RelAdr
2 LBA (MSB)



LBA (LSB)
3
4
5
6 Reserved
7 Reserved
8 Reserved PMI
9 Control

The special control fields in the CDB have the following meaning:

  • RelAdr - indicates that the logical block address (LBA) value is relative (only used with linked commands).
  • PMI - partial medium indicator:
    • 0 - return value for the last LBA
    • 1 - return value for the last LBA after which a substantial delay in data transfer will be encountered (e.g., the current track or cylinder)

The target will return capacity data structured as follows:

bit→
↓byte		 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
0–3 Returned LBA
4–7 Block length in bytes

Famous quotes containing the words read, capacity and/or command:

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    —Howard Nemerov (1920–1991)

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    —William Faulkner (1897–1962)

    “‘Tis not in mortals to command success,
    But we’ll do more, Sempronius, we’ll deserve it.”
    —Joseph Addison (1672–1719)