Kubernetes Troubleshooting Hub: Common Errors, Causes, and Fixes

Kubernetes troubleshooting is presented as a signal-driven process in which pod statuses, exit codes, logs, and events identify distinct failure categories and their appropriate first diagnostic commands. OOMKilled with exit code 137 requires confirmation through the pod’s termination reason and is commonly tied to inadequate memory limits, leaks, or node pressure, while CrashLoopBackOff indicates repeated restarts and should be investigated using logs from the previous container instance. ImagePullBackOff is diagnosed through pod event messages that distinguish invalid image references, authentication failures, and network problems, whereas Node NotReady calls for reviewing node conditions and kubelet logs before cordoning or draining the node. The guide emphasizes that exit codes such as 1, 127, 137, 139, and 143 narrow likely causes, with 143 often reflecting normal graceful termination during updates, scaling, or node maintenance. It argues that inaccurate CPU and memory requests and limits are a common underlying contributor to instability and inefficiency, recommending sizing based on observed p95 working-set data, potentially using VPA recommendations, monitoring, or automated rightsizing tools.

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