Sync CNV runbook VirtLauncherPodsStuckFailed.md (Updated at 2025-12-15 13:51:06 +0000 UTC)

alerts/openshift-virtualization-operator/VirtLauncherPodsStuckFailed.md

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+# VirtLauncherPodsStuckFailed
+
+## Meaning
+
+This alert fires when a large number of virt-launcher Pods remain in Failed
+phase.
+
+Condition: `cluster:kubevirt_virt_launcher_failed:count >= 200` for 10 minutes
+Virt-launcher Pods host VM workloads and mass failures can indicate migration
+loops,
+image/network/storage issues, or control-plane regressions.
+
+## Impact
+
+VMs and the cluster control plane may be affected:
+
+- API server and etcd pressure (large object lists/watches, increased latency)
+- Controller and scheduler slowdown (reconciliation over huge Pod sets)
+- Monitoring cardinality spikes (kube-state-metrics and Prometheus load)
+- Operational churn (re-creation loops, CNI and storage attach/detach)
+- Triage noise and SLO risk (timeouts on list operations, noisy dashboards)
+
+## Diagnosis
+
+1. Confirm scope and distribution:
+
+```promql
+cluster:kubevirt_virt_launcher_failed:count
+```
+```promql
+count by (namespace) (kube_pod_status_phase{phase="Failed", pod=~"virt-launcher-.*"} == 1)
+```
+```promql
+count by (node) (
+  (kube_pod_status_phase{phase="Failed", pod=~"virt-launcher-.*"} == 1)
+  * on(pod) group_left(node) kube_pod_info{pod=~"virt-launcher-.*", node!=""}
+)
+```
+```promql
+topk(5, count by (reason) (kube_pod_container_status_last_terminated_reason{pod=~"virt-launcher-.*"} == 1))
+```
+
+2. Sample failed Pods and events:
+
+```bash
+# List a few failed virt-launcher pods cluster-wide
+oc get pods -A -l kubevirt.io=virt-launcher --field-selector=status.phase=Failed --no-headers | head -n 20
+```
+```bash
+# Inspect events for a representative pod (image/CNI/storage/useful errors)
+oc -n <namespace> describe pod <virt-launcher-pod> | sed -n '/Events/,$p'
+```
+
+3. Check for migration storms:
+
+```bash
+oc get vmim -A
+```
+
+4. Control plane and component logs (look for spikes/errors):
+
+```bash
+NAMESPACE="$(oc get kubevirt -A -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.namespace}')"
+```
+```bash
+oc -n "$NAMESPACE" logs -l kubevirt.io=virt-controller --tail=200
+```
+```bash
+oc -n "$NAMESPACE" logs -l kubevirt.io=virt-handler --tail=200
+```
+
+5. Infrastructure checks (common causes):
+
+- Image pulls: registry reachability/credentials; ImagePullBackOff events
+- Network: CNI errors/timeouts in Pod events and node logs
+- Storage: volume attach/mount errors in Pod events and CSI logs
+
+## Mitigation
+
+1. Reduce blast radius:
+
+- Migration loop: cancel in-flight migrations (scope as needed)
+
+```bash
+oc delete vmim -A
+```
+
+- Coordinate with noisy tenants; pause offending workloads if necessary.
+
+2. Clean up Failed Pods (relieves API/etcd and monitoring):
+
+```bash
+oc get pods -A -l kubevirt.io=virt-launcher --field-selector=status.phase=Failed -o name | xargs -r -n50 oc delete
+```
+
+3. Resolve root cause:
+
+- Image issues: fix registry access, credentials, or tags; re-run affected
+workloads.
+- Network/CNI: fix CNI/data-plane errors; confirm new Pods start cleanly.
+- Storage: resolve attach/mount failures; verify PVC/VolumeSnapshot health.
+- OpenShift Virtualization regression: roll forward/back to a known-good
+version and re-try.
+
+4. Validate resolution (alert clears):
+
+```promql
+cluster:kubevirt_virt_launcher_failed:count
+```
+
+Ensure the failed count drops and stays below threshold
+and that new virt-launcher Pods start successfully and VMIs are healthy.
+
+If you cannot resolve the issue, log in to the
+[Customer Portal](https://access.redhat.com) and open a support case,
+attaching the artifacts gathered during the diagnosis procedure.