Not quite correct. FD doesn't "detect" a member, it validates that a known member is still alive. After "max_tries" heartbeat messages without a response, it initiates the process that leads to GMS excluding the non-responding member from the group. The fact you have shun="true" in both FD and GMS means that if that non-responding member attempts to communicate with the group again without going through the regular join process that happens when a channel connects, it will detect that it has been excluded and it will automatically reconnect. Bottom line, FD shouldn't mean that a node that is functional gets kicked out of the group and can never participate again. View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=4192860#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...