# Indices don't have primary shards while trying to take a snapshot **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [February 18, 2019, 10:57am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/indices-dont-have-primary-shards-while-trying-to-take-a-snapshot/168812 "2019-02-18T10:57:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![muthualagappan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@muthualagappan](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/muthualagappan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 10:57am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/indices-dont-have-primary-shards-while-trying-to-take-a-snapshot/168812/1 "2019-02-18T10:57:48Z")
Hi Team, We have a old elasticsearch cluster running on 1.4.5. We wanted to take a snapshot of the data and delete the cluster. But we have some issues. **While taking the snapshot, we get the status as FAILED.** "state" : "FAILED", "reason" : "Indices don't have primary shards +[[logstash-2019.10.22, logstash-2019.12.11, logstash-2019.02.12, logstash-2019.07.14, logstash-2019.11.09, logstash-2018.11.04, logstash-2019.10.08, logstash-2018.11.05, logstash-2019.12.31]]" **The cluster health is RED because there are some unassigned shards** { "cluster\_name" : "XXX", "status" : "red", "timed\_out" : false, "number\_of\_nodes" : 7, "number\_of\_data\_nodes" : 5, "active\_primary\_shards" : 6261, "active\_shards" : 17582, "relocating\_shards" : 2, "initializing\_shards" : 0, "unassigned\_shards" : 180 } We guess we had lost one data node and and unable to fix the unassigned\_shards. We need the help in (i) Fixing the unassigned shards. The reason for the unassigned shards are not known. The sample output for the below command "/\_cat/shards?h=index,shard,prirep,state,unassigned.reason| grep UNASSIGNED" logstash-2019.02.12 2 r UNASSIGNED logstash-2019.02.12 2 r UNASSIGNED (ii) Even if we are unable to fix the unassigned\_shards, we need to take the snapshot of the other shards just leaving those faulty 180 unassigned shards. Kindly assist and let me know if you require further details. Regards, Muthu. ---
**Author:** ![dadoonet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dadoonet/32/137187_2.png) [@dadoonet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/dadoonet)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 12:00pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/indices-dont-have-primary-shards-while-trying-to-take-a-snapshot/168812/2 "2019-02-18T12:00:45Z")
OMG. 17582 on a 5 nodes cluster? Using a 1.4 version? Yes, I can definitely confirm that you are/will be into trouble... I don't really know how to fix that in the short term as this is a very old not maintained version. I'd probably look at some few things: - Remove all non needed indices. I guess that you are not using all the data available from the 17582 shards... So Remove old data with the Delete Index API. - Start new indices with only 1 shard (well depending on your daily volume) If possible, start a new cluster with 6.6.0 and start collecting the data in this new cluster. Once you don't need the old one, remove the old cluster. Finally, I suggest you look at the following resources about sizing: [https://www.elastic.co/elasticon/conf/2016/sf/quantitative-cluster-sizing](https://www.elastic.co/elasticon/conf/2016/sf/quantitative-cluster-sizing) > **[How many shards should I have in my Elasticsearch cluster? | Elastic](https://www.elastic.co/blog/how-many-shards-should-i-have-in-my-elasticsearch-cluster)** > > Elasticsearch is a very versatile platform, that supports a variety of use cases, and provides great flexibility around data organisation and replication strategies. This flexibility can however somet... > **[NetSecureDay: Managing your Black Friday Logs](https://speakerdeck.com/elastic/netsecureday-managing-your-black-friday-logs)** > > Surveiller une application complexe n’est pas une tâche aisée, mais avec les bons outils, ce n’est pas si sorcier. Néanmoins, des périodes fortes telles que les opérations de type « Black Friday » (Vendredi noir) ou période de Noël peuvent pousser... And [https://www.elastic.co/webinars/using-rally-to-get-your-elasticsearch-cluster-size-right](https://www.elastic.co/webinars/using-rally-to-get-your-elasticsearch-cluster-size-right) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 12:00pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/indices-dont-have-primary-shards-while-trying-to-take-a-snapshot/168812/3 "2019-03-18T12:00:49Z")
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