Accessing Your Directories or Minidisks
When you use the Shared File System, the directories within your file space are usually accessed so that you can manipulate them using CMS commands. If your files are stored on minidisks and are not permanently linked you must link to the minidisks before you can access them. Permanent links are those which have been established for you through your z/VM directory entry. These minidisks are then a part of your virtual machine configuration every time you log on.
By accessing directories and establishing a file mode letter for them, you can save time typing many commands. If a command accepts a file mode, you can simply specify the file mode, rather than the entire directory name, to process the command.
- Which directories or minidisks are to contain the new files that you create.
- Whether you can write on a minidisk or whether you can only read from it (its read/write status).
- The command search order for programs executing in your virtual machine. (For more information, see File Mode Letters and Numbers.)
query accessed
You
will see a display like this: Mode Stat Files Vdev Label/Directory
A R/W 3 DIR VMSYSU:VMUSER.
C/A R/O 765 19C 19CSP6
S R/O 1321 190 CMS6.0
Y/S R/O 337 19E 19ESP6
The disk accessed as mode A, your A-disk, is your default disk. If you use a CMS command and do not specify a mode, your A disk will be assumed. It is in R/W (read/write) mode. For minidisks, you can only store files on disks you have accessed in R/W mode. For SFS, you need to have write authority to the directory to create a new file, and write authority to the file to update an existing file. Generally the owner of the directory has such authority, the exception being when the file pool is under the control of an external security manager (ESM), which is a program which either augments or completely replaces the authorization checking done by the file pool server. You can check with your system administrator to see if you have an ESM active on your system.
You can tell, from this display, whether your A disk is space in
an SFS file pool or a minidisk. If, in row A
, in
the Vdev
column, you see a DIR
or DIRC
,
rather than a virtual device number, you are an SFS user. You may
also be a minidisk user, but your main disk space is within an SFS
file pool.
For more information on SFS linking and accessing, see Getting Started - Accessing Your Top Directory and Accessing Another User's Directory. For minidisks, see Linking and Sharing Minidisks.
- List your accessed directories and minidisks in a full screen format, using the DIRLIST command with the MDISK and ACCESSED options. For more information, see Listing the Structure of a Directory with DIRLIST, or see the DIRLIST command in z/VM: CMS Commands and Utilities Reference.
- Access minidisks and directories with the VMLINK command, which finds free access modes (see Linking and Accessing with VMLINK, and z/VM: CMS Commands and Utilities Reference).