Akka.Cluster.Hosting's WithClustering enables an SBR downing provider by default
(applies SplitBrainResolverOption.Default when ClusterOptions.SplitBrainResolver is
null), which reads the pre-existing akka.conf keep-oldest block. So the cluster was
NOT running NoDowning before Critical 1 and hard-crash failover already worked — the
typed KeepOldestOption is reinforcing/explicit-in-code, not the sole activator.
Corrects the inaccurate 'HOCON inert / NoDowning / never fails over' framing in:
- ServiceCollectionExtensions.BuildClusterOptions XML comment
- akka.conf split-brain-resolver comment
- docs/Redundancy.md Split-brain section
- SplitBrainResolverActivationTests summary + assertion message (+ method rename)
No code revert (the typed option is correct belt-and-suspenders). Cluster.Tests 29/29.
Surfaced by the #9 hard-kill failover negative control.
The split-brain-resolver HOCON block in akka.conf was inert — nothing
registered a downing provider, so the cluster ran Akka's default NoDowning:
a hard-crashed node was never downed, cluster singletons + the driver
role-leader never failed over, and a partition left both redundancy sides
at ServiceLevel 240 indefinitely.
Activate the resolver via the typed ClusterOptions.SplitBrainResolver
(KeepOldestOption { DownIfAlone = true }) in a new testable
BuildClusterOptions helper. keep-oldest + down-if-alone is correct for a
2-node warm-redundancy pair. HOCON keeps stable-after (typed option can't
express it) + a cross-reference comment. Deterministic unit guard added;
end-to-end verified the resolved ActorSystem config carries the provider
and stable-after survives the HOCON/Hosting merge. Redundancy.md corrected.
Hard-kill failover integration test tracked as a follow-up (effort-M harness).
Joseph Doherty