PowerFlex: Switch MDM Cluster Mode Single node or 3 node or 5 nodes - switch_cluster_mode

Summary: This article explains the command switch_cluster_mode to change the MDM cluster to 1 or 3 or 5 node cluster

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.

Instructions

switch_cluster_mode (command examples are listed at the bottom) 
Switch the MDM cluster from one operating mode or configuration to another.

Syntax
scli --switch_cluster_mode --cluster_mode <MODE> ((--add_secondary_mdm_id <ID> |
--add_secondary_mdm_ip <IP> [--add_secondary_mdm_port <PORT>] |
--add_secondary_mdm_name <NAME>)| (--remove_secondary_mdm_id <ID> |
--remove_secondary_mdm_ip <IP> [--remove_secondary_mdm_port <PORT>] |
--remove_secondary_mdm_name <NAME>)) ((--add_tb_id <ID> | --add_tb_ip <IP>
[--add_tb_port <PORT>] | --add_tb_name <NAME>) | (--remove_tb_id <ID> | --
remove_tb_ip
<IP> [--remove_tb_port <PORT>] | --remove_tb_name <NAME>)) [--allow_leave_failed]
[--i_am_sure]

 

Parameters
--cluster_mode <MODE>
Cluster operation mode. Can be one of the following:
1_node
The MDM cluster will operate in single-node mode. 

Caution: Single-node mode should only be used temporarily during maintenance activities.
Single-node mode does not provide failover protection for the MDM.

3_node
The MDM cluster will operate in 3-node mode.

5_node
The MDM cluster will operate in 5-node mode.

 

--add_secondary_mdm_id <ID>
Comma-separated list of secondary MDM IDs that will be part of the cluster. A maximum of two IDs are
allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--add_secondary_mdm_ip <IP>
Comma-separated list of secondary MDM IP addresses that will be part of the cluster. A maximum of
two IP addresses are allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--add_secondary_mdm_name <NAME>
Comma-separated list of secondary MDM names that will be part of the cluster. A maximum of two
names are allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--remove_secondary_mdm_id <ID>
Comma-separated list of secondary MDM IDs that will be removed from the cluster. A maximum of two
IDs are allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--remove_secondary_mdm_ip <IP>
Comma-separated list of secondary MDM IP addresses that will be removed from the cluster. A
maximum of two IP addresses are allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--remove_secondary_mdm_name <NAME>
Comma-separated list of secondary MDM names that will be removed from the cluster. A maximum of
two names are allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--add_tb_id <ID>
Comma-separated list of tiebreaker IDs that will be part of the cluster. A maximum of two IDs are
allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--add_tb_ip <IP>
Comma-separated list of tiebreaker IP addresses that will be part of the cluster. A maximum of two IP
addresses are allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--add_tb_name <NAME>
Comma-separated list of tiebreaker names that will be part of the cluster. A maximum of two names are
allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--remove_tb_id <ID>
Comma-separated list of tiebreaker IDs that will be removed from the cluster. A maximum of two IDs are
allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--remove_tb_ip <IP>
Comma-separated list of tiebreaker IP addresses that will be removed from the cluster. A maximum of
two IP addresses are allowed. Omit the space after the comma.

--remove_tb_name <NAME>
Comma-separated list of tiebreaker names that will be removed from the cluster. A maximum of two names are allowed. Omit the space after the comma.


Examples:

  • Switch MDM Cluster from 3 nodes to 5 nodes 

Login to the Primary MDM and run the following command

1- Admin login

PowerFlex 3.X

scli --login --username admin --password <admin_password>

PowerFlex 4.X

scli --login --username admin --password <admin_password> --management_system_ip <PFMP_UI_IP>

 

2- Query the MDM cluster node names or IDs 

scli --query_cluster

 

3- Switch from 3 nodes cluster to 5 nodes cluster by adding mdm4 and tb2 - use names from step 2 

scli --switch_cluster_mode --cluster_mode 5_node --add_secondary_mdm_name <mdm4_name_XXX> --add_tb_name <tb2_name_YYY>

  • Switch MDM cluster from single node to 3 nodes 

Login to the Primary MDM and run the following command

1- Admin login

PowerFlex 3.X

scli --login --username admin --password <admin_password>

PowerFlex 4.X

scli --login --username admin --password <admin_password> --management_system_ip <PFMP_UI_IP>

 

2- Query the MDM cluster node names or IDs 

scli --query_cluster

 

3- Switch from single node cluster to 3 nodes cluster by adding mdm2 and tb - use names from step 2 

scli --switch_cluster_mode --cluster_mode 3_node --add_secondary_mdm_name <mdm2_name_XXX> --add_tb_name <tb_name_YYY>

  • Switch MDM cluster from 5 nodes cluster to 3 nodes cluster 

Login to the Primary MDM and run the following command

1- Admin login

PowerFlex 3.X

scli --login --username admin --password <admin_password>

PowerFlex 4.X

scli --login --username admin --password <admin_password> --management_system_ip <PFMP_UI_IP>

 

2- Query the MDM cluster node names or IDs 

scli --query_cluster

 

3- Switch from 5 nodes cluster to 3 nodes cluster by removing mdm4 and tb2 - use names from step 2 

scli --switch_cluster_mode --cluster_mode 3_node --remove_secondary_mdm_name <mdm4_name_XXX> --add_tb_name <tb_name_YYY>

Additional Information

For PowerFlex 3.X  use the term slave instead of secondary 

Example

scli ----cluster_mode 3_node --remove_slave_mdm_name XXXX --remove_tb_name YYY
scli --switch_cluster_mode --cluster_mode 5_node --add_slave_mdm_name XXXX  --add_tb_name YYY

 

Add or remove standby nodes

scli --remove_standby_mdm --remove_mdm_name <name>
scli --add_standby_mdm --mdm_role {manager | tb} --new_mdm_name <name>

Affected Products

PowerFlex rack, ScaleIO
Article Properties
Article Number: 000502467
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 24 Aug 2026
Version:  1
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