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9.2 Choosing Kubernetes Infrastructure

Abstract

Kubernetes can run on a laptop, virtual machines, physical servers, private cloud, or public cloud.

The right infrastructure choice depends on the purpose of the cluster, team skill level, cloud strategy, production requirements, and operations responsibility.

Infrastructure Options Overview

Kubernetes infrastructure can be grouped into four common options.

Option Best For Responsibility
Minikube Learning and local labs Tool provisions local VM/container
kubeadm Learning, testing, on-prem, custom clusters You prepare and maintain nodes
Turnkey solutions Private cloud or enterprise platforms You manage infrastructure, tool automates Kubernetes setup
Hosted / managed solutions Production cloud workloads Cloud provider manages control plane and much of the platform

Question

Before choosing an option, ask: Do I want to learn Kubernetes internals, or do I want a production-ready managed platform?

Local Kubernetes Options

For local learning and development, use lightweight tools.

Minikube creates a single-node Kubernetes cluster on your local machine.

Best for:

  • education
  • local practice
  • basic Kubernetes labs
  • testing YAML manifests

Key points:

  • deploys a local VM or container-based cluster
  • creates a single-node cluster
  • easy to start and delete
  • not designed for production
minikube start

Tip

Use Minikube when you want the fastest way to practice Kubernetes locally.

kubeadm bootstraps Kubernetes on already prepared Linux machines.

Best for:

  • learning cluster setup
  • single-node clusters
  • multi-node clusters
  • on-premises environments
  • understanding Kubernetes internals

Key points:

  • requires VMs or servers to be ready first
  • supports single-node and multi-node clusters
  • gives more control than Minikube
  • requires manual operations and maintenance
kubeadm init
kubeadm join <control-plane-endpoint>:6443 --token <token>

Note

kubeadm does not create VMs for you. You must provision and configure the machines first.

Local Machine Considerations

Kubernetes can run locally, but the setup depends on the operating system.

OS / Environment Notes
Linux Can run Kubernetes components directly or through tools
macOS Usually uses VM/container-based tools like Minikube, Kind, or Docker Desktop
Windows Usually requires virtualization such as Hyper-V, VMware, VirtualBox, or WSL2
Cloud VM Can run kubeadm or lightweight Kubernetes distributions

Warning

Kubernetes control plane components are Linux-based in most learning setups. On Windows or macOS, tools usually create Linux-based VMs or containers behind the scenes.

Minikube vs kubeadm

Feature Minikube kubeadm
VM provisioning Automated Manual
Cluster type Usually single-node Single-node or multi-node
Best for Learning and quick labs Learning real cluster setup
Production use No Possible, but requires strong operations
Complexity Low Medium
Control Limited High

Success

Use Minikube for quick local practice and kubeadm when you want to understand how Kubernetes clusters are built.

Production Infrastructure Choices

For production, Kubernetes infrastructure is commonly divided into:

  1. Turnkey solutions
  2. Hosted / managed solutions

Note

Production clusters require much more than installation. You must plan upgrades, patching, monitoring, backups, scaling, security, and disaster recovery.

Turnkey Solutions

Turnkey solutions help automate Kubernetes deployment, but you still manage the infrastructure.

You are responsible for:

  • provisioning VMs
  • configuring VMs
  • running deployment scripts/tools
  • maintaining the machines
  • patching operating systems
  • upgrading Kubernetes
  • monitoring cluster health

Examples:

  • OpenShift
  • Cloud Foundry Container Runtime
  • VMware Cloud PKS / Tanzu Kubernetes Grid
  • Vagrant-based Kubernetes labs
  • Kubernetes on AWS using kOps

Abstract

Turnkey means the platform helps you deploy Kubernetes, but you still own the infrastructure operations.

Turnkey Solution Examples

Solution Description
OpenShift Red Hat platform built on Kubernetes with extra developer and enterprise features
Cloud Foundry Container Runtime Uses BOSH to deploy and manage HA Kubernetes clusters
VMware Cloud PKS / Tanzu Kubernetes platform for VMware environments
Vagrant Useful scripts and VM automation for local/private cluster creation
kOps Popular tool for self-managed Kubernetes clusters on AWS

Tip

Turnkey solutions are useful when your organization wants Kubernetes but still needs control over the underlying infrastructure.

Hosted / Managed Solutions

Hosted solutions provide Kubernetes as a service.

The provider usually handles:

  • VM provisioning
  • control plane setup
  • control plane availability
  • Kubernetes installation
  • some upgrades
  • integration with cloud networking
  • integration with cloud storage
  • load balancer support

Examples:

  • Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
  • OpenShift Online
  • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
  • Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)

Success

Managed Kubernetes is usually the best option for production teams that want to reduce operational overhead.

Hosted Solution Examples

Hosted Solution Cloud / Provider Notes
GKE Google Cloud Managed Kubernetes with strong upgrade and autoscaling support
OpenShift Online Red Hat Managed OpenShift platform
AKS Azure Managed Kubernetes integrated with Azure services
EKS AWS Managed Kubernetes integrated with AWS IAM, ELB, EBS, and VPC

Note

Older training material may refer to Amazon Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes. The current commonly used name is Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS).

