diff --git a/consul/autopilot.go b/consul/autopilot.go
index b1736b3b80..9156fd49e0 100644
--- a/consul/autopilot.go
+++ b/consul/autopilot.go
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ func (s *Server) autopilotLoop() {
_, autopilotConf, err := state.AutopilotConfig()
if err != nil {
s.logger.Printf("[ERR] consul: error retrieving autopilot config: %s", err)
+ break
}
if err := s.autopilotPolicy.PromoteNonVoters(autopilotConf); err != nil {
diff --git a/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown
index 4b85c47be1..bb9e41ba7e 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown
@@ -558,6 +558,7 @@ Consul will not enable TLS for the HTTP API unless the `https` port has been ass
* `autopilot` Added in Consul 0.8, this object
allows a number of sub-keys to be set which can configure operator-friendly settings for Consul servers.
+ For more information about Autopilot, see the [Autopilot Guide](/docs/guides/autopilot.html).
The following sub-keys are available:
diff --git a/website/source/docs/guides/autopilot.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/guides/autopilot.html.markdown
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ce8b7b2c42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/website/source/docs/guides/autopilot.html.markdown
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+---
+layout: "docs"
+page_title: "Autopilot"
+sidebar_current: "docs-guides-autopilot"
+description: |-
+ This guide covers how to configure and use Autopilot features.
+---
+
+# Autopilot
+
+Autopilot is a set of new features added in Consul 0.8 to allow for automatic
+operator-friendly management of Consul servers. It includes cleanup of dead
+servers, monitoring the of the Raft cluster, and stable server introduction.
+
+To enable Autopilot features (with the exception of dead server cleanup),
+the [`raft_protocol`](/docs/agent/options.html#_raft_protocol) setting in
+the Agent configuration must be set to 3 or higher on all servers. In Consul
+0.8 this setting defaults to 2; in Consul 0.9 it will default to 3.
+
+## Configuration
+
+The configuration of Autopilot is loaded by the leader from the agent's
+[`autopilot`](/docs/agent/options.html#autopilot) settings when initially
+bootstrapping the cluster. After bootstrapping, the configuration can
+be viewed or modified either via the [`operator autopilot`]
+(/docs/commands/operator/autopilot.html) subcommand or the
+[`/v1/operator/autopilot/configuration`](/docs/agent/http/operator.html#autopilot-configuration)
+HTTP endpoint:
+
+```
+$ consul operator autopilot get-config
+CleanupDeadServers = true
+LastContactThreshold = 200ms
+MaxTrailingLogs = 250
+ServerStabilizationTime = 10s
+
+$ consul operator autopilot set-config -cleanup-dead-servers=false
+Configuration updated!
+
+$ consul operator autopilot get-config
+CleanupDeadServers = false
+LastContactThreshold = 200ms
+MaxTrailingLogs = 250
+ServerStabilizationTime = 10s
+```
+
+## Dead Server Cleanup
+
+Dead servers will periodically be cleaned up and removed from the Raft peer
+set, to prevent them from interfering with the quorum size and leader elections.
+This cleanup will also happen whenever a new server is successfully added to the
+cluster.
+
+This option can be disabled by running `consul operator autopilot set-config`
+with the `-cleanup-dead-servers=false` option.
+
+## Server Health Checking
+
+An internal health check runs on the leader to track the stability of servers.
+A server is considered healthy if:
+
+- It has a SerfHealth status of 'Alive'
+- The time since its last contact with the current leader is below
+`LastContactThreshold`
+- Its latest Raft term matches the leader's term
+- The number of Raft log entries it trails the leader by does not exceed
+`MaxTrailingLogs`
+
+The status of these health checks can be viewed through the [`/v1/operator/autopilot/health`]
+(/docs/agent/http/operator.html#autopilot-health) HTTP endpoint, with a top level
+`Healthy` field indicating the overall status of the cluster:
+
+```
+$ curl localhost:8500/v1/operator/autopilot/health
+{
+ "Healthy": true,
+ "FailureTolerance": 0,
+ "Servers": [
+ {
+ "ID": "e349749b-3303-3ddf-959c-b5885a0e1f6e",
+ "Name": "node1",
+ "SerfStatus": "alive",
+ "LastContact": "0s",
+ "LastTerm": 3,
+ "LastIndex": 23,
+ "Healthy": true,
+ "StableSince": "2017-03-10T22:01:14Z"
+ },
+ {
+ "ID": "099061c7-ea74-42d5-be04-a0ad74caaaf5",
+ "Name": "node2",
+ "SerfStatus": "alive",
+ "LastContact": "53.279635ms",
+ "LastTerm": 3,
+ "LastIndex": 23,
+ "Healthy": true,
+ "StableSince": "2017-03-10T22:03:26Z"
+ }
+ ]
+}
+```
+
+## Stable Server Introduction
+
+When a new server is added to the cluster, there is a waiting period where it
+must be healthy and stable for a certain amount of time before being promoted
+to a full, voting member. This can be configured via the `ServerStabilizationTime`
+setting.
diff --git a/website/source/docs/upgrade-specific.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/upgrade-specific.html.markdown
index 3b15e0441a..987cc5aa84 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/upgrade-specific.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/upgrade-specific.html.markdown
@@ -33,6 +33,37 @@ and update any scripts that passed a custom `-rpc-addr` to the following command
* `monitor`
* `reload`
+#### Raft Protocol version compatibility
+
+When upgrading to Consul 0.8.0 from a version lower than 0.7.0, users will need to
+set the [`-raft-protocol`](/docs/agent/options.html#_raft_protocol) option to 1 in
+order to maintain backwards compatibility with the old servers during the upgrade.
+After the servers have been migrated to version 0.8.0, `-raft-protocol` can be moved
+up to 2 and the servers restarted to match the default.
+
+The Raft protocol must be stepped up in this way; only adjacent version numbers are
+compatible (for example, version 1 cannot talk to version 3). Here is a table of the Raft Protocol
+versions supported by each Consul version:
+
+
+
+ | Version |
+ Supported Raft Protocols |
+
+
+ | 0.6 and earlier |
+ 0 |
+
+
+ | 0.7 |
+ 1 |
+
+
+ | 0.8 |
+ 1, 2, 3 |
+
+
+
## Consul 0.7.1
#### Child Process Reaping
diff --git a/website/source/layouts/docs.erb b/website/source/layouts/docs.erb
index c1e2f28876..18ca0c2100 100644
--- a/website/source/layouts/docs.erb
+++ b/website/source/layouts/docs.erb
@@ -296,6 +296,10 @@
Adding/Removing Servers
+ >
+ Autopilot
+
+
>
Bootstrapping