The ndctl , daxctl, and cxl commands are designed to be user friendly. Once , a list of commands can be shown using any of the following:
1) With no arguments or options, ndctl ,daxctl , and cxl show a simple usage message:
$ ndctl
usage: ndctl [--version] [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
See 'ndctl help COMMAND' for more information on a specific command.
ndctl --list-cmds to see all available commands
$ daxctl
usage: daxctl [--version] [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
See 'daxctl help COMMAND' for more information on a specific command.
daxctl --list-cmds to see all available commands
$ cxl
usage: cxl [--version] [--help] COMMAND [ARGS]
See 'cxl help COMMAND' for more information on a specific command.
cxl --list-cmds to see all available commands
2) Using ndctl help ,daxctl help , and cxl help displays basic help and syntax information for the sub-command. Below is an example of using the ndctl help command to launch the create-namespace man page:
$ ndctl help create-namespace
3) Using ndctl --list-cmdsdaxctl --list-cmds, and cxl --list-cmds lists all commands as a single list.
$ daxctl --list-cmds
version
list
help
split-acpi
migrate-device-model
create-device
destroy-device
reconfigure-device
online-memory
offline-memory
disable-device
enable-device
$ cxl --list-cmds
version
list
help
zero-labels
read-labels
write-labels
An alternative method for listing commands uses the TAB key completion feature. By typingndctl <TAB> <TAB> ,daxctl <TAB> <TAB> , or cxl <TAB> <TAB> we can list the available commands, eg:
TAB completion also works with command arguments. For example, typing ndctl enable-dimm <TAB> will show all available command arguments. For example, the 'enable-dimm' command can enable one, more than one, or all NVDIMMs. It will list all available NVDIMMs (nmem) devices when using the TAB completion, eg:
NDCTL ships with a man page for each command. Each man page describes the required arguments and features in detail. Man pages can be found and accessed using the man or ndctl utilities. The following man -k ndctl searches for any man page containing the "ndctl" keyword:
$ man -k ndctl
ndctl (1) - Manage "libnvdimm" subsystem devices (Non-volatile Memory)
ndctl-activate-firmware (1) - activate staged firmware on memory devices
ndctl-check-labels (1) - determine if the given dimms have a valid namespace index block
ndctl-check-namespace (1) - check namespace metadata consistency
ndctl-clear-errors (1) - clear all errors (badblocks) on the given namespace
ndctl-create-namespace (1) - provision or reconfigure a namespace
ndctl-destroy-namespace (1) - destroy the given namespace(s)
ndctl-disable-dimm (1) - disable one or more idle dimms
ndctl-disable-namespace (1) - disable the given namespace(s)
ndctl-disable-region (1) - disable the given region(s) and all descendant namespaces
ndctl-enable-dimm (1) - enable one more dimms
ndctl-enable-namespace (1) - enable the given namespace(s)
ndctl-enable-region (1) - enable the given region(s) and all descendant namespaces
ndctl-freeze-security (1) - Set the given DIMM(s) to reject future security operations
ndctl-init-labels (1) - initialize the label data area on a dimm or set of dimms
ndctl-inject-error (1) - inject media errors at a namespace offset
ndctl-inject-smart (1) - perform smart threshold/injection operations on a DIMM
ndctl-list (1) - dump the platform nvdimm device topology and attributes in json
ndctl-load-keys (1) - load the kek and encrypted passphrases into the keyring
ndctl-monitor (1) - Monitor the smart events of nvdimm objects
ndctl-read-infoblock (1) - read and optionally parse the info-block a namespace
ndctl-read-labels (1) - read out the label area on a dimm or set of dimms
ndctl-remove-passphrase (1) - Stop a DIMM from locking at power-loss and requiring a passphrase to access media
ndctl-sanitize-dimm (1) - Perform a cryptographic destruction or overwrite of the contents of the given NVDIMM(s)
ndctl-setup-passphrase (1) - setup and enable the security passphrase for an NVDIMM
ndctl-start-scrub (1) - start an Address Range Scrub (ARS) operation
ndctl-update-firmware (1) - update the firmware the given device
ndctl-update-passphrase (1) - update the security passphrase for an NVDIMM
ndctl-wait-overwrite (1) - wait for an overwrite operation to complete
ndctl-wait-scrub (1) - wait for an Address Range Scrub (ARS) operation to complete
ndctl-write-infoblock (1) - generate and write an infoblock
ndctl-write-labels (1) - write data to the label area on a dimm
ndctl-zero-labels (1) - zero out the label area on a dimm or set of dimms
$ man -k daxctl
daxctl (1) - Provides enumeration and provisioning commands for the Linux kernel Device-DAX facility
daxctl-create-device (1) - Create a devdax device
daxctl-destroy-device (1) - Destroy a devdax device
daxctl-disable-device (1) - Disables a devdax device
daxctl-enable-device (1) - Enable a devdax device
daxctl-list (1) - dump the platform Device-DAX regions, devices, and attributes in json.
