![NetApp HCI Manual Download Page 20](http://html1.mh-extra.com/html/netapp/hci/hci_manual_1669957020.webp)
Witness Nodes
NetApp HCI Witness Nodes are virtual machines that run on compute nodes in parallel with an Element
software-based storage cluster. Witness Nodes do not host slice or block services. A Witness Node enables
storage cluster availability in the event of a storage node failure. You can manage and upgrade Witness Nodes
in the same way as other storage nodes. A storage cluster can have up to four Witness Nodes. Their primary
purpose is to ensure that enough cluster nodes exist to form a valid ensemble quorum.
Learn more about
Witness Node resource requirements
and
.
In a two-node storage cluster, a minimum of two Witness Nodes are deployed for
redundancy in the event of a Witness Node failure. When the NetApp HCI installation
process installs Witness Nodes, a virtual machine template is stored in VMware vCenter that
you can use to redeploy a Witness Node in case it is accidentally removed, lost, or
corrupted. You can also use the template to redeploy a Witness Node if you need to replace
a failed compute node that was hosting the Witness Node. For instructions, see the
Redeploy Witness Nodes for two and three-node storage clusters
section
.
Find more information
•
NetApp HCI Two-Node Storage Cluster | TR-4823
•
NetApp Element Plug-in for vCenter Server
•
SolidFire and Element Software Documentation Center
Storage
Maintenance mode
If you need to take a storage node offline for maintenance such as software upgrades or
host repairs, you can minimize the I/O impact to the rest of the storage cluster by
enabling maintenance mode for that node. You can use maintenance mode with both
appliance nodes as well as SolidFire Enterprise SDS nodes.
You can only transition a storage node to maintenance mode if the node is healthy (has no blocking cluster
faults) and the storage cluster is tolerant to a single node failure. Once you enable maintenance mode for a
healthy and tolerant node, the node is not immediately transitioned; it is monitored until the following conditions
are true:
• All volumes hosted on the node have failed over
• The node is no longer hosting as the primary for any volume
• A temporary standby node is assigned for every volume being failed over
After these criteria are met, the node is transitioned to maintenance mode. If these criteria are not met within a
5 minute period, the node will not enter maintenance mode.
When you disable maintenance mode for a storage node, the node is monitored until the following conditions
are true:
Summary of Contents for HCI
Page 95: ...NetApp HCI Resources page...
Page 308: ......