Chapter 18: Troubleshooting Playbook
⏱️ Total chapter time: ~70 min (40 min reading + 30 min lab)
After this chapter, you will be able to: Systematically debug any broken pod, service, or storage issue in Kubernetes using a repeatable mental model and a concrete set of
kubectlcommands.
What’s Inside
| Section | Topic | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 18.1 | The Debugging Mental Model | ~8 min |
| 18.2 | Pod Failures — CrashLoopBackOff, ImagePullBackOff, OOMKilled | ~10 min |
| 18.3 | Networking Failures — DNS, Services, Connectivity | ~10 min |
| 18.4 | Storage and Permission Issues | ~7 min |
| 18.5 | The Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet | ~5 min |
| 18.6 | Lab: The Kubernetes Debugging Gauntlet | ~30 min |
Prerequisites
- Completed Chapters 1–17 (especially Chapter 5 — Services and Chapter 8 — Storage)
- Minikube cluster running (
minikube status)
Why a “Playbook” and Not Just a List of Fixes
Kubernetes errors have patterns. The same CrashLoopBackOff might be caused by a bad environment variable, a missing Secret, a wrong command, or an OOM kill.
A playbook gives you a decision tree, not a lookup table. You learn to narrow down the cause systematically rather than guessing and applying random fixes.
💡 Tip: The most important debugging skill in Kubernetes is reading
kubectl describe. Most problems announce themselves in the Events section — you just have to know to look there.