I'm new to Kubernetes and want to set up a home lab to experiment with k3s or kind, but I don't have a powerful machine to work with. I'm searching for recommendations on affordable hardware for a small-scale home lab that can help me learn effectively. If anyone has experience setting this up, I'd really appreciate your advice!
5 Answers
Have you thought about Managed K8s? Most cloud providers give free credits. Just throwing it out there!
You might want to check out the HP t730s on eBay. Just a heads up, RAM is going to be the priciest part, so plan accordingly!
If you're on a tight budget, grab a couple of old desktops or laptops. It doesn't need to be fancy; even stuff from a thrift store will do! Just install Ubuntu Server and k3s on them. As long as you have at least 2GB of RAM for each device, you're good to go! It's a perfect way to learn without the pressure of a production system.
Consider the HP ProDesk or EliteDesk. They have efficient power supplies and are more than capable of running k3s along with other applications.
You could also look into using `talosctl cluster create` to set up a development cluster. Lots of people find cheap NUCs on eBay, and you can even use Raspberry Pis for a low-cost option.
I hear you, but I'm a bit cautious. I want to dive deep into k8s components like the API server and controllers, and I feel like I need a fully accessible cluster where I can break things and really learn.