# Unit kube-apiserver.service could not be found

**URL:** <https://discuss.kubernetes.io/t/unit-kube-apiserver-service-could-not-be-found/32694>\
**Category:** General Discussions\
**Created:** [July 7, 2025, 3:52am UTC](https://discuss.kubernetes.io/t/unit-kube-apiserver-service-could-not-be-found/32694 "2025-07-07T03:52:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![casperli](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discuss.kubernetes.io/casperli/32/17461_2.png) [@casperli](https://discuss.kubernetes.io/u/casperli)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 3:52am UTC](https://discuss.kubernetes.io/t/unit-kube-apiserver-service-could-not-be-found/32694/1 "2025-07-07T03:52:18Z")

</div>

I’m encountering an issue setting up a Kubernetes cluster (v1.33.2) on three Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS VMs (`awsssssv3` as master at 163.246.72.40, `awsssssv4` and `awsssssv5` as workers).

When running `kubectl get nodes` on `awsssssv3`, I get a `connection refused` error to `localhost:8080`.

```console
awosqc@awsssssv3:~$ kubectl get nodes
E0707 02:06:27.281920 64004 memcache.go:265] "Unhandled Error" err="couldn't get current server API group list: Get \"http://localhost:8080/api?timeout=32s\": dial tcp [::1]:8080: connect: connection refused"
E0707 02:06:27.284100 64004 memcache.go:265] "Unhandled Error" err="couldn't get current server API group list: Get \"http://localhost:8080/api?timeout=32s\": dial tcp [::1]:8080: connect: connection refused"
E0707 02:06:27.285664 64004 memcache.go:265] "Unhandled Error" err="couldn't get current server API group list: Get \"http://localhost:8080/api?timeout=32s\": dial tcp [::1]:8080: connect: connection refused"
E0707 02:06:27.287487 64004 memcache.go:265] "Unhandled Error" err="couldn't get current server API group list: Get \"http://localhost:8080/api?timeout=32s\": dial tcp [::1]:8080: connect: connection refused"
E0707 02:06:27.289400 64004 memcache.go:265] "Unhandled Error" err="couldn't get current server API group list: Get \"http://localhost:8080/api?timeout=32s\": dial tcp [::1]:8080: connect: connection refused"
The connection to the server localhost:8080 was refused - did you specify the right host or port?

```

And, execute `sudo systemctl status kube-apiserver` returns `Unit kube-apiserver.service could not be found`, indicating the control plane is not running.

```console
awosqc@awsssssv3:~$ sudo systemctl status kube-apiserver
Unit kube-apiserver.service could not be found.

```

Previous `kubeadm init` attempts on `awsssssv3` with `--pod-network-cidr=10.252.0.1/16` may have failed or been reset. `awsssssv4` and `awsssssv5`’s `kubeadm join` return success message.

```auto
awosqc@awsssssv4:~$ sudo kubeadm join 163.246.72.40:6443 --token <Token> --discovery-token-ca-cert-hash <Hash>
[preflight] Running pre-flight checks
[preflight] Reading configuration from the cluster...
[preflight] FYI: You can look at this config file with 'kubectl -n kube-system get cm kubeadm-config -o yaml'
W0704 10:15:51.225124 27198 configset.go:177] error unmarshaling configuration schema.GroupVersionKind{Group:"kubelet.config.k8s.io", Version:"v1beta1", Kind:"KubeletConfiguration"}: strict decoding error: unknown field "crashLoopBackOff"
[kubelet-start] Writing kubelet configuration to file "/var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml"
[kubelet-start] Writing kubelet environment file with flags to file "/var/lib/kubelet/kubeadm-flags.env"
[kubelet-start] Starting the kubelet
[kubelet-check] Waiting for a healthy kubelet at http://127.0.0.1:10248/healthz. This can take up to 4m0s
[kubelet-check] The kubelet is healthy after 501.501078ms
[kubelet-start] Waiting for the kubelet to perform the TLS Bootstrap

This node has joined the cluster:
* Certificate signing request was sent to apiserver and a response was received.
* The Kubelet was informed of the new secure connection details.

Run 'kubectl get nodes' on the control-plane to see this node join the cluster.

```

I’ve configured `containerd` with `pause:3.10`, resolved a prior CPU issue (≥2 CPUs), and plan to use Calico CNI. Despite resetting and reinitializing, the issue persists. How can I ensure successful cluster initialization and fix the `kube-apiserver` and `kubectl` configuration issues?

## Cluster information

**Kubernetes version:** v1.33.2  
**Cloud being used:** VMs on Proxmox VE  
**Installation method:** APT Commands and `kubeadm`  
**Host OS:** Ubuntu 24.04.02 LTS  
**CNI and version:** Calico Not Installed Yet  
**CRI and version:** `containerd github.com/containerd/containerd 1.7.27`