Troubleshoot Kubernetes Master or Worker node in NotReady state

Use this procedure to check if a Kubernetes master or worker node is in a NotReady state.

Identify the node in question

  1. (ncn-mw#) Identify the node in NotReady state.

    kubectl get nodes

    Example output:

    NAME       STATUS   ROLES                  AGE   VERSION
ncn-m001   Ready    control-plane,master   27h   v1.20.13
ncn-m002   Ready    control-plane,master   8d    v1.20.13
ncn-m003   Ready    control-plane,master   8d    v1.20.13
ncn-w001   NotReady <none>                 8d    v1.20.13
ncn-w002   Ready    <none>                 8d    v1.20.13
ncn-w003   Ready    <none>                 8d    v1.20.13

Recovery steps

  1. Ensure that the node does not have an intentional NoSchedule taint.

    See About Kubernetes Taints and Labels for more information about tainting and untainting a node.

    If the node in question is not intentionally tainted causing the NotReady state, then proceed to the next step and attempt to restart the kubelet.

  2. (ncn-mw#) Restart the kubelet.

    Run the following command on the node in a NotReady state.

    systemctl restart kubelet

  3. (ncn-mw#) Ensure that the node is now in a Ready state.

    kubectl get nodes

    Example output:

    NAME       STATUS   ROLES                  AGE   VERSION
ncn-m001   Ready    control-plane,master   27h   v1.20.13
ncn-m002   Ready    control-plane,master   8d    v1.20.13
ncn-m003   Ready    control-plane,master   8d    v1.20.13
ncn-w001   Ready    <none>                 8d    v1.20.13
ncn-w002   Ready    <none>                 8d    v1.20.13
ncn-w003   Ready    <none>                 8d    v1.20.13