An error occurred adding a node to a cluster. The parameter is incorrect

Question

We originally had a two-node Failover cluster running on Windows Server 2012 R2 systems. We want to eventually upgrade the Windows OS on both nodes to Windows Server 2016. We then moved all cluster resources to one node, and we then evicted the inactive passive node from the cluster. Once evicted, we upgraded the OS to Windows Server 2016 on the evicted node. We now want to add the newly upgraded Windows Server 2016 node back to the existing Windows Server 2012 R2 cluster. Now, this is where we are stuck. When we try to add the newly upgraded node, it fails with "The parameter is incorrect"

Answer 1

Hi Kayaletu Ngwendu,

Thanks for your post. Please understand that nodes needs to be same in cluster, including the OS version. When you add the W2016 node to 2012 cluster, it occurred errors due to the different OS. The recommendation tool for updating cluster is CAU.

Generally speaking, cluster-Aware Updating is an automated feature that enables you to update servers in a failover cluster with little or no loss in availability during the update process. During an Updating Run, Cluster-Aware Updating transparently performs the following tasks:

1. Puts each node of the cluster into node maintenance mode.
2. Moves the clustered roles off the node.
3. Installs the updates and any dependent updates.
4. Performs a restart if necessary.
5. Brings the node out of maintenance mode.
6. Restores the clustered roles on the node.
7. Moves to update the next node.

Reference: Cluster-Aware Updating overview | Microsoft Learn

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

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Answer 2

Hey,

The issue can occur when authenticated don't have read permissions to the default Computers container. Should help: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/high-availability/parameter-incorrect-error-cluster-validation-fails

In addition, ensure that your storage is connected on the upgraded node. Might also help:
https://www.starwindsoftware.com/blog/cluster-rolling-upgrade-from-windows-server-2012-r2-to-windows-server-2016/

Cheers,

Alex Bykovskyi

StarWind Software

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