Troubleshooting Connection Refusal in Kubernetes

Introduction

Kubernetes has become the cornerstone of container orchestration in modern infrastructure, but like any complex system, it is not immune to issues such as connectivity problems. One common issue that users encounter is the refusal of connection to the Kubernetes API server. This article provides a comprehensive guide on troubleshooting and resolving the error: “The connection to the server 192.168.246.144:6443 was refused — did you specify the right host or port?”

Understanding the Error

This error message typically indicates that kubectl, the command line tool for Kubernetes, cannot establish a connection to the Kubernetes cluster API server. The reasons might include network issues, incorrect Kubernetes configuration, server downtime, or client misconfiguration.

Common Causes and Solutions

1. Kubernetes API Server Not Running

Cause

The Kubernetes API server might not be running or has crashed, which is a common reason for connection refusals.

Solution

• Check the status of the API server. On systems using systemd, you can use:

sudo systemctl status…