What does an empty ' ' in endpoints mean?

Kubernetes5 min read2026-03-01

Kubernetes Service Not Accessible (Connection Refused or Timeout)

Debug Kubernetes Service routing issues, mismatched selector labels, and targetPort configurations.

Error Code / Stack Trace

curl: (7) Failed to connect to my-service port 80: Connection refused

Problem Overview

Client cannot reach the application via its ClusterIP or NodePort Service endpoint.

Why Does This Happen?

Mismatched selector labels between the Service and Pod template.
targetPort does not match the actual port the container application is listening on.
Pods are failing readiness probes and have been removed from the service endpoints.

Step-by-Step Solution

Step 1: Check if Service has registered endpoints

Verify that the service is actually routing to live pod IP addresses.

bash

kubectl get endpoints <service-name>

Step 2: Match Service selector with Pod labels

Ensure labels in service.spec.selector match pod metadata.labels exactly.

yaml

# Deployment metadata:
spec:
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: backend # MUST MATCH

# Service definition:
spec:
  selector:
    app: backend # MUST MATCH
  ports:
    - port: 80
      targetPort: 8080 # Container listening port

Common Mistakes to Avoid

•Confusing port (the port the service exposes internally) with targetPort (the port your container listens on).

Prevention & Best Practices

Always inspect 'kubectl get endpoints' first whenever a service refuses connections.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an empty '<none>' in endpoints mean?

It means no pods currently match the Service selector labels or all matching pods are failing readiness probes.