The management node interacts with a storage cluster to perform management actions, but is not a member of the storage cluster. Management nodes periodically collect information about the cluster through API calls and report this information to Active IQ for remote monitoring (if enabled). Management nodes are also responsible for coordinating software upgrades of the cluster nodes.

As of the Element 11.3 release, the management node functions as a microservice host, allowing for quicker updates of select software services outside of major releases. These microservices or management services are updated frequently as service bundles.