smartctl(1m) on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs
smartctl is not in the Solnix base system: install pkgs.solnix.smartmontools. The Solnix page is smartmontools' Solaris build, and its option list matches the Linux page. The differences that bite are the device paths (/dev/rdsk/c?t?d?s? instead of /dev/sd*) and the NVMe and RAID-controller coverage, which the visible Solnix text does not document.
The manual pages
- Solnix: smartctl(1m) from
pkgs.solnix.smartmontools - Linux: smartctl(8) smartmontools-7.5
What Solnix runs
Not installed by default: add pkgs.solnix.smartmontools. The page says it is generated for the Solaris version of smartmontools. No other illumos variant is shipped. Its SCAN section refers to smartd(1m) for platform-specific scanning and the DEVICESCAN directive.
Differences
| Compared with | Topic | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | device paths | Solnix names devices /dev/rdsk/c?t?d?s? for IDE/ATA and SCSI disks and /dev/rmt/* for SCSI tape. Linux uses /dev/sd[a-z] for disks and /dev/nst* or /dev/sg* for tape and changers. Linux device names in scripts must be changed. Source: Solnix smartctl(1m) DESCRIPTION (SOLARIS device paths); Linux smartctl(8) DESCRIPTION (LINUX device paths) |
| Linux | NVMe devices | The Linux page names /dev/nvme[0-9] and /dev/nvme[0-9]n[1-9] for NVMe, and gives NVMe forms of -i and -a. The visible Solnix text names no NVMe device path and has no NVMe note for -i or -a. Whether NVMe works is not stated.Source: Linux smartctl(8) DESCRIPTION, -i, -a; Solnix smartctl(1m) DESCRIPTION, -i, -a |
| Linux | RAID controller device nodes | The Linux page lists device nodes for 3ware, HighPoint RocketRAID, Areca and HP Smart Array (cciss, hpsa, hpahcisr) controllers. The visible Solnix text lists none, so use -d per the Solnix manual and do not copy the Linux node names.Source: Linux smartctl(8) DESCRIPTION (LINUX paragraph); Solnix smartctl(1m) DESCRIPTION (SOLARIS paragraph) |
| Linux | -a on NVMe | On Linux, -a for NVMe is equivalent to '-H -i -c -A -l error -l selftest'. The Solnix page documents -a only for ATA and SCSI.Source: Linux smartctl(8) -a; Solnix smartctl(1m) -a |
| Linux | -x and -g wcreorder | For ATA, the Solnix -x expansion includes '-g wcreorder'. The Linux page (smartmontools 7.5) removes it from -x because support cannot be checked, and marks that change as experimental. -x output can differ between the two.Source: Solnix smartctl(1m) -x; Linux smartctl(8) -x ([NEW EXPERIMENTAL SMARTCTL 7.5 FIX]) |
| Linux | same program and options | Both pages describe smartctl from smartmontools with the same synopsis 'smartctl [options] device' and the same extracted option list, including --json, --scan, --scan-open, -d, -l and -x. Option syntax carries over; the device names and platform features differ.Source: Solnix smartctl(1m) SYNOPSIS, OPTIONS; Linux smartctl(8) SYNOPSIS, OPTIONS |
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | BSD counterparts | The bundle has no FreeBSD, OpenBSD or NetBSD page for smartctl. The manual gives no BSD comparison, so none is made here. Source: bundle header (only a Linux counterpart is listed) |
Standards
- POSIX: smartctl is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
- Solnix: The page says this version of smartctl is compatible with ACS-3, ACS-2, ATA8-ACS, ATA/ATAPI-7 and earlier standards.
- Linux: The Linux page gives the same ACS-3, ACS-2, ATA8-ACS and ATA/ATAPI-7 compatibility statement.
Writing portable scripts
- Take the device path from a variable or from smartctl
--scan. Solnix uses /dev/rdsk/c?t?d?s? and Linux uses /dev/sd*. - Check that smartctl exists before calling it. On Solnix it is absent until pkgs.solnix.smartmontools is installed.
Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.