Elastic server clusters contain servers that are created and removed dynamically based on in-the-moment server usage and load. They are a way to reduce server costs while maintaining optimum responsiveness for users running applications on the cluster.
An elastic cluster's dynamic servers are created from a snapshot taken from a persistent server. This snapshot acts as a master image for the elastic cluster, so any changes that need to be made to the cluster must be made to this server snapshot, rather than to the elastic cluster's servers themselves.
To do any updates, whether installing new software, making configuration changes, even adding only a file or registry key, follow these directions:
- Log on to the persistent server that the elastic cluster was created from, then make your desired changes. Since users will be connected to the elastic servers, any changes made on the persistent server will not affect them, meaning you can restart the server without fear of disconnecting them.
- In the admin console, go to the server details page for the persistent server.
- In the Commands section of the page, click "Resnapshot". This will create a new image of the persistent server, including the changes you just made, and apply them to the elastic cluster. The button will also disconnect any active sessions on the persistent server. Elastic servers that are currently inactive will be deleted and recreated within a few minutes. Servers that are currently active will be deleted and replaced once they become inactive.