FDASD(8)

NAME
fdasd - partitioning tool.

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

DESCRIPTION
fdasd writes a partition table to a cdl (compatible disk layout) formatted 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.
Attention: Careless use of fdasd can result in loss of data.

OPTIONS

-h or --help
    Print usage information, then exit.

-v or --version
    Print version information, then exit.

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

-r or --verbose
    Provide more verbose output.

-a or --auto
    Automatically create a partition using the entire disk in non-interactive mode.

-k or --keep_volser
    Keeps the volume serial when writing the volume label.
    This is useful, if the volume serial has been written before and should not be overwritten. This option is only applicable in non-interactive mode.

-l volser or --label volser
    Specify the volume serial.
    volser is interpreted as ASCII string and is automatically converted to uppercase, padded with blanks and finally converted to EBCDIC to be written to disk. This option is only applicable in non-interactive mode.
    Do not use the following reserved volume serial: SCRTCH, PRIVAT, MIGRAT, or Lnnnnn (L with five digit number); These are used as keywords by other operating systems (OS/390).
    A volume serial is 1 through 6 alphanumeric characters or one of the following special characters: $, #, @, %. All other characters are simply ignored.
    Try to avoid using special characters in the volume serial. This may cause problems accessing a disk by volser. In case you really have to use special characters, make sure you are using quotes. In addition there is a special handling for the '$' sign. Please specify it using '\$' if necessary.
    e.g. -l 'a@b\$c#' to get A@B$C#
    Omitting this parameter causes fdasd to ask for it in case it is needed.

-c conf_file or --config conf_file
    This option enables you to create several partitions in non-interactive mode, controlled by the plain text configuration file conf_file.
    conf_file contains one line for each partition, using the following
     format:

    [x,y]
    where x is the the first track and y is the last track of that partition. Keyword first can be used to specify the first possible track and last for the last possible track on disk.
    The following is an example of a config file to create three partitions using the entire disk:

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

-i or --volser
    Print the volume serial, then exit.

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

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) or any other device node specification configured by udev for kernel 2.6 or higher.

BUGS
Please report bugs to linux390@de.ibm.com

SEE ALSO
dasdfmt(8)