Get Smart with S.M.A.R.T (smartctl) commands and tests

Smartmontools is a suite of utilities designed for monitoring and managing the health and performance of storage devices, primarily hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs) and NVMe. It enables users to regularly check drive health, display detailed SMART attributes, run diagnostic tests, log SMART data and events, receive alerts for potential failures, integrate with monitoring systems, retrieve drive information, and conduct advanced diagnostics. By providing proactive monitoring and analysis capabilities, smartmontools help users anticipate and prevent storage device failures, ensuring the reliability and longevity of their storage infrastructure.
Without getting into more detailed information, let’s use it!

Installation

Installation of Smartctl in Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install smartmontools

Installation of Smartctl in Redhat / CentOS

sudo dnf install smartmontools

Start the Smartctl Service

For Ubuntu

sudo /etc/init.d/smartmontools start

For CentOS & RHEL

systemctl start smartd; chkconfig smartd on

Example 1: Check Whether Smart Capability is enabled or not for the disk

[root@box944 ~]# smartctl -i /dev/sda 

[OUTPUT]
smartctl 7.1 2019-12-30 r5022 [x86_64-linux-4.18.0-477.13.1.el8_8.x86_64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-19, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Crucial/Micron BX/MX1/2/3/500, M5/600, 1100 SSDs
Device Model:     Micron_M600_MTFDDAK1T0MBF
Serial Number:    15070ED1211C
LU WWN Device Id: 5 00a075 10ed1211c
Firmware Version: MU03
User Capacity:    1,024,209,543,168 bytes [1.02 TB]
Sector Sizes:     512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate:    Solid State Device
Form Factor:      2.5 inches
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ACS-3 T13/2161-D revision 4
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.2, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Mon May 13 03:23:27 2024 EDT
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

Where ‘/dev/sda’ is your hard disk. The last two lines in the above output show that SMART capability is enabled for the device.

Example 2: Enable Smart Capability for the disk.

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl -s on /dev/sda

[OUTPUT]
smartctl 7.1 2019-12-30 r5022 [x86_64-linux-4.18.0-477.13.1.el8_8.x86_64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-19, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF ENABLE/DISABLE COMMANDS SECTION ===
SMART Enabled.

Example 3: Disable Smart Capability for the disk.

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl -s on /dev/sda

[OUTPUT]
smartctl 7.1 2019-12-30 r5022 [x86_64-linux-4.18.0-477.13.1.el8_8.x86_64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-19, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF ENABLE/DISABLE COMMANDS SECTION ===
SMART Disabled. Use option -s with argument 'on' to enable it.

Example 4: Display Detailed Smart info for the disk.

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl -a /dev/sdb                     // For IDE drive
[root@nohost ~]# smartctl -a -d ata /dev/sdb              // For IDE drive

Example 5: Display Overall health of the Disk

[root@nohost ~]# sudo smartctl -H  /dev/sda

[OUTPUT]
smartctl 7.2 2020-12-30 r5155 [x86_64-linux-4.18.0-477.13.1.el8_8.x86_64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-20, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Health Status: OK

Example 6: Test Hard drive using long & short option.

Long Test

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl --test=long /dev/sda

[OUTPUT]
smartctl 7.2 2020-12-30 r5155 [x86_64-linux-4.18.0-477.13.1.el8_8.x86_64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-20, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF OFFLINE IMMEDIATE AND SELF-TEST SECTION ===
Sending command: "Execute SMART Extended self-test routine immediately in off-line mode".
Drive command "Execute SMART Extended self-test routine immediately in off-line mode" successful.
Testing has begun.
Please wait 13 minutes for test to complete.
Test will complete after Mon May 13 03:48:25 2024

Use smartctl -X to abort test.

OR We can redirect test output to a log file, as shown below.

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl --test=long /dev/sdb > /var/log/long.text

Short Test

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl --test=short /dev/sda

[OUTPUT]
smartctl 7.2 2020-12-30 r5155 [x86_64-linux-4.18.0-477.13.1.el8_8.x86_64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-20, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF OFFLINE IMMEDIATE AND SELF-TEST SECTION ===
Sending command: "Execute SMART Short self-test routine immediately in off-line mode".
Drive command "Execute SMART Short self-test routine immediately in off-line mode" successful.
Testing has begun.
Please wait 1 minutes for test to complete.
Test will complete after Sun Nov 16 12:51:45 2014

Use smartctl -X to abort test.

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl --test=short /dev/sda > /var/log/short.text

Note: Short tests will take maximum 2 minutes whereas in long tests there is no time restriction because it reads & verifies every segment of the entire disk.

