---
name: openshift-ts-etcd-alerts
title: Why am I receiving multiple etcd alerts?
description: You receive multiple alerts for `etcdHighNumberOfLeaderChanges` or `etcdExcessiveDatabaseGrowth`, with descriptions similar to the following messages.
last-updated: 2026-04-30
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Why am I receiving multiple etcd alerts?
{: #ts-addon-etcd-alerts}
{: support}

You receive multiple alerts for `etcdHighNumberOfLeaderChanges` or `etcdExcessiveDatabaseGrowth`, with descriptions similar to the following messages.
{: tsSymptoms}

```txt
"etcd": 7.5 leader changes within the last 15 minutes. Frequent elections might be a sign of insufficient resources, high network latency, or disruptions by other components and should be investigated.
```
{: screen}

```txt
"etcd cluster "etcd": Observed surge in etcd writes leading to 50% increase in database size over the past four hours on etcd instance, please check as it might be disruptive.
```
{: screen}

The cluster etcd database is located on the cluster control plane, which is maintained by IBM. Metrics from three separate etcd instances are pushed to a single pod in the cluster, but the source of the metrics is not always distinguished. When these metrics are collected by Prometheus they might be read as originating from a single etcd instance rather than multiple separate instances, resulting in a false alert for high rates of activity. In this case, there is no underlying issue and the alerts are triggered falsely. 
{: tsCauses}

Often, the `etcdHighNumberOfLeaderChanges` and `etcdExcessiveDatabaseGrowth` do not indicate an underlying issue and can be ignored. If you want to validate that the alerts are false, you can contact customer support. Open a [support case](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/support?topic=support-using-avatar&format=markdown). In the case details, be sure to include any relevant log files, error messages, or command outputs.
{: tsResolve}