---
title: Total Shard Per Node
description: Describes what AutoOps detects and surfaces with the Total Shard Per Node insight: The cluster allows more shards per data node than the default cap (typically 1000).
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/autoops-insights/tree/main/elasticsearch/total_shard_per_node
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise
  - Elastic Cloud Hosted
  - Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes
  - Elasticsearch
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Hosted: Generally available
  - Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes: Generally available
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise: Generally available
  - Self-managed Elastic deployments: Generally available
---

# Total Shard Per Node
The cluster allows more shards per data node than the default cap (typically 1000). High limits let applications create shards until the master struggles to track cluster state, which shows up as slow allocation and cluster updates.
<note>
  For a complete list of insights, refer to [AutoOps insights](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/autoops-insights/tree/main/elasticsearch).
</note>


## Insight details


| Field     | Value                                      |
|-----------|--------------------------------------------|
| Component | Elasticsearch                              |
| Severity  | Medium                                     |
| Scope     | Node                                       |
| Domains   | configuration, shard-allocation, stability |


## Customization settings

You can customize these settings to adjust when AutoOps detects this event and presents the insight. Refer to [AutoOps event settings](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/tree/main/deploy-manage/monitor/autoops/ec-autoops-event-settings) for details.
The default customization settings are:

| Setting                         | Type    | Default |
|---------------------------------|---------|---------|
| Total shards per node threshold | Integer | 1000    |


## Example: What you might see in AutoOps

The following is an example of what you might see when this insight is triggered. Real insights use live data and links from your deployment or cluster.

### The number of allowed shards per node is higher than the default on the following node/s: `es-data-01`


#### What was detected

Total shards per node is configured to 1000.

#### Recommendations

<note>
  AutoOps shows different recommendations depending on how their conditions match your deployment or cluster.
</note>

<dropdown title="Reduce shards per node">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.Too many shards per node (limit 1000) hurts performance. Reindex or shrink to fewer shards, delete unneeded data, and set a cluster shards-per-node cap to 1000 with the action below.
  ```json

  {
    "persistent": {
      "cluster.routing.allocation.total_shards_per_node": "1000"
    }
  }
  ```

  <note>
    Requires the `manage` index privilege. Requires Elasticsearch 8.0.0 or later. This action changes cluster or index configuration.
  </note>
</dropdown>


#### Background and impact

The configuration of total shards per node is higher than the default. Oversharding can cause a cluster to become unstable because the master nodes become cannot keep track of many shards across the nodes.