You recently added another new application to your iSeries (System i) that uses IFS directories to store data. You already had Domino information in the IFS, not to mention iSeries Access data. The IFS area continues to evolve and take up more and more of your disk space. Now, the big question is this: Do you have the tools needed to monitor and track the growth of IFS directories on your iSeries?

Many of the tools we typically use to track disk space look only at overall disk space consumption or only at space used by libraries. However, disk space consumption on this platform has changed considerably. IBM continues to put more and more applications into the directories on an iSeries. Domino, WebSphere, and iSeries Access are just a few examples. What if you use SAP or EnterpriseOne on an iSeries? They, too, store data in the IFS. And any product that converts spooled files to PDF puts the PDF conversions in this area.

It's actually very easy to look at the IFS. Just use the WRKLNK command to see the directories on your system. The command also displays libraries and the old folder system (called QDOC). However, you don't have to worry about managing these two file systems; your old methods still work fine.

To monitor IFS growth, we recommend Robot/SPACE. It has an easy-to-use Java Explorer that allows you to open all your directories. You can use Robot/SPACE to view actual directory sizes, establish rules that define which directories you want to see, and report on their growth. Then, you can specify an action to take if the directory exceeds the defined threshold level, based on growth percentage or size. A collection definition establishes these rules (see Figure 1 and Figure 2).

Figure 1: Collections allow you to see your directories. (Click images to enlarge.)

Figure 2: Collection definition events can warn you about growth increases.

Finding Files in the IFS

Can you find the largest files in your IFS? After Robot/SPACE has completed a collection on a directory, you can use Robot/QUERY to build a list of the top files across all your IFS directories. This gives you a nice list of objects to watch or even remove from the system. In addition, the graphical interface allows you to copy and paste data from the Explorer into your favorite spreadsheet application. Robot/SPACE also has an IFS age audit for removing or listing out old, unused IFS files (see Figure 3). This could substantially clean this area up.

Figure 3: Use Storage Audits to remove old IFS Objects.

Robot/SPACE provides a great insight into the IFS. Give it a 30-day free trial. And check out Help/Systems' other offerings in the MC Showcase Buyer's Guide.

Tom Huntington is Vice President of Technical Services for Help/Systems, Inc.
He can be reached at 952.563.1606 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Tom Huntington is Executive Vice President of Technical Solutions at HelpSystems, and has been with the company for nearly 30 years. He works with business alliances, acquisitions and large customer relationships and ensures that the HelpSystems software works with other major software and hardware vendors worldwide.

Tom often speaks on enterprise scheduling, security, automation topics, IBM i technology, and the HelpSystems products, and hosts technical presentations on a variety of automation topics. He is the author of the HelpSystems IBM i Marketplace Survey and has written articles on automated operations, security, cloud computing, and business intelligence for leading trade journals and newsletters. He was named an IBM Champion in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 for over three decades of advocation and thought leadership on the IBM i platform.

Contact Tom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..