Forward recovery log failure

If a general log that is being used by CICS® as a forward recovery log (or for automatic logging) fails, CICS ensures that any files that were using that log are closed, and that appropriate messages are issued to warn operators.

For example, if there is a hardware failure that affects a forward recovery log, CICS prevents access to all the files for all the data sets that are using that log. How CICS prevents access to the files depends on whether they are open in RLS or non-RLS mode:

RLS access-mode files: CICS uses its RLS quiesce mechanism to initiate the closure actions across the sysplex.
Non-RLS access-mode files: A CICS region detecting the failure closes only its own open ACBs. It also marks the data set as unavailable.

The associated messages recommend that a new backup of the affected data sets must be made. This is because the failure of the forward recovery log means that it cannot be used if forward recovery becomes necessary. New backup copies of the actual data sets, which at this stage are unaffected by the failure, ensure that the failed logs are redundant.

When backup copies have been made, processing can resume with different forward recovery logs.