How to retrieve hardware information using Dmidecode command

To get DMI types

-t or -type and id are used with Dmidecode to give the exact information and id 6 gives cache information.

[root@linuxhelp ~]# dmidecode -t 7
# dmidecode 2.12
SMBIOS 2.6 present.

Handle 0x0005, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
    Socket Designation: L1-Cache
    Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1
    Operational Mode: Write Back
    Location: Internal
    Installed Size: 32 kB
    Maximum Size: 32 kB
    Supported SRAM Types:
        Other
    Installed SRAM Type: Other
    Speed: Unknown
    Error Correction Type: None
    System Type: Unified
    Associativity: 8-way Set-associative

Handle 0x0006, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
    Socket Designation: L2-Cache
    Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 2
    Operational Mode: Varies With Memory Address
    Location: Internal
    Installed Size: 1024 kB
    Maximum Size: 1024 kB
    Supported SRAM Types:
        Other
    Installed SRAM Type: Other
    Speed: Unknown
    Error Correction Type: None
    System Type: Unified
    Associativity: 8-way Set-associative

Handle 0x0007, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
    Socket Designation: L3-Cache
    Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 3
    Operational Mode: Unknown
    Location: Internal
    Installed Size: 6144 kB
    Maximum Size: 6144 kB
    Supported SRAM Types:
        Other
    Installed SRAM Type: Other
    Speed: Unknown
    Error Correction Type: None
    System Type: Unified
    Associativity: Other

For DMI type details

[root@linuxhelp ~]# dmidecode --type
Type Information
----------------------------------------
0 BIOS
1 System
2 Base Board
3 Chassis
4 Processor
5 Memory Controller
6 Memory Module
7 Cache
8 Port Connector
9 System Slots
10 On Board Devices
11 OEM Strings
12 System Configuration Options
13 BIOS Language
14 Group Associations
15 System Event Log
16 Physical Memory Array
17 Memory Device
18 32-bit Memory Error
19 Memory Array Mapped Address
20 Memory Device Mapped Address
21 Built-in Pointing Device
22 Portable Battery
23 System Reset
24 Hardware Security
25 System Power Controls
26 Voltage Probe
27 Cooling Device
28 Temperature Probe
29 Electrical Current Probe
30 Out-of-band Remote Access
31 Boot Integrity Services
32 System Boot
33 64-bit Memory Error
34 Management Device
35 Management Device Component
36 Management Device Threshold Data
37 Memory Channel
38 IPMI Device
39 Power Supply

To list the available keywords

To list the available keywords -t arguement is used with dmidecode command as follows.

[root@linuxhelp ~]# dmidecode -t
Keyword     Types
       ------------------------------
       bios        0, 13
       system      1, 12, 15, 23, 32
       baseboard   2, 10
       chassis     3
       processor   4
       memory      5, 6, 16, 17
       cache       7
       connector   8
       slot        9

To Get Memory Information

[root@linuxhelp ~]# dmidecode -t 16
# dmidecode 2.12
SMBIOS 2.6 present.

Handle 0x0027, DMI type 16, 15 bytes
Physical Memory Array
    Location: System Board Or Motherboard
    Use: System Memory
    Error Correction Type: None
    Maximum Capacity: 32 GB
    Error Information Handle: No Error
    Number Of Devices: 2

[root@linuxhelp ~]# dmidecode -t bios
# dmidecode 2.12
SMBIOS 2.6 present.

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 24 bytes
BIOS Information
    Vendor: Intel Corp.
    Version: BEH6110H.86A.0044.2012.0531.1710
    Release Date: 05/31/2012
    Address: 0xF0000
    Runtime Size: 64 kB
    ROM Size: 1024 kB
    Characteristics:
        PCI is supported
        BIOS is upgradeable
        BIOS shadowing is allowed
        Boot from CD is supported
        Selectable boot is supported
        BIOS ROM is socketed
        EDD is supported
        5.25" /1.2 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
        3.5" /720 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
        3.5" /2.88 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
        Print screen service is supported (int 5h)
        8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)
        Serial services are supported (int 14h)
        Printer services are supported (int 17h)
        ACPI is supported
        USB legacy is supported
        BIOS boot specification is supported
        Targeted content distribution is supported

Handle 0x0026, DMI type 13, 22 bytes
BIOS Language Information
    Language Description Format: Long
    Installable Languages: 1
        en|US|iso8859-1
    Currently Installed Language: en|US|iso8859-1

[root@linuxhelp ~]# dmidecode -t system
# dmidecode 2.12
SMBIOS 2.6 present.

Handle 0x0025, DMI type 12, 5 bytes
System Configuration Options
    Option 1: To Be Filled By O.E.M.

Handle 0x0030, DMI type 32, 20 bytes
System Boot Information
    Status: No errors detected

Handle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 27 bytes
System Information
    Manufacturer:                                  
    Product Name:                                  
    Version:                                  
    Serial Number:                                  
    UUID: 6947584C-8709-E211-8BE6-505054503030
    Wake-up Type: Power Switch
    SKU Number: Not Specified
    Family: Not Specified