---
name: satellite-ts-hosts-debug
title: Debugging host health
description: By default, IBM Cloud Satellite monitors the health of your hosts and tries to resolve issues automatically for you. For issues that cannot be resolved automatically, you can debug the hosts by reviewing the provided health information.
last-updated: 2026-08-14
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?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 host health
{: #ts-hosts-debug}

By default, IBM Cloud Satellite monitors the health of your hosts and tries to resolve issues automatically for you. For issues that cannot be resolved automatically, you can debug the hosts by reviewing the provided health information.
{: shortdesc}


You can verify your host setup with the `satellite-host-check` script. For more information, see [Checking your host setup](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-host-network-check&format=markdown).
{: tip}


1. Review the health and status of your hosts. From the CLI, list your hosts in a location. From the console, click your location, and then click the **Hosts** tab.
    ```sh
    ibmcloud sat host ls --location LOCATION_NAME_OR_ID
    ```
    {: pre}

    Example output
    ```sh
    Name               ID                     State        Status   Cluster          Worker ID   Worker IP   
    satellite-test-1   aaaaa1a11aaaaaa111aa   assigned     -        infrastructure   -           -   
    ```
    {: screen}

2. Review the states and the steps to resolve the issue in the following table.
3. Check that your hosts still meet the [minimum requirements](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-host-reqs&format=markdown), such as for network connectivity. For example, if you change the firewall rules for the host machine's public or private network connectivity, you might make the host unsupported by blocking the necessary ports and IP addresses. For cloud provider-specific configurations, see [Cloud infrastructure providers](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-infrastructure-plan&format=markdown).
4. Check your logs by logging in to the host. For more information, see [Enabling SSH on Satellite hosts](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-enabling-ssh-on-hosts&format=markdown).
5. If your host still has issues, try to [remove](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-host-remove&format=markdown), update, and [reattach the host](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-attach-hosts&format=markdown).

When you attach hosts to a Satellite location, IBM Cloud monitors the host and reports back statuses that you can use to keep your hosts healthy. For more information, see [IBM monitoring to resolve and report location alerts](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-monitor&format=markdown#monitoring-default). For troubleshooting help, see [Debugging host health](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-ts-hosts-debug&format=markdown).
{: shortdesc}

You can review the host health from the **Hosts** table in the [Satellite console](https://cloud.ibm.com/satellite/locations){: external}, or by running `ibmcloud sat host ls --location <location_name_or_ID>`.

| Health state | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `assigned` | The host is assigned to a Satellite resource, such as a location control plane or cluster. View the status for more information. If the status is `-`, the hosts did not complete the bootstrapping process to the Satellite resource. For hosts that you just assigned, wait an hour or so for the process to complete. If you still see the status, [log in to the host to continue debugging](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-ts-hosts-login&format=markdown).|
| `health-pending` | The host is assigned and bootstrapped into the cluster as worker nodes that are provisioned and deployed. However, the health components that IBM sets up in the host cannot communicate status back to IBM Cloud. Make sure that your hosts meet the [minimum host and network connectivity requirements](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-reqs-host-network&format=markdown) and that the hosts are not blocked by a firewall in your infrastructure provider. |
| `provisioning` | The host is attached to the Satellite location and is in the process of bootstrapping to become part of a Satellite resource, such as the worker node of a Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud cluster. While the host reports a `provisioning` state, the worker node goes through the states of provisioning and deploying. You can log in to the host while in this state to view logs. See [Enabling SSH on Satellite hosts](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-enabling-ssh-on-hosts&format=markdown). |
| `ready` | The host is attached to the Satellite location and ready to be [assigned to a Satellite resource](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-assigning-hosts&format=markdown).|
| `normal` | The host is assigned to a Satellite resource, such as a location control plane or cluster, and ready for usage. |
| `reload-required` | The host is attached to the Satellite location, but requires a reload before it can be assigned to a Satellite resource. For example, you might have deleted a Satellite cluster, and now all the hosts from the cluster require a reload. To reload a host, you must [remove the host from the location](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-host-remove&format=markdown), reload the operating system in the underlying infrastructure provider, and [attach the host](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-attach-hosts&format=markdown) back to the location. |
| `unassigned` | The host is attached to the Satellite location and ready to be [assigned to a Satellite resource](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-assigning-hosts&format=markdown). If you tried to assign the host unsuccessfully, see [Cannot assign hosts to a cluster](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-assign-fails&format=markdown).|
| `unknown` | The health of the host is unknown. If the host is unassigned, try [assigning the host](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-assigning-hosts&format=markdown) to a Satellite resource, such as a cluster. If the host is assigned, try debugging the host by following the steps in [debugging the health of the host](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-ts-hosts-debug&format=markdown). If the host still has issues, try removing, updating, and reattaching the host. |
| `unresponsive` | The host did not check in with the Satellite location control plane within the past 5 minutes. The host cannot be assigned when it is unresponsive. Try [debugging the health of the host](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-ts-hosts-debug&format=markdown), particularly the network connectivity. |
{: caption="Host health states." caption-side="bottom"}

When you view the **Hosts** table in the Satellite console, control plane hosts that need attention display updated status labels. The **Action required** label (formerly **Warning**) indicates that the host needs your attention. The **Replacement required** label indicates that the host is significantly out of date and must be replaced. Both statuses display a tooltip that links to the [host update procedure](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-host-update-location&format=markdown#host-update-cp-procedure). For more information, see [Identifying control plane hosts that need updating](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/satellite?topic=satellite-host-update-location&format=markdown#host-update-identify-cli).