Container state and status fields

Learn how to interpret how state and status in container and process output from the CLI and REST API.

Use the state and status fields together to understand both the intended lifecycle of a container and the current health of its internal processes. These fields help identify whether a container is operating normally, transitioning between administrative operations, or experiencing connectivity or process failures.

  • state: the container lifecycle.

  • status: the current health of the container's internal processes.

The values can differ. For example, a container can remain ACTIVE in state while reporting DOWN in status. Read both fields together to get a complete picture of a container's condition.

Where to view the fields

You can view state and status in the CLI and REST API.

CLI

All containers:

weka cluster container

A specific container:

weka cluster container <container-id>

REST API

All containers:

GET /containers

A specific container:

GET /containers/{uid}

state: Administrative lifecycle

state tracks the container lifecycle managed by the cluster leader.

Value
Description

ACTIVE

The container is a full participating member of the cluster.

ADDING

The container is joining the cluster for the first time.

DEACTIVATING

The cluster has received a deactivation request and is processing it. The container is winding down its cluster participation.

INACTIVE

The container is deactivated. It remains registered but contributes no resources.

DRAINING

The cluster is moving data and responsibilities away from the container before it can be safely deactivated or removed.

DRAINED

Draining is complete. The container holds no cluster data or responsibilities and can be safely deactivated or removed.

REMOVING

The container is being permanently removed from the cluster.

status: Live health

status tracks whether the container's internal processes are connected at this moment. Some values mirror an active administrative transition. Others report process health directly.

Value
Description

UP

All container processes are connected and healthy.

DEGRADED

Some container processes are connected. The container is partially functional.

DOWN

No container processes are reachable. The container is not contributing to the cluster.

ADDING

The container is still joining the cluster. Mirrors the ADDING state.

DEACTIVATING

The container is being deactivated. Mirrors the DEACTIVATING state.

REMOVING

The container is being removed. Mirrors the REMOVING state.

INACTIVE

The container is deactivated. Mirrors the INACTIVE state.

DRAINING

The container is draining while its processes are still up or partially up.

DRAINED (UP)

Draining is complete. All processes are still running.

DRAINED (DEGRADED)

Draining is complete. Some processes are still running.

DRAINED (DOWN)

Draining is complete. All processes are offline.

Common field combinations

ACTIVE

UP

The container is active and all processes are healthy.

ACTIVE

DEGRADED

The container is active but some processes have lost connectivity.

ACTIVE

DOWN

The container is registered as active but all processes are unreachable and it is not contributing to the cluster.

DRAINING

DRAINING

The cluster is migrating workloads off the container and its processes are still available.

DRAINED

DRAINED (DOWN)

Draining is complete and all processes are offline. The container can be safely deactivated or removed.

Process status: Individual process health

Each container runs one or more processes. The cluster leader tracks the status of each process independently. Container status is derived from the combined health of these individual processes.

You can view process status in the CLI and REST API.

CLI

All processes:

A specific process:

REST API

The five process status values fall into two groups.

Unmonitored: the process is not an active cluster member.

Value
Description

DOWN

The process is not an active cluster member. This is the stable state after fencing completes, or before a process has ever joined.

FENCING

The leader is isolating the process. Other members are being instructed to stop trusting it. This is a short transition state before the process moves to DOWN.

Monitored: the process is in the join pipeline or fully active.

Value
Description

SYNCING

The leader has accepted the process for rejoin but it is waiting for link connectivity prerequisites and a slot in the joining batch.

JOINING

The process is in the active rejoin batch. The leader is validating connectivity and session before promoting it to UP.

UP

The process is a full cluster member, trusted for IO, heartbeats, and role-specific work.

The typical progression after a restart or network event is DOWNSYNCINGJOININGUP. A process that leaves UP due to a failure is fenced first (FENCING) before returning to DOWN. A healthy cluster has almost all processes in UP.

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