Drain Node

Preconditions

Before applying this skill, verify:

• Node name is known
• Other nodes have capacity for evicted pods
• PodDisruptionBudgets won't block critical evictions
• DaemonSet pods are acceptable to ignore

Actions

1. Cordon the Node First

Prevent new pods from scheduling.

mcp_tool: kubernetes-mcp-server/resources_create_or_update
params:
  resource: |
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Node
    metadata:
      name: $node_name
    spec:
      unschedulable: true
timeout: 30s

2. Get Pods on Node

List all pods running on the node.

mcp_tool: kubernetes-mcp-server/pods_list
params:
  labelSelector: ""
timeout: 30s

3. Evict Each Pod

Delete pods to trigger rescheduling (skip DaemonSets).

mcp_tool: kubernetes-mcp-server/pods_delete
params:
  name: $pod_name
  namespace: $pod_namespace
timeout: 30s

4. Verify Node is Drained

Confirm only DaemonSet pods remain.

mcp_tool: kubernetes-mcp-server/pods_list
params:
  labelSelector: ""
timeout: 30s

Success Criteria

The skill succeeds when:

• Node is cordoned
• All non-DaemonSet pods evicted
• Evicted pods rescheduled elsewhere
• No unexpected errors during eviction

Failure Handling

If draining fails:

1. Check PodDisruptionBudget constraints
2. Identify stuck pods (finalizers, etc.)
3. May need to force delete specific pods
4. Uncordon if drain aborted

Examples

Input Context:

{
  "node_name": "worker-node-3",
  "ignore_daemonsets": true,
  "force": false
}

Output:

{
  "node": "worker-node-3",
  "pods_evicted": 12,
  "daemonset_pods_skipped": 3,
  "pods_rescheduled": 12,
  "success": true
}