The Client/Server component of ISPF takes the form of an application called the ISPF Workstation Agent (WSA). The WSA runs on your local workstation and maintains a connection between the workstation and the ISPF host. The WSA provides:

• The ability to display the ISPF panels using the display function of your workstation operating system (known as running in GUI mode).
• The ability to edit host data on your workstation and workstation data on the host (known as distributed editing).

The WSA installation file is supplied with ISPF and must be downloaded from the host to the local workstation and then installed and initialized before these functions are available.