The z/OS® NFS server acts as an intermediary to read, write, create or delete z/OS UNIX files and MVS™ data sets that are maintained on a z/OS host system. The remote MVS data sets or z/OS UNIX files are mounted from the host processor to appear as local directories and files on the client system. This server makes the strengths of an z/OS host processor (storage management, high-performance disk storage, security, and centralized data) available to the client platforms.
The NFS uses the communication services provided by TCP/IP, a suite of protocols that includes the remote procedure call (RPC) and external data representation (XDR) protocols. RPC allows a program on one machine to start a procedure on another machine, as if the procedure is local. XDR resolves the differences in data representation of different machines. The NFS, then, can be used for file sharing between platforms and file serving (as a data repository).