Virtualization

Operate and Maintain a KVM HA Cluster

Patch and reboot one node through standby or maintenance mode; Return workloads and verify placement intentionally; Replace or rebuild one nested host; Review quorum, resource, storage, fencing, and failure history before final sign-off.

By InventiveHQ Team

Episode 27 of the InventiveHQ KVM virtualization series.

Lab verified July 2026 · Ubuntu 26.04 · libvirt 12.0.0 · QEMU 10.2.1

What this episode proves

  • Patch and reboot one node through standby or maintenance mode
  • Return workloads and verify placement intentionally
  • Replace or rebuild one nested host
  • Review quorum, resource, storage, fencing, and failure history before final sign-off

Validated workflow

1. Patch and reboot one node through standby or maintenance mode

pcs node standby kvm-ha03

2. Return workloads and verify placement intentionally

apt-get upgrade -y

3. Replace or rebuild one nested host

pcs node unstandby kvm-ha03

4. Review quorum, resource, storage, fencing, and failure history before final sign-off

./health-audit.sh

Finished state

The complete three-node lab is healthy and retained for the storage series handoff; cleanup is documented but not run. The public scripts contain no private keys, passwords, or tokens. Review names, addresses, paths, ownership, backups, quorum, and fencing for your own environment before running them.

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