An ACK cluster transitions through multiple states during creation, operation and maintenance, and deletion. This topic describes the full cluster lifecycle and helps you identify and resolve abnormal cluster states.
Cluster lifecycle
The following diagram shows ACK cluster state transitions.
ACK regularly checks cluster status. If a cluster meets abnormal state criteria, its status automatically changes to inactive or unavailable. ACK notifies you by email, and internal message.
The following table lists cluster states and whether management fees apply for ACK managed Pro cluster.
| Phase | Cluster state | Description | Cluster management fee (Pro Edition) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creation and deployment | Initializing (initial) |
The cluster is being created. | Not charged |
| Creation and deployment | Creation failed (failed) |
Cluster creation failed. | Not charged |
| Operation and maintenance | Running (running) |
The cluster is running. | Charged |
| Operation and maintenance | Upgrading (upgrading) |
The cluster is being upgraded. | Charged |
| Operation and maintenance | Draining node (draining) |
Pods are evicted and rebuilt on other nodes. After eviction, the node becomes unschedulable. | Charged |
| Operation and maintenance | Removing node (removing) |
Nodes are being removed from the cluster. | Charged |
| Operation and maintenance | Updating configuration (updating) |
The cluster metadata is being updated. | Charged |
| Operation and maintenance | Inactive (inactive) |
The cluster is temporarily unavailable. See Inactive (inactive). | Not charged |
| Operation and maintenance | Unavailable (unavailable) |
The cluster is unusable due to abnormal underlying cloud resources. See Unavailable (unavailable). | Not charged |
| Deletion and release | Deleting (deleting) |
The cluster is being deleted. | Not charged |
| Deletion and release | Deletion failed (delete_failed) |
Cluster deletion failed. | Not charged |
| Deletion and release | Deleted (deleted) |
The cluster is deleted and no longer visible. | Not charged |
See Billing overview. Billing policies for associated cloud resources take precedence. See Cloud resource fees.
Abnormal cluster states
Inactive (inactive)
A cluster enters the inactive state when abnormal conditions are detected. The status code identifies the cause and resolution.
| Status code | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
KMSUnhealthy |
Encryption at rest for Secrets is enabled with Key Management Service (KMS). KMS is suspended due to overdue payment or other reasons, stopping the control plane. | 1. Log on to the Key Management Service console. 2. Identify the suspension reason and resume the service. 3. Submit a ticket to restore the cluster. |
NoNodeForLongTime |
An ACK Managed Cluster Basic Edition has had no nodes for 14 consecutive days. | Submit a ticket to restore the cluster. After restoration, upgrade to ACK Managed Cluster Pro Edition. |
AssumeRoleNotFound |
The ACK service role is missing, causing control plane failure. | 1. Check the roles required for ACK in Service roles of ACK. 2. Submit a ticket to restore the cluster. |
AssumeUserNotFound |
The Resource Access Management (RAM) user associated with ACK is missing, causing control plane failure. | Submit a ticket for technical support. |
SecurityGroupNotFound |
The ACK security group is missing, causing control plane failure. | Submit a ticket for technical support. |
UnderMaintenance |
The control plane is under background maintenance. | Submit a ticket for technical support. |
ServiceInDebt |
Your available credit (account balance plus cash coupons) is less than the outstanding bill amount. Your ACK Managed Cluster Pro Edition enters the inactive state, and all operations that require API server access fail. If the payment remains overdue for more than 15 days, ACK suspends the service and deletes the cluster's control plane resources. Associated cloud resources — NAT Gateways, Server Load Balancer (SLB) instances, Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances, and ESS scaling groups — are not automatically released but may behave unexpectedly. | Top up your account and pay the overdue bill. The cluster automatically recovers after payment. |
Unavailable (unavailable)
A cluster enters the unavailable state when its underlying cloud resources are released. Clusters in this state cannot be recovered.
| Cause | Affected resource | Recoverable | Solution |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Classic Load Balancer (CLB) instance for the cluster's API server is released. This occurs when the instance is manually released, a subscription instance expires and is automatically released, or a pay-as-you-go instance is released due to overdue payment.
Note
Since December 1, 2024, newly created CLB instances incur instance fees. See Adjustment announcement for Classic Load Balancer CLB billing items. |
CLB instance | No | Delete the cluster or create a new one. See Delete a cluster and Create an ACK managed cluster. |
Impact of abnormal states
The following impacts apply to clusters in the inactive or unavailable state.
Billing
When a cluster enters an abnormal state, the control plane scales in and cluster management fees stop. Fees for associated cloud resources continue.
Operation restrictions
Only these operations are available for clusters in the inactive or unavailable state:
-
Change the cluster deletion protection status
-
Delete the cluster
Scaling group behavior
ACK disables associated scaling groups to prevent new ECS instances from incurring unexpected fees. After the cluster recovers, re-enable scaling groups in the Auto Scaling console if needed.