Resolving "Unable to Connect to the Remote Server" in PowerShell with Docker

While working on a recent project involving PowerShell and Docker, I encountered an error that prevented my script from connecting to the local server. The error message was:

Waiting for CM to become available...

Invoke-RestMethod : Unable to connect to the remote server

At C:\Projects\Project.Web\up.ps1:121 char:19

+ ...   $status = Invoke-RestMethod "http://localhost:8079/api/http/routers ...
+                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (System.Net.HttpWebRequest:HttpWebRequest) [Invoke-RestMethod], WebException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : WebCmdletWebResponseException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.InvokeRestMethodCommand

This error indicated that the PowerShell script was unable to establish a connection to the server at http://localhost:8079/api/http/routers. After investigating the root cause, I determined the issue was related to Docker's network configuration.

Solution

Here is the step-by-step process I used to resolve this issue.

1. List Docker Networks

First, identify the existing Docker networks by running the following command:

docker network ls

This command lists all the networks currently created by Docker. The output might resemble:

NETWORK ID          NAME                 DRIVER              SCOPE
9b73baa9dff4        bb                   bb                  local
2c2b1a85c1a2        host                 host                local
3e8e8a1c32b4        none                 null                local
7e8f1b1d3f44        my_project_network   bridge              local

2. Remove the Project Network

Identify the network associated with your project and remove it using the following command:

docker network rm <name_of_network>

For example, if the network name is my_project_network, run:

docker network rm my_project_network

This step removes the problematic network configuration, allowing Docker to recreate it with default settings.

3. Rerun the PowerShell Script

After removing the network, rerun your up.ps1 script:

.\up.ps1

This should resolve the connection issue, and the server should now be accessible.

Conclusion

If you encounter similar issues with PowerShell scripts and Docker on Windows, resetting the Docker network configuration can often resolve connectivity errors. If you have any questions or run into additional problems, feel free to leave a comment or reach out.

Happy coding!