daxctl-migrate-device-model (1) - Opt-in to the /sys/bus/dax device-model, allow for alternative Device-DAX instance drivers.
daxctl-offline-memory (1) - Offline the memory for a device that is in system-ram mode
daxctl-online-memory (1) - Online the memory for a device that is in system-ram mode
daxctl-reconfigure-device (1) - Reconfigure a dax device into a different mode
$ man -k cxl
cxl (1) - Provides enumeration and provisioning commands for CXL platforms
cxl-list (1) - List CXL capable memory devices, and their attributes in json.
cxl-read-labels (1) - read out the label area on a CXL memdev
cxl-write-labels (1) - write data to the label area on a memdev
cxl-zero-labels (1) - zero out the label area on a set of memdevs
cxl_new (3) - Create a new library context object that acts as a handle for all library operations
libcxl (3) - A library to interact with CXL devices through sysfs(5) and ioctl(2) interfaces
Additionally, executing ndctl help <command> can be used to display the man page for the command, eg:
$ ndctl help enable-dimm
Displaying Bus, NVDIMM, Region, and Namespace Information
The ndctl list command is a very powerful and feature rich command. A list of options is shown below:
$ ndctl list -?
Error: unknown switch `?'
usage: ndctl list [<options>]
-b, --bus <bus-id> filter by bus
-r, --region <region-id>
filter by region
-d, --dimm <dimm-id> filter by dimm
-n, --namespace <namespace-id>
filter by namespace id
-m, --mode <namespace-mode>
filter by namespace mode
-t, --type <region-type>
filter by region-type
-U, --numa-node <numa node>
filter by numa node
-B, --buses include bus info
-D, --dimms include dimm info
-F, --firmware include firmware info
-H, --health include dimm health
-R, --regions include region info
-N, --namespaces include namespace info (default)
-X, --device-dax include device-dax info
-C, --capabilities include region capability info
-i, --idle include idle devices
-c, --configured include configured namespaces, disabled or not
-M, --media-errors include media errors
-u, --human use human friendly number formats
-v, --verbose increase output detail
Using the filters is a powerful way to limit the output.
Examples
To list all active/enabled namespaces:
# ndctl list -N
To list all active/enabled regions:
# ndctl list -R
To list all active/enabled NVDIMMs:
# ndctl list -D
To list all active/enabled NVDIMMs, Regions, and Namespaces:
# ndctl list -DRN
To list all active/enabled and disabled/inactive (idle) NVDIMMs, Regions, and Namespaces:
# ndctl list -DRNi
To list all active/enabled and disabled/inactive (idle) NVDIMMs, Regions, and Namespaces with human readable values:
# ndctl list -iNuRD
Increasing output verbosity
The -v, --verbose option increases the output verbosity of the command. Using -vv or --vvv further increases the output and verbosity.
Note: If man -k ndctl returns "ndctl: nothing appropriate." or similar, see the section to manually build the indexes.
A list of man pages is available online. See , , and for a complete list.
