Add or remove nodes to a standalone Service Fabric cluster running on Windows Server

Article
08/22/2024

After you have created your standalone Service Fabric cluster on Windows Server machines, your (business) needs may change and you will need to add or remove nodes to your cluster, as described in this article.

Note

Node addition and removal functionality is not supported in local development clusters.

Add nodes to your cluster

Prepare the VM/machine you want to add to your cluster by following the steps outlined in Plan and prepare your Service Fabric cluster deployment.
Identify which fault domain and upgrade domain you are going to add this VM/machine to.

If you use certificates to secure the cluster, certificates are expected to be installed in the local certificate stores in preparation for the node to join the cluster. The analog is applicable when using other forms of security.
Remote desktop (RDP) into the VM/machine that you want to add to the cluster.
Copy or download the standalone package for Service Fabric for Windows Server to the VM/machine and unzip the package.
Run PowerShell with elevated privileges and go to the location of the unzipped package.
Run the AddNode.ps1 script with the parameters describing the new node to add. The following example adds a new node called VM5, with type NodeType0 and IP address 182.17.34.52, into UD1 and fd:/dc1/r0. ExistingClusterConnectionEndPoint is a connection endpoint for a node already in the existing cluster, which can be the IP address of any node in the cluster.

Unsecure (prototyping):
```
.\AddNode.ps1 -NodeName VM5 -NodeType NodeType0 -NodeIPAddressorFQDN 182.17.34.52 -ExistingClientConnectionEndpoint 182.17.34.50:19000 -UpgradeDomain UD1 -FaultDomain fd:/dc1/r0 -AcceptEULA
```
Secure (certificate-based):
```
$CertThumbprint= "***********************"

.\AddNode.ps1 -NodeName VM5 -NodeType NodeType0 -NodeIPAddressorFQDN 182.17.34.52 -ExistingClientConnectionEndpoint 182.17.34.50:19000 -UpgradeDomain UD1 -FaultDomain fd:/dc1/r0 -X509Credential -ServerCertThumbprint $CertThumbprint  -AcceptEULA
```
When the script finishes running, you can check whether the new node has been added by running the Get-ServiceFabricNode cmdlet.
To ensure consistency across different nodes in the cluster, you must initiate a configuration upgrade. Run Get-ServiceFabricClusterConfiguration to get the latest configuration file and add the newly added node to the "Nodes" section. It is also recommended to always have the latest cluster configuration available in case you need to redeploy a cluster that has the same configuration.
```
{
    "nodeName": "vm5",
    "iPAddress": "182.17.34.52",
    "nodeTypeRef": "NodeType0",
    "faultDomain": "fd:/dc1/r0",
    "upgradeDomain": "UD1"
}
```
Run Start-ServiceFabricClusterConfigurationUpgrade to begin the upgrade.
```
Start-ServiceFabricClusterConfigurationUpgrade -ClusterConfigPath <Path to Configuration File>
```
You can monitor the progress of the upgrade on Service Fabric Explorer. Alternatively, you can run Get-ServiceFabricClusterUpgrade.

Add nodes to clusters configured with Windows Security using gMSA

For clusters configured with Group Managed Service Account(gMSA)(https://technet.microsoft.com/library/hh831782.aspx), a new node can be added using a configuration upgrade:

Run Get-ServiceFabricClusterConfiguration on any of the existing nodes to get the latest configuration file and add details about the new node you want to add in the "Nodes" section. Make sure the new node is part of the same group managed account. This account should be an Administrator on all machines.
```
{
    "nodeName": "vm5",
     "iPAddress": "182.17.34.52",
     "nodeTypeRef": "NodeType0",
     "faultDomain": "fd:/dc1/r0",
     "upgradeDomain": "UD1"
}
```
Run Start-ServiceFabricClusterConfigurationUpgrade to begin the upgrade.
```
Start-ServiceFabricClusterConfigurationUpgrade -ClusterConfigPath <Path to Configuration File>
```
You can monitor the progress of the upgrade on Service Fabric Explorer. Alternatively, you can run Get-ServiceFabricClusterUpgrade

Add node types to your cluster

In order to add a new node type, modify your configuration to include the new node type in "NodeTypes" section under "Properties" and begin a configuration upgrade using Start-ServiceFabricClusterConfigurationUpgrade. Once the upgrade completes, you can add new nodes to your cluster with this node type.

Remove nodes from your cluster

A node can be removed from a cluster using a configuration upgrade, in the following manner:

Run Get-ServiceFabricClusterConfiguration to get the latest configuration file and remove the node from "Nodes" section. Add the "NodesToBeRemoved" parameter to "Setup" section inside "FabricSettings" section. The "value" should be a comma-separated list of node names of nodes that need to be removed.

 "fabricSettings": [
     {
     "name": "Setup",
     "parameters": [
         {
         "name": "FabricDataRoot",
         "value": "C:\\ProgramData\\SF"
         },
         {
         "name": "FabricLogRoot",
         "value": "C:\\ProgramData\\SF\\Log"
         },
         {
         "name": "NodesToBeRemoved",
         "value": "vm0, vm1"
         }
     ]
     }
 ]

Run Start-ServiceFabricClusterConfigurationUpgrade to begin the upgrade.
```
Start-ServiceFabricClusterConfigurationUpgrade -ClusterConfigPath <Path to Configuration File>
```
You can monitor the progress of the upgrade on Service Fabric Explorer. Alternatively, you can run Get-ServiceFabricClusterUpgrade.

Note

Removal of nodes may initiate multiple upgrades. Some nodes are marked with IsSeedNode=”true” tag and can be identified by querying the cluster manifest using Get-ServiceFabricClusterManifest. Removal of such nodes may take longer than others since the seed nodes will have to be moved around in such scenarios. The cluster must maintain a minimum of 3 primary node type nodes.

Remove node types from your cluster

Before removing a node type, check if there are any nodes referencing the node type. Remove these nodes before removing the corresponding node type. Once all corresponding nodes are removed, you can remove the NodeType from the cluster configuration and begin a configuration upgrade using Start-ServiceFabricClusterConfigurationUpgrade.

Replace primary nodes of your cluster

The replacement of primary nodes should be performed one node after another, instead of removing and then adding in batches.

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