# Adding a second node to a cluster **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [January 2, 2019, 9:36am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/adding-a-second-node-to-a-cluster/162619 "2019-01-02T09:36:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sc1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@sc1](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/sc1)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2019, 9:36am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/adding-a-second-node-to-a-cluster/162619/1 "2019-01-02T09:36:23Z")
Hello, I am looking to add a second node to my single setup running Elasticsearch, Logstash and Kibana as log management solution. I currently have 2x hosts sending logs, and for performance, I wanted to add a second node as I plan on adding 9 more Windows servers to send logs. I have been reading up on some of the threads/documentation and from my understanding, it's a matter of installing **just** Elasticsearch on the second node, and then ensuring they have the same name. One question I haven't been able to get an answer, however, is will the second node be utilized for storage as well? My current node has a 1TB disk and I expect that to fill quickly, but I am looking to not retain logs for long as it's a test environment. In the future, I would like to scale up to maybe 5 nodes with logs kept for 3 months and I was wondering if someone could explain if the storage is utilized with each node added. - What happens with Logstash? Is it aware of the other nodes? Do I need to add Logstash nodes? _I have looked at the topics already posted and have not been able to find an answer. I have also read the documentation, but it's not really in lay mans terms and for a newcomer to Elastic scene, I've found it difficult to navigate and get answers._ ---
**Author:** ![DavidTurner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/davidturner/32/22453_2.png) [@DavidTurner](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/DavidTurner)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2019, 10:45am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/adding-a-second-node-to-a-cluster/162619/2 "2019-01-02T10:45:42Z")
> [@sc1](#): > > will the second node be utilized for storage as well? Yes (as long as it is [configured to be a data node](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/modules-node.html#modules-node), which it is by default). > [@sc1](#): > > - What happens with Logstash? Is it aware of the other nodes? Do I need to add Logstash nodes? I don't know enough about Logstash to answer for definite, but this sounds like it mainly depends on whether a single Logstash node can handle the load you wish to apply. As a general rule one can send requests to any node in an Elasticsearch cluster, and Elasticsearch looks after re-routing a request to the appropriate node(s). ---
**Author:** ![sc1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@sc1](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/sc1)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2019, 11:01am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/adding-a-second-node-to-a-cluster/162619/3 "2019-01-02T11:01:12Z")
Thanks for the quick response David, I wasn't aware that you can send logs to any node in the cluster. If that's the case, would I have to then install Logstash as well to the secondary nodes or will they all still utilize the main node Logstash ? ---
**Author:** ![DavidTurner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/davidturner/32/22453_2.png) [@DavidTurner](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/DavidTurner)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2019, 11:05am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/adding-a-second-node-to-a-cluster/162619/4 "2019-01-02T11:05:15Z")
> [@sc1](#): > > will they all still utilize the main node Logstash ? The dependency is in the other direction: Logstash uses Elasticsearch, but from Elasticsearch's point of view Logstash is treated like any other client. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 11:05am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/adding-a-second-node-to-a-cluster/162619/5 "2019-01-30T11:05:20Z")
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