IOA Access Method

Certain INCONTROL products have files that are managed using an internal file access process called the IOA Access Method.

IOA Access Method files are sequential datasets with an indexed, or keyed, file structure that offers enhanced data integrity. They are managed (for example, allocated, formatted, and accessed) using a special set of IOA utilities. For more information, see the INCONTROL for z/OS Utilities Guide.

Most IOA Access Method files consist of two separate sequential datasets:

• a data component, where the actual information resides
• an index component that provides keyed access to records in the data component

Some IOA Access Method files contain only an index or data component.

Both index and data information are stored in a compressed format that reduces I/O processing overhead and improves disk space utilization.

The IOA Access Method provides dual mirror image file support. This mechanism enables a quick recovery of IOA Access Method files if a disk crash occurs on a disk that contains IOA Access Method primary files.

For a description of the IOA Access Method, see IOA Administration.