Kubernetes vs k3s

Overview

Kubernetes

Stacks61.2K

Followers52.8K

Votes685

k3s

Stacks97

Followers252

Votes16

Kubernetes vs k3s: What are the differences?

Introduction

Kubernetes and k3s are both open-source container orchestration platforms, but they have some key differences in their design and features. In this article, we will explore the main differences between Kubernetes and k3s.

Lightweight and Simplified Architecture: One of the major differences between Kubernetes and k3s lies in their architecture. Kubernetes has a complex architecture with various components like etcd, kube-scheduler, kube-controller-manager, kube-apiserver, and kubelet. On the other hand, k3s is designed to be lightweight and simplified, with fewer components and a smaller footprint. It aims to provide most of the essential Kubernetes functionalities in a more streamlined manner.
Resource Requirements: Another significant difference is the resource requirements. Kubernetes usually requires a larger amount of system resources like CPU and memory to operate efficiently. On the contrary, k3s is optimized for resource-constrained environments and can run smoothly even on devices with limited resources, such as edge devices or Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Ease of Installation and Setup: Kubernetes requires a thorough installation and setup process, involving several steps and configurations. It can be quite complex, especially for beginners. On the other hand, k3s offers a simplified installation process, making it easier to get started. It provides a lightweight, all-in-one binary that can be easily installed with a single command, reducing the setup time and complexity.
Security Features: Kubernetes has robust security features and supports advanced authentication and authorization mechanisms. It provides secure communication channels and enforces strong access controls. K3s, on the other hand, emphasizes simplicity and ease of use over advanced security features. While it includes the essential security measures, it may not have all the advanced security capabilities that are present in Kubernetes.
Plugin Ecosystem: Kubernetes has a robust plugin ecosystem, with a wide range of plugins available for different functionalities such as networking, storage, and logging. These plugins can enhance the capabilities of the platform and provide additional features. K3s, being a lightweight version, may not have the same extensive plugin ecosystem as Kubernetes. Some plugins may not be compatible with k3s or require additional configurations.
Community Support: Kubernetes has a large and active community of users and contributors, with extensive documentation, tutorials, and online resources available. It is widely adopted and has a vibrant ecosystem. K3s, being a relatively new project, may not have the same level of community support and resources. However, as it gains popularity, the community support for k3s is expected to grow.

In summary, Kubernetes is a powerful and feature-rich container orchestration platform with a complex architecture and extensive capabilities, while k3s is a lightweight and simplified version of Kubernetes, optimized for resource-constrained environments and ease of use.

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Advice on Kubernetes, k3s

Simon

Senior Fullstack Developer at QUANTUSflow Software GmbH

Apr 27, 2020

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Our whole DevOps stack consists of the following tools:

@{GitHub}|tool:27| (incl. @{GitHub Pages}|tool:683|/@{Markdown}|tool:1147| for Documentation, GettingStarted and HowTo's) for collaborative review and code management tool
Respectively @{Git}|tool:1046| as revision control system
@{SourceTree}|tool:1599| as @{Git}|tool:1046| GUI
@{Visual Studio Code}|tool:4202| as IDE
@{CircleCI}|tool:190| for continuous integration (automatize development process)
@{Prettier}|tool:7035| / @{TSLint}|tool:5561| / @{ESLint}|tool:3337| as code linter
@{SonarQube}|tool:2638| as quality gate
@{Docker}|tool:586| as container management (incl. @{Docker Compose}|tool:3136| for multi-container application management)
@{VirtualBox}|tool:774| for operating system simulation tests
@{Kubernetes}|tool:1885| as cluster management for docker containers
@{Heroku}|tool:133| for deploying in test environments
@{nginx}|tool:1052| as web server (preferably used as facade server in production environment)
@{SSLMate}|tool:2752| (using @{OpenSSL}|tool:3091|) for certificate management
@{Amazon EC2}|tool:18| (incl. @{Amazon S3}|tool:25|) for deploying in stage (production-like) and production environments
@{PostgreSQL}|tool:1028| as preferred database system
@{Redis}|tool:1031| as preferred in-memory database/store (great for caching)

The main reason we have chosen Kubernetes over Docker Swarm is related to the following artifacts:

Key features: Easy and flexible installation, Clear dashboard, Great scaling operations, Monitoring is an integral part, Great load balancing concepts, Monitors the condition and ensures compensation in the event of failure.
Applications: An application can be deployed using a combination of pods, deployments, and services (or micro-services).
Functionality: Kubernetes as a complex installation and setup process, but it not as limited as Docker Swarm.
Monitoring: It supports multiple versions of logging and monitoring when the services are deployed within the cluster (Elasticsearch/Kibana (ELK), Heapster/Grafana, Sysdig cloud integration).
Scalability: All-in-one framework for distributed systems.
Other Benefits: Kubernetes is backed by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), huge community among container orchestration tools, it is an open source and modular tool that works with any OS.

