Troubleshooting
Problem
You are not able to automatically restart the connection between CICS and DBCTL. It does not matter if DBCTL is up prior to CICS or not. You receive messages DFHDB8297 CICS/DBCTL connection being attempted, then DFS0690A to which you reply "wait" and then DFS0691I once a minute. DBCTL is shut down normal.
Cause
If the connection is not occurring during CICS startup then the CICS parameters are probably not set up correctly.
If IMS is WARM started (that is, nothing is wrong, applying maintenance, routine recycling, and so on) then CICS assumes there is work to be done in the database and does not automatically restart the connection. A manual restart of the connection is required (CDBC).
If IMS is EMERGENCY started, CICS assumes there was a problem and restarts the connection.
Resolving The Problem
If CICS and DBCTL do not connect during CICS startup, verify the system initialization table (SIT) parameter INITPARM=(DFHDBCON='T1') where T1 is the DBCTL subsystem name. Also, specify that DBCTLCON is set to YES. Specifying DBCTLCON=YES means you do not need to define the DBCTL attach program in the CICS post-initialization program list table (PLT). Refer to Connecting DBCTL to CICS automatically in the CICS information center for more details.
If IMS is brought down while CICS is still up and then IMS is WARM started, use transaction CDBC to manually restart the connection. Alternatively, use the DFHDBCTX exit to have the connection started. DFHDBCTX is the CICS-DBCTL control exit. The CICS IMS Database Control Guide states "If DBCTL is not yet available, the main CICS-supplied IMS control exit, DFHDBCTX, is invoked." Another option is to have automation issue a CDBC CONNECT command if the IMS space is WARM started.
Related Information
Product Synonym
CICS/TS CICS TS CICS Transaction Server
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Document Information
Modified date:
05 January 2026
UID
swg21067011