For tracing observability, the kernel provides a way to describe the type of each I/O using a character string named rwbs. This is defined in the kernel blk_fill_rwbs() function, and uses the characters:

  • R: Read
  • W: Write
  • M: Metadata
  • S: Synchronous
  • A: Read-ahead
  • F: Flush or Force Unit Access • D: Discard
  • E: Erase