Hey everyone! I'm a developer who's familiar with deploying applications on Kubernetes clusters, but I've never managed my own setup or written the associated tooling myself. I recently attended Kubecon 2025 in London, where I realized there's so much more to explore in the Kubernetes world. I want to use two old Mac Minis (2012 i7, 32GB RAM, 1TB storage) for this purpose and I'm wondering:
1. What Linux distribution would be best suited for running Kubernetes? I have experience with Debian-based distros like Ubuntu, but I'm open to other suggestions, especially since I've heard good things about Fedora CoreOS for containers.
2. Can anyone point me to some guides for setting this up, particularly for a headless environment? I want to learn the nuts and bolts, including using ncurses or web-based management tools.
3. Lastly, I'm looking for some good resources or literature to deepen my knowledge. Any tips would be appreciated!
3 Answers
I transitioned my home setup from a Docker Swarm to a k3s cluster on Fedora Server using mismatched hardware. k3s is a good choice for your needs as it starts off with a local SQL database, making it easier for beginners. It has useful built-in features like Traefik that can help you get started. I also recommend checking out k9s for a terminal-based cluster management tool. Lastly, the documentation for both Kubernetes and k3s is solid and invaluable as you learn.
You might want to try Minikube for a simpler environment to learn Kubernetes. It's not high availability, but it provides most of the Kubernetes functionality without needing a multi-node setup. Regarding the OS, use what you're comfortable with—Ubuntu works great for many people. If you're keen to dive deeper, consider setting up a two-node cluster with your Mac Minis, using one as a control plane (maybe as a VM) since it requires fewer resources. The official Kubernetes documentation is your best friend for guides—follow the Debian instructions closely to get things running smoothly. Learn to manage your cluster using the command line, especially with kubectl, and later you can use GUIs like Skooner to simplify management. Don’t worry if it feels overwhelming at first; understanding Kubernetes takes time!
I’m running Proxmox, which is perfect for mixing up permanent and experimental setups, including a k3s cluster in LXC containers for a lightweight Kubernetes environment. It's Debian-based, which should suit you well! Proxmox lets you create virtual machines that can run your Kubernetes nodes. It's a good alternative to just running Docker containers directly on a Linux distro.
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