COMMAND EVERYTHING.
Performs a Cluster-Aware Updating (CAU) run on a set of nodes that are not associated with a cluster.
Microsoft ClusterAwareUpdating reference: Performs a Cluster-Aware Updating (CAU) run on a set of nodes that are not associated with a cluster. The syntax and selected example below are adapted from the pinned Windows Server 2025 reference. Module availability, target configuration and delegated permissions determine whether it can run in your environment. Documentation and parameter text: Microsoft, CC BY 4.0; formatting adapted by Cmdlet World. No execution testing is claimed.
Use an account with the target resource permissions documented for Invoke-ClusterlessCauRun. Modifying administrative cmdlets may require elevation or delegated administration. This catalog does not assert that ordinary users can execute the command.
Windows / ClusterAwareUpdating · Windows Server 2025 documentation; feature/module prerequisites apply
-CauPluginArguments- Specifies a set of name=value pairs, as arguments, for each updating plug-in to use. For instance, to specify a Domain argument for one plug-in: - @{Domain=Domain.local} You can specify multiple pairs in a set separated with semicolons. For instance: - @{name1=value1;name2=value2;name3=value3} These name=value pairs must be meaningful to the CauPluginName parameter that you specify. If you specify arguments for more than one plug-in, provide the sets of name=value pairs in the order that you pass values in CauPluginName, separated by commas. For instance: - @{name1=value1;name2=value2;name3=value3},@{name4=value4;name5=value5} For the default Microsoft.WindowsUpdatePlugin plug-in, no arguments are needed. The following arguments are optional: - 'IncludeRecommendedUpdates'='\': Boolean value to indicate that recommended updates will be applied in addition to important updates on each node. If not specified, the default value is False. - A standard Windows Update Agent query string that specifies criteria used by the Windows Update Agent to filter the updates that will be applied to each node. For a name, use QueryString and for a value, enclose the full query in quotation marks. If not specified, then the Microsoft.WindowsUpdatePlugin plug-in by default uses the following argument: - QueryString="IsInstalled=0 and Type='Software' and IsHidden=0 and IsAssigned=1" For more information about query strings for the default Microsoft.WindowsUpdatePlugin plug-in and the criteria such as IsInstalled that can be included in the query strings, see IUpdateSearcher::Search method. For the Microsoft.HotfixPlugin plug-in, the following argument is required: - HotfixRootFolderPath=\: The UNC path to a hotfix root folder in an SMB share with a structure that contains the updates to apply and that contains the hotfix configuration file. The following arguments are optional for the Micr
-CauPluginName- Specifies one or more plug-ins to use when performing scans. You can specify multiple values separated with commas. The default is the Microsoft.WindowsUpdatePlugin plug-in. This plug-in coordinates the Windows Update Agent software resident on each cluster node, the same software that is used when updates are downloaded from Windows Update or Microsoft Update, or from a Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server. For more information about how plug-ins work with Cluster-Aware Updating (CAU), see How Cluster-Aware Updating plug-ins work.
-ConfigurationName- Specifies the Windows PowerShell session configuration that defines the session in which scripts, specified by the PreUpdateScript and PostUpdateScript parameters, and cmdlets are run, and can limit the cmdlets that are available to be run. If either a pre-update or post-update script is specified but a configuration name isn't specified, then the default session configuration that is built into Windows PowerShell is used.
-Confirm- Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.
-Credential- Specifies the administrative credentials for the target cluster.
-EnableFirewallRules- Enables the Remote Shutdown Windows Firewall rule group on each cluster node, if it isn't already enabled. If the EnableFirewallRules parameter is specified, CAU automatically re-enables the Remote Shutdown rule group each time the CAU clustered role performs an Updating Run, in case the rules are disabled manually in the intervening time. Enabling this rule group permits inbound communication to each cluster node during each updating run that allows CAU to shut down and restart the node remotely (if the installation of an update requires a restart). If Windows Firewall is in use on the cluster nodes and the rule group isn't enabled, the Updating Run will fail. The Remote Shutdown Windows Firewall rule group isn't enabled when it will conflict with Group Policy settings that are configured for Windows Firewall.
-Force- Forces the command to run without asking for user confirmation.
-ForceRecovery (required)- Indicates that the cmdlet recovers from a previous failed run that left the cluster in a Locked state. This switch defeats the synchronization mechanism used to prevent two update coordinators from accidentally updating the same cluster at the same time. Use with care.
-MaxRetries- Specifies the maximum number of times that a node should be retried if an update fails. This can be useful if you want to ensure that all nodes are updated.
-OsRollingUpgrade- Indicates that the CAU cluster role upgrades the operating system of the cluster nodes without stopping the Hyper-V or the Scale-Out File Server workloads.
-PostUpdateScript- Specifies the path and file name for a Windows PowerShell script to run on each node after updating finishes, and just after the node is brought out of Maintenance mode. The file name extension must be .ps1 and the total length of the path plus the file name must be no longer than 260 characters. As a best practice, the script should be located on a disk in cluster storage, or at a highly available network share, to ensure that it is always accessible to all the cluster nodes.
-PreUpdateScript- Specifies the path and file name for a Windows PowerShell script to run on each node before updating begins, and before the node is put into Maintenance mode. The file name extension must be .ps1 and the total length of the path plus the file name must be no longer than 260 characters. As a best practice, the script should be located on a disk in cluster storage, or at a highly available network share, to ensure that the script is always accessible to all the cluster nodes. If a pre-update script fails, the node isn't updated.
-RebootMode- Specifies the type of reboot to use for each node in the cluster during the update. The available values are: - ClusProp - FullReboot - SoftReboot - PluginCustomReboot - OrchestratorDefault
-RebootTimeoutMinutes- Specifies the time in minutes that CAU allows for the restarting of a node. If the restart doesn't complete within this time, then the Updating Run on that node will be marked as failed.
-RunPluginsSerially- Indicates that CAU will scan each cluster node for applicable updates and stage the updates for each plug-in in the plug-in order passed into the CauPluginName parameter when multiple plug-ins are used during an Updating Run. By default, CAU scans and stages the applicable updates for all plug-ins in parallel. Regardless of the configuration of this parameter, CAU installs the applicable updates for each plug-in sequentially. The parameter is valid only when multiple plug-ins are specified for the CauPluginName parameter. If a single plug-in is specified, a warning appears.
-StopOnPluginFailure- Indicates that if a failure occurs during the application of updates on a node by any plug-in, subsequent updates on the node that are coordinated by the remaining plug-ins are stopped when multiple plug-ins are used during an Updating Run. By default, a failure by one plug-in doesn't affect the application of updates on a node by other plug-ins. The parameter is valid only when multiple plug-ins are specified for the CauPluginName parameter. If a single plug-in is specified, a warning appears.
-WhatIf- Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.
Windows with the ClusterAwareUpdating module and the Windows feature or management tools that provide it. Confirm target connectivity and version compatibility using the linked Microsoft reference.
This cmdlet changes system state. Review every target and parameter in the official reference, test outside production, and prepare an appropriate backup or rollback. Do not execute the example automatically.