Is the inplace upgrade of the operating system of MSCS cluster nodes supported?

Anonymous
2024-12-20T02:11:48+00:00

Hello.

I have quite a few multi node SQL Always on MSCS clusters currently using Server 2016.

I've been reviewing the documentation on Cluster OS Rolling Update and it suggests that the in place upgrade of existing cluster nodes isn't supported and a strategy of evict, rebuild, join is recommended. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/failover-clustering/cluster-operating-system-rolling-upgrade

My question is, Is an in-place upgrade of an existing node (without evicting the node) a Microsoft supported upgrade strategy? For example an in place upgrade of Server 2016 to Server 2022.

Many thanks.

Chris

Windows for business | Windows Server | Storage high availability | Clustering and high availability

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-12-20T03:28:08+00:00

    Hi,

    While in-place upgrades are generally supported for standalone servers, they are not recommended for cluster nodes due to potential compatibility and stability issues. Your failover cluster may need to be stopped or restarted. The recommended approach is indeed to use the evict, rebuild, and join strategy.

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