It may occur that compute nodes appear in RUNNING state in the node database, even when the nodes in question are offline, powered off or even removed from the rack. If you attempt to perform an Oracle PCA Controller Software update in this situation, the prerequisite check will fail because the non-functional nodes cannot be reached with ssh or through the Oracle VM Agent.

Compute nodes that are powered off or offline must be brought back online before a software update is attempted. The entire rack must be in a fully functional state at the start of the update. If there are circumstances preventing a compute node from being booted and brought back online, the node must be decommissioned to allow the software update to proceed. The problem node can be returned to operation at a later time, when all issues have been addressed.

Decommissioning a compute node is a delicate procedure involving Oracle VM Shell commands and manual changes to the node database. The procedure should be performed by Oracle Support, and is described in the support note with Doc ID 2219245.1.