This blog will discuss the proper process for shutting down an individual node in a Windows Server 2012 R2 Failover Cluster or the entire cluster with all the nodes. Note: While the steps outlined will be specific to Windows Server 2012 R2, the process applies to a cluster of any OS version.
When shutting down or rebooting a node in a Failover Cluster, you first want to drain (move off) any roles running on that server (such as a virtual machine). This ensures that the shutting down of a node is graceful to any applications running on that node.
When the node is once again powered on and ready to be put back into service, use the Resume action to re-enable the node to host roles.
Or if you wish to fail back the roles which were previously running on this node type:
Resume-ClusterNode –Failback Immediate
Shutting down the entire cluster involves stopping all roles and then stopping the Cluster Service on all nodes. While you can shut down each node in the cluster individually, using the cluster UI will ensure the shutdown is done gracefully.
When the cluster is shut down, the VMs will be placed in a Saved state. This can be controlled using the OfflineAction property.
To configure the shut down action for an individual VM (where "Virtual Machine" is the name of the VM):
Get-ClusterResource "Virtual Machine" | Set-ClusterParameter OfflineAction 1
Value | Effect |
0 | The VM is turned off |
1 (default) | The VM is saved |
2 | The guest OS is shut down |
3 | The guest OS is shut down forcibly |
Thanks!
Elden Christensen
Principal PM Manager
Clustering & High-Availability
Microsoft
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