Example 7: To View Drive’s Self Test result

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl -l selftest /dev/sda

[OUTPUT]
smartctl 7.2 2020-12-30 r5155 [x86_64-linux-4.18.0-477.13.1.el8_8.x86_64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-20, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1099         -
# 2  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      1099         -

Example 8: Calculate Estimate time to perform test

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl -c /dev/sda

[OUTPUT]
smartctl 7.0 2018-12-30 r4883 [x86_64-linux-3.10.0-1160.el7.x86_64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-18, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x80) Offline data collection activity
                                        was never started.
                                        Auto Offline Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status:      ( 249) Self-test routine in progress...
                                        90% of test remaining.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection:                ( 1492) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:                    (0x7b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
                                        Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
                                        Suspend Offline collection upon new
                                        command.
                                        Offline surface scan supported.
                                        Self-test supported.
                                        Conveyance Self-test supported.
                                        Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
                                        power-saving mode.
                                        Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01) Error logging supported.
                                        General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (   8) minutes.
Conveyance self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (   3) minutes.
SCT capabilities:              (0x0035) SCT Status supported.
                                        SCT Feature Control supported.
                                        SCT Data Table supported.

Example 9: Display Error logs of the disk

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl -l error  /dev/sda

[OUTPUT]
smartctl 7.0 2018-12-30 r4883 [x86_64-linux-3.10.0-1160.el7.x86_64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-18, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

Example 10: In case if you are using RAID, append the following to your command.

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl -i /dev/sda -d megaraid,0

// Append "-d megaraid,N" to your command. Where N is number of your drive you want to perform your test on.

Example 11: Get all information at once. This is the super command to get all information you get by running all the above commands at once.

[root@nohost ~]# smartctl --all -d megaraid,0 /dev/sda

[OUTPUT]
smartctl 7.0 2018-12-30 r4883 [x86_64-linux-3.10.0-1160.el7.x86_64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-18, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Crucial/Micron BX/MX1/2/3/500, M5/600, 1100 SSDs
Device Model:     Micron_M600_MTFDDAK1T0MBF
Serial Number:    15070ED1211C
LU WWN Device Id: 5 00a075 10ed1211c
Firmware Version: MU03
User Capacity:    1,024,209,543,168 bytes [1.02 TB]
Sector Sizes:     512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate:    Solid State Device
Form Factor:      2.5 inches
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ACS-3 T13/2161-D revision 4
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.2, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Mon May 13 04:04:46 2024 EDT
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Status not supported: ATA return descriptor not supported by controller firmware
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED
Warning: This result is based on an Attribute check.

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x80) Offline data collection activity
                                        was never started.
                                        Auto Offline Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status:      (   0) The previous self-test routine completed
                                        without error or no self-test has ever
                                        been run.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection:                ( 1496) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:                    (0x7b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
                                        Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
                                        Suspend Offline collection upon new
                                        command.
                                        Offline surface scan supported.
                                        Self-test supported.
                                        Conveyance Self-test supported.
                                        Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
                                        power-saving mode.
                                        Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01) Error logging supported.
                                        General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (   8) minutes.
Conveyance self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (   3) minutes.
SCT capabilities:              (0x0035) SCT Status supported.
                                        SCT Feature Control supported.
                                        SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x002f   100   100   000    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  5 Reallocate_NAND_Blk_Cnt 0x0032   100   100   010    Old_age   Always       -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       1100
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       12
171 Program_Fail_Count      0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
172 Erase_Fail_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
173 Ave_Block-Erase_Count   0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
174 Unexpect_Power_Loss_Ct  0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       12
180 Unused_Reserve_NAND_Blk 0x0033   000   000   000    Pre-fail  Always       -       7527
183 SATA_Interfac_Downshift 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
184 Error_Correction_Count  0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
187 Reported_Uncorrect      0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   079   073   000    Old_age   Always       -       21 (Min/Max 16/27)
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0030   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
202 Percent_Lifetime_Remain 0x0030   100   100   001    Old_age   Offline      -       0
206 Write_Error_Rate        0x000e   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
210 Success_RAIN_Recov_Cnt  0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
246 Total_Host_Sector_Write 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       46502448
247 Host_Program_Page_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       1535108
248 FTL_Program_Page_Count  0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       13372808

SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      1100         -
# 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1100         -
# 3  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1099         -
# 4  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      1099         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Completed [00% left] (500102316-500167851)
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

Other than the above-mentioned commands you can use any other set or combinations of commands to get details and test health of your attached drives. For details about all the commands, can be found by running smartctl -h or smartctl --help within your terminal.

If you seem that the SMARTCTL is complicated for you to understand and need to know about your drives with an easy understandable manner. You can check out our post about HDSentinel Tools. For other details and drive-related assistance, contact our team at BigBoxHost website.