%20on%20IBM%20i%20AS400.png "Introduction to IFS(Integrated File System) on IBM i AS400") |
| Introduction to IFS(Integrated File System) on IBM i AS400 |
What is IFS?
The Integrated File System (IFS) is a part of the IBM i that supports stream input/output and storage management and provides a feature to access specific segments of storage.
Types of file system
QNTC: The QNTC file system provides access to data and objects that are stored on an Integrated xSeries Server (IXS) running Windows NT 4.0 and on any remote servers running Windows NT 4.0.
NFS: The Network File System (NFS) provides the user with access to data and objects that are stored on a remote NFS server.
UDFS: A user-defined file system (UDFS) is a file system that is defined by the user and can be created and managed by the user.
QFileSvr.400: QFileSvr.400 file system provides access to objects stored in the IBM i remote server.
QOPT: The QOPT file system provides access to stream data that is stored on optical media.
QDLS: The QDLS file system supports the folders structure and provides access to documents and folders.
IASP QSYS.lib: The independent ASP QSYS.LIB file system provides the library structure in independent auxiliary storage pools (ASPs) installed on IBM i machine.
QSYS.LIB: The QSYS.LIB file system supports the IBM i library structure and provides access to all objects and libraries.
QOpenSys: Open systems file system (QOpenSys) is accessed and more compatible with UNIX operating systems such as POSIX.
Root: The root file system is the main hierarchical file that contains the files and directories critical for system operation, including the device directory and programs for booting the system.
Key features of Integrated File System (IFS)
Stream file support
Support for storing information in stream files that can contain long continuous strings of data.
Hierarchical directory structure
Integrated File System (IFS) provides a directory structure in which you can access an object by specifying the path through the directory to the object.
Common interface
Common interface deals with the different file systems and enables users and applications to access all objects that are stored on your system.
Common view
The Common view is defined as where all users look at IFS in the same way and same view.
Structure of IFS on IBM i
All objects are created and stored files in the library and which we can access through the IFS using QSYS.LIB. Also, we can access stream files stored inside the directories and access an object by specifying the path through the directory to the object. Also, we have documents inside the folder and folders in QDLS.
Why do we use IFS?
We should use IFS because it has a Common interface that deals with several file systems and enables users and applications to access all objects that are stored on your system. It supports stream input/output and storage management and provides a feature to access specific segments of storage. It has fast access and open scope for future technologies.