---
title: "Enabling and Disabling Writes to a Storage Node"
slug: "enabling-and-disabling-writes-to-a-storage-node-5-1"
tags: ["Portal", "8.3"]
updated: 2026-09-22T06:58:43Z
published: 2026-09-22T06:58:43Z
canonical: "kb.ctera.com/enabling-and-disabling-writes-to-a-storage-node-5-1"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.ctera.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Enabling and Disabling Writes to a Storage Node

When you create a storage node, the node is by default in read/write mode.

You can enable or disable writes to a storage node whenever needed, such as when you are about to replace a storage node and you want to stop new data blocks from being written to the node. While writes are disabled on a node, any new data blocks to be written are directed to other storage nodes that are write-enabled. Also, the node goes into read-delete mode, in which access to data is read only or delete.

**To enable or disable writes to a storage node:**

1. In the global administration view, select **Main > Storage Nodes** in the navigation pane.  

The **Storage Nodes** page is displayed.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-HF8SMT7U.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)
2. Click the storage node name.  

The storage node page is displayed.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-QGJB1PZW.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)
3. Select the **Status** tab.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-3OR17KP7.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A31%3A35Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A31%3A35Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kG5EV8sxpMwoRSGNETEw5s5kpXEVzHtZaubE6nx3l0s%3D)
**Note**

For storage which has a limited amount of storage, like the **Local Filesystem** storage node, the default storage node when setting up the CTERA Portal, **Usage** displays the amount of storage available, followed by the amount of used storage. For cloud storage and S3 storage, which is limited only by the supplier and is infinite from the perspective of the portal, no usage is displayed.
4. Slide **Writes** to **on** to enable writing to the storage node or **off** to disable writes.