FDASD(8)

NAME
fdasd - partitioning tool.

SYNOPSIS
interactive mode:
     fdasd [-l volser] device
command line mode:
     fdasd [-s] {-p|-i|-a|-c conf_file} device
help:
     fdasd {-h|-?|-v}

DESCRIPTION
fdasd writes a partition table to a DASD, in the form of a VTOC (volume table of contents) for usage with Linux for S/390 or zSeries. If fdasd detects a valid VOL1 volume label, it will use it, otherwise it asks to write a new one.
WARNING: Careless usage of fdasd can result in LOSS OF DATA.
WARNING: After the creation of new partitions it is advisable to also create new filesystems in order to prevent accidental use of an old superblock.

OPTIONS

-h or --help
    Print usage and exit.

-? or --help
    Print usage and exit.

-v or --version
    Print version number and exit.

-p or --table
    Print partition table and exit. In combination with the -s option fdasd will display a short version of the partition table.

-i or --volser
    Print the volume serial and exit.

-s or --silent
    Suppresses messages in non-interactive mode.

--verbose
    Gives some more messages than usual.

-a or --auto
    Auto-create one partition using the whole disk in non-interactive mode.

-l volser or --label volser
    Specify the volume serial number or volume identifier to be written to disk in case fdasd detects an invalid volume label. volser is interpreted as ASCII string and is automatically converted to uppercase and then to EBCDIC.
    e.g. -l LNX001
    The volser identifies by serial number the volume on which the partition resides or will reside. A volume serial number is 1 through 6 alphanumeric or one of the following special characters: $, #, @, %. Enclose a serial number that contains special characters in apostrophes. If the number is shorter than six characters, it is padded with trailing blanks.
    Do not code a volume serial number as SCRTCH, PRIVAT, or Lnnnnn (L with five numbers); these are used in OS/390 messages to ask the operator to mount a volume. Do not code a volume serial number as MIGRAT, which is used by the OS/390 Hierarchical Storage Manager DFSMShsm for migrated data sets.
    Omitting this parameter causes fdasd to ask for it in case it is needed.
    NOTE: Try to avoid using special characters in the volume serial. This may cause problems accessing a disk by volser.
    In case you really have to use special characters, make sure you are using quotes. In addition there is a special handling for the '$' sign. Please specify it using '\$' if necessary.
    e.g. -l 'a@b\$c#' to get A@B$C#

-c conf_file or --config conf_file
    This option enables you to create several partitions, controlled by the plain text configuration file conf_file.
    Using this option fdasd automatically switches in non-interactive mode and creates all the partitions specified in conf_file.
    conf_file contains the following line for each partition you want to create:

    [x,y]
    where x is the keyword first, for the first possible track on disk, or a track number. And y is either the keyword last, for the last possible track on disk, or also a track number.
    Following is an example of a config file, which enables you to create three partitions:

    [first,1000]
    [1001,2000]
    [2001,last]

device
    This parameter specifies the device to be partitioned:

        /dev/dasd/xxxx/device
    where xxxx is the four-letter devno (device number).
    In case your are not using the device file system, please specify:

        /dev/dasdx
    where x is one or more lowercase letter(s).

BUGS
None so far ;-)

AUTHOR
This man-page was written by Volker Sameske <sameske@de.ibm.com>