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Detailed Comparison

Kubernetes	k3s
Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers. It handles scheduling onto nodes in a compute cluster and actively manages workloads to ensure that their state matches the users declared intentions.	Certified Kubernetes distribution designed for production workloads in unattended, resource-constrained, remote locations or inside IoT appliances. Supports something as small as a Raspberry Pi or as large as an AWS a1.4xlarge 32GiB server.
Lightweight, simple and accessible;Built for a multi-cloud world, public, private or hybrid;Highly modular, designed so that all of its components are easily swappable	ARM64 and ARMv7 support; Simplified installation; SQLite3 support; etcd support; Automatic Manifest and Helm Chart management; containerd, CoreDNS, Flannel support
Statistics
Stacks 61.2K	Stacks 97
Followers 52.8K	Followers 252
Votes 685	Votes 16
Pros & Cons
Pros 166 Leading docker container management solution 130 Simple and powerful 108 Open source 76 Backed by google 58 The right abstractions Cons 16 Steep learning curve 15 Poor workflow for development 8 Orchestrates only infrastructure 4 High resource requirements for on-prem clusters 2 Too heavy for simple systems	Pros 6 Lightweight 4 Easy 2 Scale Services 2 Open Source 2 Replication Controller
Integrations
Vagrant Docker Rackspace Cloud Servers Microsoft Azure Google Compute Engine Ansible Google Kubernetes Engine	SQLite

What are some alternatives to Kubernetes, k3s?

Rancher

Rancher is an open source container management platform that includes full distributions of Kubernetes, Apache Mesos and Docker Swarm, and makes it simple to operate container clusters on any cloud or infrastructure platform.

Docker Compose

With Compose, you define a multi-container application in a single file, then spin your application up in a single command which does everything that needs to be done to get it running.

Docker Swarm

Swarm serves the standard Docker API, so any tool which already communicates with a Docker daemon can use Swarm to transparently scale to multiple hosts: Dokku, Compose, Krane, Deis, DockerUI, Shipyard, Drone, Jenkins... and, of course, the Docker client itself.

Tutum

Tutum lets developers easily manage and run lightweight, portable, self-sufficient containers from any application. AWS-like control, Heroku-like ease. The same container that a developer builds and tests on a laptop can run at scale in Tutum.

Portainer

It is a universal container management tool. It works with Kubernetes, Docker, Docker Swarm and Azure ACI. It allows you to manage containers without needing to know platform-specific code.

Codefresh

Automate and parallelize testing. Codefresh allows teams to spin up on-demand compositions to run unit and integration tests as part of the continuous integration process. Jenkins integration allows more complex pipelines.

CAST.AI

It is an AI-driven cloud optimization platform for Kubernetes. Instantly cut your cloud bill, prevent downtime, and 10X the power of DevOps.

Flocker

Flocker is a data volume manager and multi-host Docker cluster management tool. With it you can control your data using the same tools you use for your stateless applications. This means that you can run your databases, queues and key-value stores in Docker and move them around as easily as the rest of your app.

Kitematic

Simple Docker App management for Mac OS X

Docker Machine

Machine lets you create Docker hosts on your computer, on cloud providers, and inside your own data center. It creates servers, installs Docker on them, then configures the Docker client to talk to them.

Related Comparisons

Kubernetes vs k3s: What are the differences?

Introduction

Lightweight and Simplified Architecture: One of the major differences between Kubernetes and k3s lies in their architecture. Kubernetes has a complex architecture with various components like etcd, kube-scheduler, kube-controller-manager, kube-apiserver, and kubelet. On the other hand, k3s is designed to be lightweight and simplified, with fewer components and a smaller footprint. It aims to provide most of the essential Kubernetes functionalities in a more streamlined manner.
Resource Requirements: Another significant difference is the resource requirements. Kubernetes usually requires a larger amount of system resources like CPU and memory to operate efficiently. On the contrary, k3s is optimized for resource-constrained environments and can run smoothly even on devices with limited resources, such as edge devices or Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Ease of Installation and Setup: Kubernetes requires a thorough installation and setup process, involving several steps and configurations. It can be quite complex, especially for beginners. On the other hand, k3s offers a simplified installation process, making it easier to get started. It provides a lightweight, all-in-one binary that can be easily installed with a single command, reducing the setup time and complexity.
Security Features: Kubernetes has robust security features and supports advanced authentication and authorization mechanisms. It provides secure communication channels and enforces strong access controls. K3s, on the other hand, emphasizes simplicity and ease of use over advanced security features. While it includes the essential security measures, it may not have all the advanced security capabilities that are present in Kubernetes.
Plugin Ecosystem: Kubernetes has a robust plugin ecosystem, with a wide range of plugins available for different functionalities such as networking, storage, and logging. These plugins can enhance the capabilities of the platform and provide additional features. K3s, being a lightweight version, may not have the same extensive plugin ecosystem as Kubernetes. Some plugins may not be compatible with k3s or require additional configurations.
Community Support: Kubernetes has a large and active community of users and contributors, with extensive documentation, tutorials, and online resources available. It is widely adopted and has a vibrant ecosystem. K3s, being a relatively new project, may not have the same level of community support and resources. However, as it gains popularity, the community support for k3s is expected to grow.

Kubernetes vs k3s

Overview

Kubernetes vs k3s: What are the differences?