NVME-FEAT-ARBITRAT(1) NVMe Manual NVME-FEAT-ARBITRAT(1)

nvme-feat-arbitration - Get and set arbitration feature

nvme [<global-options>] feat arbitration <device>
                        [--ab=<ab> | -a <ab>] [--lpw=<lpw> | -l <lpw>]
                        [--mpw=<mpw> | -m <mpw>] [--hpw=<hpw> | -h <hpw>]
                        [--sel=<select> | -S <select>] [--save | -s]

Get and set arbitration feature.

The <device> parameter is mandatory and may be either the NVMe character device (ex: /dev/nvme0), or a namespace block device (ex: /dev/nvme0n1).

If any of the setting options (--ab, --lpw, --mpw, or --hpw) are specified, the command will update the arbitration configuration. If none of these options are specified, it will retrieve and display the current configuration.

On success it returns 0, error code otherwise.

-a <ab>, --ab=<ab>

Arbitration Burst. Specifies the maximum number of commands that the controller may launch at one time from a submission queue.

-l <lpw>, --lpw=<lpw>

Low Priority Weight. Specifies the low priority service weight.

-m <mpw>, --mpw=<mpw>

Medium Priority Weight. Specifies the medium priority service weight.

-h <hpw>, --hpw=<hpw>

High Priority Weight. Specifies the high priority service weight.

-S <select>, --sel=<select>

Select (SEL): This field specifies which value of the attributes to return in the provided data:

-s, --save

Save the attribute so that it persists through all power states and resets.

The following options are defined at the top-level nvme command and are available to this subcommand:

--dry-run

Print the command that would be executed, but do not actually execute it.

--no-ioctl-probing

Disable probing for 64-bit IOCTL support.

--no-retries

Disable retry logic on transient errors.

-o <fmt>, --output-format=<fmt>

Set the reporting format to normal, tabular, 'json, or binary. Only one output format may be used at a time.

--output-format-version=<version>

Select the output format version. Version 1 uses the original field naming, while version 2 (default) provides more consistent and script-friendly field names.

--timeout=<ms>

Set the timeout for the command in milliseconds.

-v, --verbose

Increase the level of detail in the output. May be specified multiple times to further increase verbosity.

These options can also be set as machine-wide defaults in nvme-cli.conf(5). A command-line flag always overrides the file.

•Has the program issue a feat arbitration to get the current configuration: 
# nvme feat arbitration /dev/nvme0
•Has the program issue a feat arbitration to set arbitration burst and weights: 
# nvme feat arbitration /dev/nvme0 --ab=2 --lpw=10 --mpw=20 --hpw=30 --save

Part of the nvme-user suite.

09/07/2026 NVMe