Probes

Probes decide whether a Pod should receive traffic or be restarted.

Three types

• readiness: can it receive traffic
• liveness: should it restart
• startup: protect slow startup

Example

readinessProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /readyz
    port: 8080
  periodSeconds: 5
livenessProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /livez
    port: 8080
  periodSeconds: 10

Common pitfalls

• Using liveness as a traffic switch
• Timeouts that are too short

Practical notes

• Start with a quick inventory: kubectl get nodes, kubectl get pods -A, and kubectl get events -A.
• Compare desired vs. observed state; kubectl describe usually explains drift or failed controllers.
• Keep names, labels, and selectors consistent so Services and controllers can find Pods.

Quick checklist

• The resource matches the intent you described in YAML.
• Namespaces, RBAC, and images are correct for the target environment.
• Health checks and logs are in place before promotion.

References

• Probes
• Container Probes