command is one in which the Link bit in the Command Descriptor Block is set. After successful completion of a linked command the drive sends an INTERMEDIATE status, followed by a LINKED COMMAND COMPLETE message. If the Flag bit was set in the Command Descriptor Block, the drive sends an INTERMEDIATE status, followed by a LINKED COMMAND COMPLETE (WITH FLAG) message. The drive then switches the bus to the command phase in order to receive the next command in the linked chain.
All commands in a linked chain are addressed to the same nexus and are part of a single task (I/O process). The drive defers any commands that are not part of the linked chain until the chain is complete. The last command in the chain has the Link bit cleared.
Note: Relative addressing is not supported by the Atlas 10K disk drive.