Cluster service cannot identify a node as a member of failover cluster

If a change to the computer name of a node appears to have caused a problem, the simplest way to correct it is to revert to the previous computer name.

Note   We recommend you change the computer name of a node only when it is necessary.

If reverting to the previous computer name is not workable, you must carry out the following sequence of actions.

1. Evict the old node name to remove the name from the cluster configuration. For more information, see "Evicting a node name that is no longer in use."
2. On the renamed node, run a cleanup command to prepare it to be re-added to the cluster. This command will temporarily return the node to a non-clustered state. For more information, see "Running a cleanup command on a renamed node to prepare it to be re-added to the cluster."
3. Add the renamed node to the cluster and as needed, re-install clustered applications on it. For more information, see "Re-adding a renamed node after temporarily removing it from the cluster."

If you do not currently have Event Viewer open, also see "Opening Event Viewer and viewing events related to failover clustering."

To perform the following procedures, you must be a member of the local Administrators group on each clustered server, and the account you use must be a domain account, or you must have been delegated the equivalent authority.

Evicting a node name that is no longer in use

To evict a node name that is no longer in use:

1. To open the failover cluster snap-in, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Failover Cluster Management. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
2. In the Failover Cluster Management snap-in, if the cluster you want to manage is not displayed, in the console tree, right-click Failover Cluster Management, click Manage a Cluster, and then select or specify the cluster that you want.
3. If the console tree is collapsed, expand the tree under the cluster you want to manage.
4. Expand the console tree under Nodes.
5. Right-click the node name that you want to evict and then click Evict. When prompted, confirm your action.

Running a cleanup command on a renamed node to prepare it to be re-added to the cluster

To run a cleanup command on a renamed node to prepare it to be re-added to the cluster:

1. On the cluster node that was renamed and needs to be re-added to the cluster, open an elevated Command Prompt window. To do this, click Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
2. Type:

   CLUSTER NODE /FORCECLEANUP

Re-adding a renamed node after temporarily removing it from the cluster

For the following procedure, it is assumed that you have already connected the networks and storage to the server that you want to add, and that you have validated the current set of nodes and other hardware that you are using.

To add a node to a failover cluster:

1. To open the failover cluster snap-in, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Failover Cluster Management. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
2. In the Failover Cluster Management snap-in, if the cluster you want to manage is not displayed, in the console tree, right-click Failover Cluster Management, click Manage a Cluster, and then select or specify the cluster that you want.
3. In the console tree, select the cluster, and then in the Actions pane, click Add Node.
4. Follow the instructions in the wizard to specify the node to add to the cluster.
5. After the wizard runs and the Summary page appears, if you want to view a report of the tasks the wizard performed, click View Report.

After adding the node, confirm that all necessary applications are installed on the node.

Opening Event Viewer and viewing events related to failover clustering

To open Event Viewer and view events related to failover clustering:

1. If Server Manager is not already open, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Server Manager. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
2. In the console tree, expand Diagnostics, expand Event Viewer, expand Windows Logs, and then click System.
3. To filter the events so that only events with a Source of FailoverClustering are shown, in the Actions pane, click Filter Current Log. On the Filter tab, in the Event sources box, select FailoverClustering. Select other options as appropriate, and then click OK.
4. To sort the displayed events by date and time, in the center pane, click the Date and Time column heading.

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