The exports data set can control which client users can mount which MVS™ data sets. The entries in the exports data set specify which MVS high-level qualifiers or HFS directories can be mounted. The system administrator can use this data set to limit mounts to accredited clients only. It also controls which client users can mount all or part of the z/OS UNIX file system, based on the client machine's specified Internet Protocol (IP) address. To use the exports data set, the security site attribute must be set to either safexp or exports by the MVS system administrator.

In z/OS® V1R8, the exports data set also provides the function previously provided by the checklist data set: specifying files or directories that are exempt from System Authorization Facility (SAF) checking even though saf or safexp is specified as the security option.