ArangoDB Starter Removal Procedure

This procedure is intended to remove a machine from a cluster that was started with the ArangoDB Starter.

It is possible to run this procedure while the machine is still running or when it has already been removed.

It is not possible to remove machines that have an Agent on it! The Agency needs to remain functional for the cluster to operate. Use the recovery procedure if you have a failed machine with an Agent on it.

Note that it is highly recommended to remove a machine while it is still running.

To remove a machine from a cluster, run the following command:

arangodb remove starter --starter.endpoint=<endpoint> [--starter.id=<id>] [--force]

Where <endpoint> is the endpoint of the starter that you want to remove, or the endpoint of one of the remaining starters. E.g. http://localhost:8528.

If you want to remove a machine that is no longer running, use the --starter.id option. Set it to the ID of the ArangoDB Starter on the machine that you want to remove.

You can find this ID in a setup.json file in the data directory of one of the remaining ArangoDB Starters. Example:

{
  ...
  "peers": {
    "Peers": [
      {
        "ID": "21e42415",
        "Address": "10.21.56.123",
        "Port": 8528,
        "PortOffset": 0,
        "DataDir": "/mydata/server1",
        "HasAgent": true,
        "IsSecure": false
      },
      ...
    ]
  }
}

If the machine you want to remove has address 10.21.56.123 and was listening on port 8528, use ID 21e42415.

The remove starter command will attempt the cleanout all data from the servers of the machine that you want to remove. This can take a long of time. If the cleanout fails, the remove starter command will fail.

If you want to remove the machine even when the cleanout has failed, use the --force option. Note that this may lead to data loss!