2012R2 Cluster - Add host without downtime

Question

Essentially just want to confirm my current thoughts - have a 3-node 2012R2 Cluster. We are replacing two of the hosts. At the point when you add a new host to the cluster and run the validation, the storage tests are what take the VMs offline.

However, if I were to create an additional LUN, and add as an avaliable disk to the cluster (this LUN will contain no resources), and then only select this for the storage validation, I can avoid the downtime entirely?

That would probably invalidate the criteria for getting support from Microsoft for the cluster (because you've excluded storage components). Why not schedule this during a maintenance window? — joeqwerty, Feb 16 '15 at 22:53

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 17 '15 at 00:40

1

Yes, that is a reasonable way to still kind of test the storage without taking the cluster offline.

You could also skip the storage tests entirely if you wanted to. That is not uncommon for adding more hosts to a live cluster.

Of course if you have issues and need support, Microsoft will want you to run the full validation including testing all the storage.

answered Feb 17 '15 at 00:40

Grant

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You can also evict a cluster node without causing any downtime? – PnP Feb 17 '15 at 12:31
Yes (as long as the remaining nodes have the capacity to run everything). – Grant Feb 17 '15 at 16:51

2012R2 Cluster - Add host without downtime

1 Answers1