"The connection to the server localhost:8080 was refused - did you specify the right host or port?" - kubernetes

Question

I'm on an ec2 instance trying to get my cluster created. I have kubectl already installed and here are my services and workloads yaml files
services.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
name: stockapi-webapp
spec:
selector:
app: stockapi
ports:
- name: http
port: 80
type: LoadBalancer
workloads.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: stockapi
spec:
selector:
matchLabels:
app: stockapi
replicas: 1
template: # template for the pods
metadata:
labels:
app: stockapi
spec:
containers:
- name: stock-api
image: public.ecr.aws/u1c1h9j4/stock-api:latest
When I try to run
kubectl apply -f workloads.yaml
I get this as an error
The connection to the server localhost:8080 was refused - did you specify the right host or port?
I also tried changing the port in my services.yaml to 8080 and that didn't fix it either

Answer 1

This error comes when you don't have ~/.kube/config file present or configured correctly on the client / where you run the kubectl command.
kubectl reads the clusterinfo and which port to connect to from the ~/.kube/config file.
if you are using eks here's how you can create config file
aws eks create kubeconfig file

Answer 2

Encountered the exact error in my cluster when I executed the "kubectl get nodes" command.
The connection to the server localhost:8080 was refused - did you specify the right host or port?
I ran the following command in master node and it fixed the error.
apt-get update && apt-get install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | apt-key add -
add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu focal stable"
apt-get update && apt-get install -y containerd.io
Configure containerd
mkdir -p /etc/containerd
containerd config default > /etc/containerd/config.toml
systemctl restart containerd

Answer 3

I was following the instructions on aws
With me, I was on a Mac. I had docker desktop installed. This seemed to include kubectl in homebrew
I traced it down to a link in usr/local/bin and renamed it to kubectl-old
Then I reinstalled kubectl, put it on my path and everything worked.
I know this is very specific to my case, but may help others.

Answer 4

I found how to solve this question. Run the below commands
1.sudo -i
2.swapoff -a
3.exit
4.strace -eopenat kubectl version
and you can type kubectl get nodes again.
Cheers !

Answer 5

In my case I had a problem with a certificate authority. Found out that by checking the kubectl config
kubectl config view
The clusters part was null, instead of having something similar to
- cluster:
certificate-authority-data: DATA+OMITTED
server: https://kubernetes.docker.internal:6443
name: docker-desktop
It was not parsed because of time differences between my machine and a server (several seconds was enough).
Running
sudo apt-get install ntp
sudo apt-get install ntpdate
sudo ntpdate ntp.ubuntu.com
Had solved the issue.

Answer 6

My intention is to create my own bare-metal Kubernetes Cloud with up to six nodes. I immediate ran into issues with the below intermittent issue.
"The connection to the server 192.168.1.88:6443 was refused - did you specify the right host or port?"
I have performed a two node installation (master and slave) about 20 different times using a multitude of “how to” sites. I would say I have had the most success with the below link…
https://www.knowledgehut.com/blog/devops/install-kubernetes-on-ubuntu
…however every install results in the intermittent issue above.
Given this issue is intermittent, I have to assume the necessary folder structure and permissions exist, the necessary application prerequisites exist, services/processes are starting under the correct context, and the installation was performed properly (using sudo at the appropriate times).
Again, the problem is intermittent. I will work, then stop, and the start again. A reboot sometimes corrects the issue.
Using Ubuntu ubuntu-22.04.1-desktop-amd64.
I have read a lot of comments on line concerning this issue, and a majority of the recommended fixes deals with creating directories and installing packages under the correct user context.
I do not believe this is the problem I am having given the issue is intermittent.
Linux is not my strong suite…and I would rather not go the Windows route. I am doing this to learn something new and would like to experience the entire enchilada (from OS install, to Kubernetes Cluster install, and then to Docker deployments).
I could be said that problems are the best teachers. And I would agree with that. However, I would like to absolutely know that I am starting with a stable working set of instructions before devoting endless hours trouble shooting bad/incorrect documentation.
Any ideas on how to proceed with correcting this problem?
d0naldashw0rth(at)yahoo(dot)com

Answer 7

I got the same error and after switching from root user to regular user (ubuntu, etc...) my problem was fixed.

Answer 8

Exactly the same issues as Donald wrote.
I've tried all the suggestions as you described above.
sudo systemctl stop kubelet
sudo systemctl start kubelet
strace -eopenat kubectl version
mkdir -p $HOME/.kube
sudo cp -i /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf $HOME/.kube/config
sudo chown $(id -u):$(id -g) $HOME/.kube/config
export KUBECONFIG=$HOME/.kube/config
The cluster crashes intermittent. Sometimes works, sometimes not.
The connection to the server x.x.x.x:6443 was refused - did you specify the right host or port?
Any idea else? Thank you!