ls SYS1.PARMLIB or Mainframe FS from Hitachi

Hi,

Hitachi Ltd. Japan has developed a Mainframe OS compatible file system on Linux, and will make the source code available in GPL.

The file system is named "mainframe file system" or mffs for short and can access disks formatted by Hitachi's VOS3 operating system and its compatibles : )

Reading and writing a plain sequential file
(DSORG=PS RECFM=F,FB,V,VB in mainframe jargon) is possible. Partitioned dataset members
(Do not care if it dose not make sense to you.)
can be read.
Ebcdic to ascii character code translation can be performed. So, for example, you can cat SYS1.PARMLIB/IAASYS00.
File metadata update is still under development, so you cannot create nor extend a file.

Mainframe file system is designed in hope to replace lengthy file transfer batch jobs. Existing mainframe volumes can be mounted and accessed directly from Linux running on mainframes.

Let me say again. NO FILE TRANSFERS from/to mainframes.

Hitachi has modified the disk driver code under drivers/s390/block so that mffs can issue arbitrary disk commands such as READ TRACK.

All the source code will be available in GPL in May 2002 under http://www.hitachi.co.jp/Prod/comp/soft1/linux_m/download.html

References
[1] Hitachi's press release in Japanese language
http://www.hitachi.co.jp/New/cnews/2001/1002/index.html
[2] Nikkei Linux article in Japanese, Dec. 2001, Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.
[3] Mainframe file system on Windows NT and AIX - Towards heterogeneous cluster file share?, Motohiro Kanda, CMG (Computer Measurement Group) 1999 Annual Conference, in English

Hope you like it.
--
[email protected]
Motohiro Kanda Hitachi Ltd. Japan