[[cluster-state-publishing]]
=== Publishing the cluster state

The master node is the only node in a cluster that can make changes to the
cluster state. The master node processes one batch of cluster state updates at
a time, computing the required changes and publishing the updated cluster state
to all the other nodes in the cluster. Each publication starts with the master
broadcasting the updated cluster state to all nodes in the cluster.  Each node
responds with an acknowledgement but does not yet apply the newly-received
state. Once the master has collected acknowledgements from enough
master-eligible nodes, the new cluster state is said to be _committed_ and the
master broadcasts another message instructing nodes to apply the now-committed
state. Each node receives this message, applies the updated state, and then
sends a second acknowledgement back to the master.

The master allows a limited amount of time for each cluster state update to be
completely published to all nodes. It is defined by the
`cluster.publish.timeout` setting, which defaults to `30s`, measured from the
time the publication started. If this time is reached before the new cluster
state is committed then the cluster state change is rejected and the master
considers itself to have failed. It stands down and starts trying to elect a
new master.

If the new cluster state is committed before `cluster.publish.timeout` has
elapsed, the master node considers the change to have succeeded. It waits until
the timeout has elapsed or until it has received acknowledgements that each
node in the cluster has applied the updated state, and then starts processing
and publishing the next cluster state update. If some acknowledgements have not
been received (i.e. some nodes have not yet confirmed that they have applied
the current update), these nodes are said to be _lagging_ since their cluster
states have fallen behind the master's latest state. The master waits for the
lagging nodes to catch up for a further time, `cluster.follower_lag.timeout`,
which defaults to `90s`. If a node has still not successfully applied the
cluster state update within this time then it is considered to have failed and
is removed from the cluster.

NOTE: Elasticsearch is a peer to peer based system, in which nodes communicate
with one another directly. The high-throughput APIs (index, delete, search) do
not normally interact with the master node. The responsibility of the master
node is to maintain the global cluster state and reassign shards when nodes join or leave
the cluster. Each time the cluster state is changed, the
new state is published to all nodes in the cluster as described above.