mongodb 3 node cluster restart

[Chris Pearlman]

I have a cluster running with 3 nodes.  I need to make a few changes to each node that require a system restart.  Is there a way to rejoin a node to its initial replica set after the machine has restarted without much, if any, impact on the cluster? 

[Will Berkeley]

By cluster with 3 nodes, you mean a 3 node replica set? You can take down and restart nodes with minimal impact on the replica set - it's part of the purpose of replica sets. For minimum impact, shutdown nodes with db.shutdownServer() and use rs.stepDown() on the primary before restarting it. Do one node at a time so a majority is always available and there should be minimal impact on the operation of the replica set.

-Will

[Chris Pearlman]

Worked perfectly. Thank you very much.