Appendix M. Directory Transfers

The platform server supports directory transfers for both send and receive requests.

The following types of files support directory transfer:

  • z/OS sequential data sets
  • z/OS libraries (specifically PDS/PDSE)
  • z/OS UNIX file system

The platform server determines whether a file transfer request is a directory request based on the local and remote file names. The platform server supports both send and receive directory transfers.

For a send transfer, the platform server scans the local file name for the wildcard character "*". If the wildcard character is present in the local file name, the transfer is a directory transfer. Then, the platform server scans through the z/OS catalog, HFS file system, or PDS/PDSE, and initiates a file transfer request for any transfer that meets the selection criteria. After that, the platform server updates the remote file name with information from the local file extracted.

For a receive transfer, the platform server scans the remote file name for the wildcard character "*". If the wildcard character is present in the remote file name, the transfer is a directory transfer. Then, the platform server sends a request to the remote platform server system to extract files that match the selection criteria, and initiates a file transfer request for any transfer that meets the selection criteria. After that, the platform server updates the local file name with information from the file extracted from the remote platform server system.

Note: To preserve system resources, the platform server for z/OS limits the amount of storage used to hold file names for directory transfers. For example, if the average file name length is 64 bytes, the platform server for z/OS can send or receive approximately 2,000 files.