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Understanding Kubernetes CreateContainerError
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Good day. It's Monday, Sep. 23, and in this issue, we're covering:
Understanding Kubernetes CreateContainerError
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Use Case
Understanding Kubernetes CreateContainerError
Ever feel like everything is going smoothly, and then suddenly, a big panda walks in and crashes your day?
That's what dealing with CreateContainerConfigError in Kubernetes feels like
CreateContainerConfigError vs. CreateContainerError
While these two errors may sound alike, they happen at different stages in the container lifecycle:
CreateContainerConfigError: This happens when something is wrong with your Pod’s configuration. Think of it as a setup issue that stops the container from being created.
CreateContainerError: This occurs later, during the actual creation of the container. The setup might be correct, but the container fails to start for other reasons.
CreateContainerError:
You can detect the error by running the kubectl get pods
command:
NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE
techops-examples 0/1 CreateContainerError 0 5m
When starting a container, Kubernetes goes through the initialization process, where it pulls the image, allocates resources, and mounts volumes. If any of these steps fail, Kubernetes triggers a CreateContainerError
.
Ref: Perfectscale
Common Causes for CreateContainerError:
Cause | Description |
---|---|
Incorrect Image | The image specified in the Pod manifest doesn’t exist, is unavailable, or lacks a command.. |
Resource Constraints | If the requested resources (CPU or memory) exceed the available capacity on the node. |
Volume Mount Issues | The Pod is trying to mount a volume that doesn’t exist or is misconfigured. |
Container Runtime Error | An issue with the container runtime (e.g., Docker, containerd) on the node. |
How to Troubleshoot CreateContainerError:
1. Inspect Pod Details
Start by inspecting the Pod to get detailed insights into the container creation failure:
kubectl describe pod techops-examples
you can see that the container is in the “Waiting” state with the reason listed as CreateContainerError
Containers:
techops-examples:
Container ID:
Image: ubuntu:latest
Image ID:
State: Waiting
Reason: CreateContainerError
Ready: False
Restart Count: 0
Resources:
limits:
memory: "4Gi"
cpu: "2000m"
Volumes:
data-volume:
Type: PersistentVolumeClaim (created from a PVC)
Name: data-pvc
Optional: false
2. Retrieve Logs
Use the following command to check the logs of the Pod’s container and find more details on why the container failed to start:
kubectl logs techops-examples
If the container has not yet been created, you may see an error indicating that there are no logs available.
3. Analyze Recent Pod Events
Use the kubectl get events
command to view recent events related to the Pod and identify any specific reasons for the CreateContainerError
.
kubectl get events --field-selector involvedObject.name=techops-examples
Example Output:
LAST SEEN TYPE REASON OBJECT MESSAGE
30s Warning FailedCreate pod/techops-examples Failed to create container: CreateContainerError
4. Validate Resource Availability
Check if there are enough resources available (CPU and memory) on the node to run the container. Use:
kubectl top nodes
Fixing CreateContainerError:
1. Fix Image Issues
If the image specified is incorrect, ensure the correct image is pulled by providing a valid image name and tag:
containers:
- name: techops-examples
image: nginx:1.21.3
command: ["/bin/bash", "-c", "echo Application is up"]
If the error is caused by a missing command, add a valid entrypoint to the image.
2. Adjust Resource Requests
If the container is failing due to insufficient resources, adjust the resource requests and limits in the Pod configuration to fit the available resources on the node:
resources:
requests:
memory: "2Gi"
cpu: "1000m"
3. Correct Volume Mounts
If the issue is with missing or misconfigured volumes, verify that the correct PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) is available and referenced properly:
volumes:
- name: data-volume
persistentVolumeClaim:
claimName: data-pvc
in this example, ensure that the data-pvc
exists in the namespace and that it is correctly configured.
4. Check Container Runtime
If there is a problem with the container runtime, review the kubelet logs on the node where the Pod is scheduled. Run the following command on the node:
sudo journalctl -u kubelet
Look for errors related to the container runtime and restart the kubelet or runtime service if needed.
When you finally fixed the problem.
Closing Thoughts:
Running into a CreateContainerError can be frustrating, but it usually comes down to checking your image, resources, volume mounts, and runtime environment.
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