The removal of a node that has been federated into a deployment manager will NOT delete the nodes application servers. The removal of a node from a deployment manager simply unfederates the node from the deployment manager. The node can still be managed via command line tools or via the nodes stand alone admin console.

Backup the node

It's a good idea to backup the node profile prior to unfederating the node from the cell, so that the node profile can easily be restored, if needed. You will want to use the stopNode command to stop the node before backing up the node.

${WAS_INSTALL_ROOT}/profiles/your_profile/bin/stopNode.sh

The manageprofiles.sh command can then be used to backup the node profile.

${WAS_INSTALL_ROOT}/profiles/your_profile/bin/manageprofiles.sh -backupProfile -profileName profile001 -backupFile /path/to/backup.xml

removeNode.sh vs. manageProfiles.sh

If the node was created via the addNode.sh command, then the removeNode.sh command can be used to unfederate the node from the cell.

If the node was created via the manageprofiles.sh command, you will need to:

1. Delete the profile using the manageprofile.sh -delete command which will unfederate the node from the cell
2. Validate and update the user registry using the manageprofile.sh -validateAndUpdateRegistry command
3. Restore the profile using the manageprofile.sh -restoreProfile command. 

Using the WebSphere admin console

1. In the WebSphere admin console, expand System Administration and select Nodes.
2. Checkmark the node you want to remove and select Remove Node.

If Remove Node fails to remove the node, you can try using Force Delete. Don't worry, Force Delete will not delete the node. Force Delete is just a more aggressive removal of the node from the dmgr.

3. Select OK.
4. Select Save.

Using the command line (removeNode.sh)

You will run this command from the system that contains the node that you want to remove from the deployment manager (e.g. the node server). Only user accounts that have the Administrator role are permitted to run the removeNode command. This will stop the node agent and the application servers (aka JVMs) in the node.

${WAS_INSTALL_ROOT}/profiles/your_profile/bin/removeNode.sh

There will be a prompt to provide a username and password. Use a username and password of a user that has the Administrator or Operator role on the deployment manager.

Username: deployment_manager_username
Password: deployment_manager_password

Or the -username and -password command line options can be used.

${WAS_INSTALL_ROOT}/profiles/your_profile/bin/removeNode.sh -username john.doe -password itsasecret

Be aware that after you remove the node from the dmgr, some references to the node will remain. You can use the cleanupNode.bat (Windows) or cleanupNode.sh (Linux) command on the dmgr to remove the references to the node.

${WAS_INSTALL_ROOT}/profiles/your_profile/bin/cleanupNode.sh your_node -profileName your_profile

If the removal of the node is successful, something like this should be displayed.

ADMU2024I: Removal of node node01 is complete.