Patching Microsoft Windows clusters
You can use Server Automation to automate patching of Microsoft Windows clusters. Server Automation contains preconfigured Fixlets that allow you to patch Microsoft Windows clusters.
The Server Automation cluster patching Fixlets enable you to patch the operating systems in Microsoft Windows clusters by managing the cluster as the operating systems are patched. For example, you can use the Server Automation Fixlets for patching scenarios such as Microsoft SQL Server cluster patching.
If you have a File Share Witness configured for a cluster, you can check if the File Share Witness is accessible from the target computers during the patching process. For more information, see Check if File Share Witness is accessible.
- 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. - Patching Servers running Microsoft Exchange 2010 and 2013 Data Availability Groups
You can use Server Automation Tasks to patch an operating system running Microsoft Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2013 (Exchange 2013 SP1 and later versions) Data availability groups (DAG), while maintaining the DAG availability. You patch the operating system using a number of Tasks and a service. The Tasks automate the execution of Microsoft Exchange scripts provided with Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2013. You run these Tasks in an Automation Plan and you can combine them with custom Tasks for patching the underlying operating system to fully automate the patching process. - Patching Microsoft Exchange 2007 on Windows clusters
You can use Server Automation Fixlets to patch a Windows Cluster that is running Microsoft Exchange 2007 on Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008. As per industry standard, patch the passive node first. This avoids moving the Mailbox server twice in a patching scenario. You add the Server Automation Fixlets into a plan to automate the patching process. You can use Fixlet 121 Move Exchange 2007 Mailbox Server from Node to identify the active node as this Fixlet will only be relevant on the node running the Mailbox server. - Automating patching of operating system servers in a Microsoft Hyper-V cluster
You can use Server Automation to automate patching of operating system servers in a Microsoft Hyper-V cluster, without affecting the data availability groups operations. Server Automation enables you to automate the patching process using a number of Tasks which manage the cluster as it is being patched. The Tasks prepare nodes for patching by pausing them and moving all virtual machines, groups, and resources off the nodes. The required patches are then applied to the operating system as part of the automation flow. After the operating system is patched, the automation flow restores the nodes to their original pre-patching state. - Automating middleware patching of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Release 2 in Windows clusters
You can use Server Automation Tasks to automate patching of a SQL Server 2008 Release 2 cluster, with minimal impact on the cluster availability. Unlike some of the other Server Automation cluster patching solutions, this solution patches Microsoft SQL Server and not the underlying Microsoft Windows operating system. - Automating patching of Microsoft SQL Server 2012 and 2014 in Windows clusters
You can use Server Automation Tasks in an Automation Plan to automate patching of SQL Server 2012 or 2014 in a Microsoft Windows cluster, with minimal impact on cluster availability. The automated patching is done in phases, one phase per node, and at least one node remains operational at all times during the patching. Note that this cluster patching solution patches SQL Server and not the underlying Microsoft Windows operating system. - Patching IBM WebSphere Application Server clusters on Microsoft Windows
You can use Server Automation to automate patching of WebSphere® Application Server v8.0 or 8.5 in a Microsoft Windows cluster. The patching process involves running an Automation Plan that contains a set of steps (Tasks or Fixlets) that automate the patching. The Automation Plan uses a global parameters Task that automatically inputs required parameters into the other steps in the plan. To get started, you can use a Server Automation out of the box sample Automation Plan that shows the automation flow. The sample plans to use are Server Automation sample plans 559 and 560. - Check if File Share Witness is accessible
If you have a File Share Witness configured for a cluster, you can include a Task in the patching Automation Plan to check if File Share Witness is accessible from the targeted host and check whether the host can access the File Share which has been configured for the File Share Witness in the cluster. - Cluster patching terms and concepts
The following table describes some key cluster patching terminology and concepts.
Parent topic: Server Automation content