---
name: containers-ts-addon-debug
title: Debugging cluster add-ons
description: As you use IBM Cloud® Kubernetes Service, consider these techniques for troubleshooting managed add-ons, such as Istio.
last-updated: 2026-07-27
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/containers?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Debugging cluster add-ons
{: #debug_addons}
{: support}

[Virtual Private Cloud]{: tag-vpc} [Classic infrastructure]{: tag-classic-inf}

As you use IBM Cloud® Kubernetes Service, consider these techniques for troubleshooting [managed add-ons](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/containers?topic=containers-managed-addons&format=markdown), such as Istio.
{: shortdesc}




You can check the health state and status of a cluster add-on by running the following command.

```sh
ibmcloud ks cluster addon ls -c CLUSTER_NAME_OR_ID
```
{: pre}

Example output
```sh
Name            Version   Health State   Health Status
debug-tool      2.0.0     normal         Addon Ready
istio           1.4       -              Enabling
```
{: screen}

The **Health State** reflects the lifecycle of the add-on components. Each state is described in the following table.

|Add-on health state|Description|
|--- |--- |
|`critical`|The add-on is not ready to be used for one of the following reasons:  \n - Some or all the add-on components are unhealthy.  \n - The add-on failed to deploy.  \n - The add-on might be at an unsupported version.  \n - Check the **Health Status** field for more information.|
|`normal`|The add-on is successfully deployed. Check the status to verify that the add-on is `Ready` or to see if an update is available.|
|`pending`|Some or all components of the add-on are currently deploying. Wait for the state to become `normal` before working with your add-on.|
|`updating`|The add-on is updating and is not ready to be used. Check the **Health Status** field for the version that the add-on is updating to.|
|`warning`|The add-on might not function properly due to cluster limitations. Check the **Health Status** field for more information.|
{: caption="Add-on health states"}


The **Health Status** provides details of what add-on operation is in progress. Each status is described in the following table.


|Status code|Add-on health status|Description|
|--- |--- |--- |
|H1500|`Addon Ready`|The add-on is successfully deployed and is healthy.|
|H1501, H1502, H1503|`Addon Not Ready`|Some or all the add-on components are unhealthy. Check whether all add-on component pods are running. \n - For example, for the Istio add-on, check whether the pods in the `istio-system` and `ibm-operators` namespaces are in a `Running` state by running the `kubectl get pods -n NAMESPACE` command.\n  |
|H1504, H1505, H1506, H1507, H1508|`Failure determining health status.`|The add-on health can't be determined. [Open a support case](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/containers?topic=containers-get-help&format=markdown). In the description, include the error code from the health status.|
|H1509|`Addon Unsupported`|The add-on runs an unsupported version, or the add-on version is unsupported for your cluster version. [Update your add-on to the latest version](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/containers?topic=containers-managed-addons&format=markdown#updating-managed-add-ons), or see specific update steps for [Istio](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/containers?topic=containers-istio-update&format=markdown#istio_update).|
|H1510|`Cluster resources low, not enough workers in Ready state.`|The add-on is not ready to be used for one of the following reasons:  \n - The cluster does not meet the size criteria for the add-on. For example, check the size requirements for [Istio](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/containers?topic=containers-istio&format=markdown#istio_install). \n - Worker nodes in your cluster are not in a `Normal` state. [Review the worker nodes' state and status](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/containers?topic=containers-debug_worker_nodes&format=markdown). |
|\-|`Enabling`|The add-on is currently deploying to the cluster. Note that the add-on might take up to 15 minutes to install.|
|H1512|`Addon daemonset might not be available on all Ready nodes.`|For the static route add-on: The static route operator `DaemonSet` is not available on any worker nodes, which prevents you from applying static route resources. Your worker nodes can't run the static route operator `DaemonSet` for the following reasons:  \n - One or more worker nodes reached their [resource limits](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/containers?topic=containers-debug_worker_nodes&format=markdown).  \n - One or more worker nodes are running the [maximum number of pods per worker node](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/containers?topic=containers-limitations&format=markdown#classic_limits).|
{: caption="Add-on health statuses"}