Objects are named streams of bytes that have no specific format or record orientation. Use the object access method (OAM) to store, access, and manage object data. You can use any type of data in an object because OAM does not recognize the content, format, or structure of the data. For example, an object can be a scanned image of a document, an engineering drawing, or a digital video. OAM objects are stored either on DASD in a DB2® database or in a UNIX file system (zFS or NFS), or on an optical or tape storage volume.

The storage administrator assigns objects to object storage groups and object backup storage groups. The object storage groups direct the objects to specific disk, optical, or tape locations, depending on their performance requirements. You can have one primary copy of an object and up to two backup copies of an object.

A Parallel Sysplex® allows you to access objects from all instances of OAM and from optical hardware within the sysplex. See Optical and Tape Volume Support for further information on support for objects stored on optical and tape volumes.

Related reading: For more information on objects, see z/OS DFSMS OAM Planning, Installation, and Storage Administration Guide for Object Support.