IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Services and service-related functions > Access external services with adapters > Configure and using adapters > IBM WebSphere Adapters > Flat Files > Overview of WebSphere Adapter for Flat Files > Technical overview > Inbound processing
File store
The file store is a persistent cache where event files are saved until the polling adapter can process them. The adapter uses file store to track inbound files in the system. Each time a file is created, updated, or deleted the adapter updates the status of the file in the file store.
The file store mechanism provides the following advantages for the adapter:
- When multiple adapters are running in a clustered environment, the file store enables sharing of file processing work. Also, it avoids duplicate file processing by multiple adapter instances.
- The adapter can process large files (files of any size).
When the adapter polls the local file system, it creates an entry in the file store for each event file that matches the search criteria specified in the activation specification properties. The adapter records the status of each new entry as NEW in the event table.
Figure 1. File management flow 
- File table structure
The adapter uses the file table to read, track, and record the details of the event files that are being polled from the event directory.