Turnkey vs Hosted Solutions

Area Turnkey Solutions Hosted / Managed Solutions
VM provisioning You provision Provider provisions
Kubernetes install Tool/script assisted Provider installs
Control plane You manage Provider manages
Worker nodes You manage You or provider manages, depending on mode
Upgrades You plan and execute Provider-assisted
Customization High Medium
Operational effort Higher Lower
Production speed Slower Faster

Warning

Turnkey solutions give more control, but they also increase operational responsibility.

Choosing Based on Use Case

Recommended:

  • Minikube
  • Kind
  • kubeadm single-node cluster

Avoid:

  • complex HA clusters
  • expensive cloud resources
  • production-grade managed add-ons

Tip

For CKA-style learning, kubeadm is very useful because it teaches real cluster setup concepts.

Recommended:

  • kubeadm multi-node cluster
  • managed Kubernetes dev cluster
  • shared team cluster

Include:

  • CNI plugin
  • StorageClass
  • Ingress controller
  • basic monitoring
  • namespace isolation

Recommended:

  • GKE, EKS, AKS, or OpenShift
  • HA control plane
  • multiple worker nodes
  • autoscaling
  • monitoring and logging
  • backup and restore
  • network security controls

Danger

Do not run production workloads on experimental local clusters.

Cloud vs On-Prem

Decision Factor Cloud On-Prem
Setup speed Faster Slower
Control Medium High
Operational burden Lower with managed services Higher
Hardware ownership Provider-owned Organization-owned
Scaling Easier Requires capacity planning
Compliance Depends on requirements Often preferred for strict internal control
Cost model OpEx CapEx + OpEx

Question

Choose on-prem when you need strict infrastructure control. Choose managed cloud when speed, scalability, and operational simplicity matter more.

Production Best Practices

Recommended

  • Prefer managed Kubernetes when possible
  • Use kubeadm when you need full control or on-prem deployment
  • Use HA control plane for production
  • Separate control plane and worker nodes
  • Use multiple availability zones in cloud
  • Use production-ready CNI and CSI drivers
  • Enable centralized logging and monitoring
  • Use automated upgrades carefully
  • Back up etcd for self-managed clusters
  • Use RBAC and least privilege
  • Use infrastructure as code for repeatability

Do's

  • Choose infrastructure based on cluster purpose
  • Use Minikube for local learning
  • Use kubeadm to understand real cluster setup
  • Use managed Kubernetes for production when possible
  • Plan networking, storage, monitoring, and security early
  • Validate node sizing before production rollout
  • Automate provisioning with IaC tools
  • Keep cluster upgrades planned and tested

Don'ts

  • Don't use Minikube for production
  • Don't choose self-managed clusters without operations expertise
  • Don't ignore patching and upgrades
  • Don't deploy production clusters without monitoring
  • Don't expose the API server without strong security
  • Don't use one design for every workload
  • Don't forget backup and disaster recovery planning
  • Don't assume hosted Kubernetes means zero responsibility

Warning

Managed Kubernetes reduces operational work, but you are still responsible for application security, RBAC, networking policies, workload configuration, and cost control.

Common Infrastructure Selection Mistakes

Mistake Problem
Using local tools for production No HA, poor reliability
Choosing self-managed without operations skills Upgrade and security risks
Ignoring cloud-native integrations More manual work
No storage planning Stateful apps fail
No CNI evaluation Network policy or routing issues
No cost review Unexpected cloud bills
No HA planning Outages during node failures
No upgrade strategy Version drift and security gaps

Bug

Kubernetes installation is only the first step. Long-term operations usually decide whether the platform succeeds.

Example Decision Matrix

Requirement Recommended Choice
Quick local learning Minikube
CKA practice and internals kubeadm
Local multi-node testing kubeadm or Kind
Enterprise private cloud OpenShift / VMware Tanzu / kubeadm
AWS production EKS
GCP production GKE
Azure production AKS
Full infrastructure control kubeadm or turnkey
Lowest operational overhead managed Kubernetes

Reference Architecture for This Course

For learning purposes, a simple local cluster is enough.

Example design:

Laptop
  └── VirtualBox
      ├── master-01
      ├── worker-01
      └── worker-02

Cluster layout:

Node Role
master-01 Control plane
worker-01 Worker
worker-02 Worker

Note

This design is good for learning and labs, but production requires HA control plane, multiple worker nodes, monitoring, backups, and stronger security.

Quick Checklist

Before choosing infrastructure, confirm:

  • Is this for learning, testing, or production?
  • Do you need single-node or multi-node?
  • Do you need HA?
  • Are you using cloud or on-prem?
  • Who will manage upgrades?
  • Who will patch the nodes?
  • What CNI plugin will be used?
  • What storage backend will be used?
  • How will monitoring and logging work?
  • How will backups be handled?
  • What is the expected traffic pattern?
  • What is the cost model?

Summary

Quote

  • Kubernetes can run locally, on-prem, or in the cloud
  • Minikube is best for local learning
  • kubeadm is best for learning real cluster setup and custom clusters
  • Turnkey solutions automate deployment but still require infrastructure management
  • Hosted solutions provide Kubernetes as a managed service
  • Production clusters should prioritize HA, security, monitoring, backup, and upgrade strategy