The sdparm utility accesses SCSI device parameters. When the SCSI device
is a disk, sdparm's role is similar to its namesake: the Linux hdparm
utility which is primarily designed for ATA disks that had device names
starting with "hd". More generally sdparm can be used to access parameters
on any device that uses a SCSI command set. Apart from SCSI disks, such
devices include CD/DVD drives (irrespective of transport), SCSI and ATAPI
tape drives and SCSI enclosures. A small set of commands associated with
starting and stopping the media, loading and unloading removable media
and some other housekeeping functions can also be sent with this utility.