Starting CICS with the START=INITIAL parameter

If you specify START=INITIAL, CICS® performs an initial start as if you are starting a new region for the first time.

About this task

This initial start of a CICS region is different from a CICS region that initializes with a START=COLD parameter, as follows:

The state of the global catalog is ignored. It can contain either data from a previous run of CICS, or it can be newly initialized. Any previous data is purged.
The state of the system log is ignored. It can contain either data from a previous run of CICS, or it can reference new log streams. CICS does not keep any information saved in the system log from a previous run. The primary and secondary system log streams are purged and CICS begins writing a new system log.
Because CICS is starting a new catalog, it uses a new logname token in the exchange lognames process when connecting to partner systems. Thus, remote systems are notified that CICS has performed a cold start and cannot resynchronize.
User journals are not affected by starting CICS with the START=INITIAL parameter.

Note: An initial start can also result from a START=COLD parameter if the global catalog is newly initialized and does not contain a recovery manager control record. If the recovery manager finds that there is no control record on the catalog, it issues a message to the console prompting the operator to reply with a GO or CANCEL response. If the response is GO, CICS performs an initial start as if START=INITIAL was specified.

For more information about the effect of the state of the global catalog and the system log on the type of start CICS performs, see The role of the CICS catalogs.