Troubleshoot CAU: Self-Updating Problems

Symptoms
Cause
- How to gather more information
Resolution
Related Issues
See Also

If you try to update a Windows Server 2012 failover cluster by using Cluster-Aware Updating (CAU) when it’s configured in Self-Updating mode, and your Updating Run fails immediately, you might not see detailed error information in the CAU UI. This troubleshooting topic lists some possible causes of self-updating problems and ways to gather more detailed information.

For background, self-updating mode for CAU means that the CAU clustered role is installed and enabled on all of the failover cluster nodes, and you have configured self-updating options. In this mode, the cluster is scheduled to update itself automatically using those options. However, in this mode, you can also trigger an on-demand Updating Run, using the identical Updating Run options, by using the CAU UI or the CAU Windows PowerShell cmdlets. This topic focuses on the scenario in which a Self-Updating Run is triggered on-demand from the CAU UI.

For more information about CAU and the two updating modes, see Cluster-Aware Updating overview in the Windows Server Library.

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario.

CAU is configured to update a failover cluster in self-updating mode.
You invoke an on-demand Self-Updating Run in the CAU UI on a cluster node by clicking Apply updates to this cluster, under Cluster Actions.
The information in the Log of Updates in Progress tab indicates that the Updating Run has started.
The Last Run status then shows Failed for each of the cluster nodes. No additional error information appears in the UI.
You generate an Updating Run report in the CAU UI. The Self-Updating Run is listed with a status of Failed, but no additional information appears. For example:

Cause

Causes of a failed Self-Updating Run in this scenario can include the following:

A specified Updating Run option or plug-in parameter is incorrect. For example:
- A node specified in NodeOrder does not exist
- If you are using the Microsoft.HotfixPlugin CAU plug-in, the security settings for the hotfix root folder or file share are specified incorrectly
A plug-in required for the Updating Run failed to load on a cluster node
Add others as appropriate

How to gather more information

To obtain more detailed error information about the failed Self-Updating Run that may indicate a possible cause or a resolution to the problem, try one of the following:

Run the Get-CauReport Windows PowerShell cmdlet with the –Detailed parameter. For example:

$result=Get-CauReport -ClusterName <ClusterName> -Detailed -Last
$result.ClusterResult

Trigger the Self-Updating Run by running the equivalent Windows PowerShell cmdlet Set-CauClusterRole instead of using the CAU UI. For example, to start a Self-Updating Run on-demand on cluster CONTOSO-FC1:
```
Set-CauClusterRole -ClusterName CONTOSO-FC1 -UpdateNow -Force
```
If a problem occurs, a detailed error appears in the cmdlet output.
Review information in the CAU log files or Event logs. You can collect many of the relevant CAU logs using the Save-CauDebugTrace Windows PowerShell cmdlet.

Resolution

In the following example, the error shown suggests a problem with the permission settings on a file share used to store hotfixes. If you see this error and need to configure these permissions, see Restrict access to the hotfix root folder.

What did you do to fix the issue? Include permissions required and procedural steps/sample scripts/command line actions. Feel free to add screenshots and flowcharts.