A new node reports NotReady until networking and system components are fully initialized. If it stays that way, the issue is almost always related to networking or permissions.

Common causes include CNI plugins failing to start, blocked outbound access, or missing permissions required for node bootstrapping. Looking at node events usually reveals whether kubelet, networking, or system pods are failing.

This is rarely a compute issue and almost never fixed by simply waiting longer.

Takeaway: Persistent NotReady nodes usually point to networking or bootstrap failures.