You will read about the shared file system capability in a multisystem sysplex environment. It is assumed that you already have completed the other setup activities for a sysplex environment. You will learn about the shared file system concept, the different file systems that exist in a sysplex, and how to establish that environment.

Although it is suggested that you exploit shared file system support when running in a sysplex environment, you are not required to do so. If you choose not to, you will continue to share file systems as you have before. To see how the file system structure has changed to support the shared file system environment, even when running on a single system, see Illustrating file systems in single system and sysplex environments.

z/OS Program Directory describes how IBM's integration test team implemented a shared file system.

Use the IBM® Health Checker for z/OS® to check the file system configuration, as described in IBM Health Checker for z/OS.