Removing all cluster nodes and clearing cluster

[JakeBikeIT]

Hi All,

I am practising this for a POC for some changes we are making.

Seems to be hard to remove a node from the cluster and no longer see it appear in the Cluster GUI or the Datacenter view.
Clearing out .confs and other settings seems to result in permissions errors.
Is there a truly definitive guide for this please?

When the last node is removed from the cluster - how can you destroy the cluster entirely...

Thanks

 

[KevinS]

Have you tried the documentation?

https://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/pve-admin-guide.html#_remove_a_cluster_node

 

[gfngfn256]

To remove a node from cluster - follow this guide. Note that it is recommended after that (if you still want to use that node as a separate PVE server) to reinstall PVE fresh on that node. You could try after that the "Separate a Node Without Reinstalling" guide on that node - as well as on the last one to be removed (as per your request above).

 

[JakeBikeIT]

None of this is working for me.

How can I force remove the node - edit it out.

When I stop the cluster with systemctl stop pve-cluster there are no files to edit ..

This is all a bit maddening - what am I doing wrong guys?

 

[JakeBikeIT]

I need to force edit - or flatten a cluster with only two nodes in it. as soon as I type the command to delete the node I get a quorum error.

 

[gfngfn256]

I need to force edit

I don't really know what you mean / are up to.

Which route of the guide are you following; "Remove a Cluster Node" or "Separate a Node Without Reinstalling"?

You must also realize that a normal functioning cluster should contain at least 3 nodes (or 2 nodes + Qdevice), to remain quorate, so it is possible that you'll experience some "instability" during the removal.

 

[JakeBikeIT]

Hi - I was able to create a cluster to migrate machines using just two nodes.
Its very easy and was successful.
However I cannot destroy the cluster / remove the node from the GUI.

Seems like although you might not intend HA - are there other ways of performing a migration without a Cluster or moving data manually between nodes?

 

[gfngfn256]

are there other ways of performing a migration without a Cluster or moving data manually between nodes

Sure - the easiest method is just backup VM/LXC & restore to another Node. You'll either have to have some form of shareable storage available, or you could also send/transfer/copy the backup files in any other way possible. I've done it many times. On the new node you'll have to possibly make some config changes to the VM/LXC (depending on your specific setup) to get it working smoothly - but it is very doable.

Another similar method would be to have a PBS server & backup from one node to the PBS & then restore from PBS to another node.

Another different approach, is to use the qm remote-migrate command, see here. (It is still marked as "EXPERIMENTAL feature!", I've never used it).

 

[JakeBikeIT]

Hi - yes indeed - it seems the idea of a temp cluster - whilst it works perfectly - leaves you with a broken cluster.
OK backup it is then

Can you backup a version 7 machine and restore it to version 8?

I can upgrade the box at the same time then..

 

[gfngfn256]

Can you backup a version 7 machine and restore it to version 8?

I assume you mean a VM from a node running PVE 7.x version to another node running PVE 8.x . Should be possible. To remain safe - just try it before deleting/removing anything on the PVE 7.x node.