Automating patching of operating systems in Microsoft® Windows® clusters
You can patch Windows® clusters using Server Automation Fixlets. To automate the workflow, you combine the Fixlets in an Automation Plan. The Automation Plan that automates the workflow includes a Fixlet to pause the node that you are patching. Another Fixlet moves any groups on the node to another node. The Fixlets to patch the operating system are run next. The last Fixlet in the workflow resumes the node. The Fixlets to pause and resume the nodes are operating system-specific and the supported operating systems are described in the Fixlet descriptions. There are two procedures described in this topic, one to patch clusters on Windows® 2003 and 2008 operating systems and another to patch clusters on Windows® 2008 Release 2 and later operating systems.
Before you begin
110 Install Windows
Cluster Control Application
Fixlet.About this task
The following procedure is designed for use with a cluster set up with a quorum configured for the following systems:
- DiskWitness only (2012 systems)
- NoMajority (Disk Only) (2008 systems)
- Standard Quorum (2003 systems)
Complete the following steps to patch a Windows® cluster using the Server Automation Fixlets.
Procedure
- Pause the node or nodes in the cluster that you want to
patch. Run Fixlet
112 Pause Node in the Cluster (Windows 2003)
to pause the node on Windows® 2003 and Fixlet116 Pause Node in the Cluster (Windows 2008-2012)
to pause the node on Windows® 2008 and 2012. When running the Fixlet to pause the node, target each node that you want to pause. - Move any groups on the node to another node. Use Fixlet
111 Move Groups from Node in the Cluster (Windows 2003)
to move groups on Windows® 2003 and use Fixlet114 Move Groups from Node in the Cluster (Windows 2008-2012)
to move groups on Windows® 2008 and 2012. - Patch or update the node as required. If you use a Baseline
to patch the node, check if the Baseline contains an action script
that causes the node to report a status of
Pending Restart
, for example,action requires restart
. If the node returns aPending Restart
status, the system determines this as await
state and does not complete the step. To correct this, you must include a restart Fixlet as part of the Baseline. - Resume the node. To resume on Windows® 2003,
use Fixlets
113 Resume Node in the Cluster (Windows 2003)
. To resume on Windows® 2008 or Windows® 2012, use Fixlets115 Resume Node in the Cluster (Windows 2008-2012)
. - Repeat this process for the remaining nodes in the cluster.
Automating patching of clusters on Windows® 2008 Release 2 and later operating systems
To patch clusters with Windows® 2008 Release 2 and later operating systems, there are two enhanced patching Tasks available. Using these Tasks in an Automation Plan to automate the workflow reduces the number of group moves through the patching cycle, while maintaining the clustered applications availability for the maximum possible time during patching. The cluster groups remain on the nodes they were on before the patching for the maximum possible time and each node is returned to its original state after it is patched, rather than at the end of the entire cluster patching process.
Before you begin
- Before running any of the patching steps, the control scripts
must be installed. Use
Task 110-Install Windows Cluster Control Application
to install the control scripts on each of the endpoints. - Powershell must be installed on the node. Powershell is installed by default on all instances of Microsoft Server from 2008 Release 2 onwards, except for core installations. For core installations, use the following links to install Powershell:
About this task
Complete a procedure similar to the following to automate the patching process.
Procedure
- Create a new automation plan or copy a suitable sample automation plan.
- Add
Task 138 Pre Patching Task For Non Hyper-V Clustered Microsoft Servers (Version 2008 R2 onwards)
as the first step in the plan. When you are running the plan, you target the first node or group of nodes.This Task performs the following functions:- Creates a file that lists all groups and virtual machines in the cluster, including what nodes they are on and the states of each resource in the cluster. If there are empty groups (groups with no resources) in the cluster, a second file is created detailing these groups.
- Pauses the node.
- Moves any groups on the node that have other available owners. If there are no other potential owners available to take a group, the task will fail. If a group is set up to be online only on the current node, the task takes this group offline (groups with only the target node as the possible owner of the group or at least one of the resources in the group).
- Moves groups that have other available owners. If no other owners are available to take groups, the Task fails. Any groups set up to be online only on the current node (only target set as possible owner of the group or at least one resource in the group) are the taken offline.
- Takes any empty groups offline.
- Checks to ensure the node is paused and has no active groups remaining and is a state suitable for patching the server operating system.
Note: This Task does not move any groups that were offline before the Task was run. - Add a second step to the plan, selecting the Fixlet, Task, or Baseline to patch the underlying operating system. When you are running the plan, you target the first node or group of nodes.
- Add a third step to the plan, selecting Server Automation
Task ID
126 Restart Endpoint and Wait for Endpoint to Restart
. When you are running the plan, you target the first node or group of nodes. - Add a fourth step to the plan, selecting Server Automation
Task ID
129 Post Patching task for Microsoft Server Clusters (Server 2008 R2 onwards including Hyper-V Clusters)
. When you are running the plan, you target the first node or group of nodes.This Task performs the following functions:- Resumes the node.
- If the cluster detail file is found on the targeted endpoints, the Task checks this file and moves any virtual machines and groups back on to the node if they were moved off the node during patching. The Task then brings back online any empty groups or groups which had the target node as the only possible owner of the group before patching.
- Add four more steps to the plan, to repeat the automation flow completed in steps 2 to 5 for the remaining nodes in the cluster. For each of these steps, you must target the second node or group of nodes in the cluster.