Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)
Fully managed Kubernetes service for running containerized applications on AWS and on-premises
MicroK8s
Lightweight, single-package Kubernetes for laptops, edge, and CI/CD
MicroK8s delivers a tiny, fast, fully-conformant Kubernetes that runs on 42 Linux flavours, ideal for developer workstations, IoT, edge devices, and CI/CD pipelines.
Overview
Overview
MicroK8s is a single‑package Kubernetes distribution that installs in seconds via snap. It bundles all core components and a curated set of add‑ons, providing a fully‑conformant cluster that runs on 42 Linux flavours—from laptops to edge gateways.
Who It Serves
Designed for developers, CI/CD pipelines, and edge/IoT deployments, MicroK8s offers a minimal footprint while staying in lockstep with upstream Kubernetes releases. Users can enable services such as Istio, Knative, Prometheus, Grafana, and GPU bindings with a single command, making it suitable for rapid prototyping and testing.
Deployment & Operations
Installation is a one‑liner (snap install microk8s --classic). After install, the microk8s group grants non‑root access, and microk8s enable activates additional capabilities. Security patches are delivered through snap updates, and version channels let you track stable, candidate, or edge releases. The result is a fast, low‑maintenance Kubernetes that scales from a developer's laptop to production‑grade edge devices.
Highlights
Single‑package install with all dependencies bundled
Add‑on ecosystem (Istio, Knative, Prometheus, GPU bindings) via `microk8s enable`
Automatic security updates and upstream version tracking
Runs on 42 Linux distributions, from laptops to edge devices
Pros
- Very small footprint, suitable for low‑resource environments
- Zero‑ops single node setup simplifies development and testing
- Fast installation via snap, no manual component wiring
- Keeps pace with upstream releases, including beta/RC
Considerations
- Limited to single‑node clusters unless manually clustered
- Advanced multi‑cluster features may require full Kubernetes
- Snap packaging may not be available on all operating systems
- Enterprise support requires a Canonical subscription
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Fit guide
Great for
- Developers needing a local Kubernetes cluster
- IoT and edge deployments with constrained resources
- CI/CD pipelines that require quick spin‑up of K8s
- Teams prototyping service‑mesh or serverless workloads
Not ideal when
- Large production multi‑node clusters requiring high availability
- Organizations needing built‑in RBAC federation across many clusters
- Environments where snap packages are prohibited
- Workloads demanding custom low‑level Kubernetes component tuning
How teams use it
Local development environment
Spin up a full K8s cluster on a laptop in minutes, enabling testing of Helm charts and manifests.
Edge device orchestration
Deploy MicroK8s on a Raspberry Pi to run containerized sensor processing with minimal overhead.
CI pipeline integration
Use MicroK8s in GitHub Actions to run integration tests against a real cluster, reducing external dependencies.
Service mesh evaluation
Enable Istio via `microk8s enable istio` to experiment with traffic routing without complex setup.
Tech snapshot
Python68%
Shell31%
NSIS1%
Frequently asked questions
How do I install MicroK8s?
Run `snap install microk8s --classic` on a supported Linux distribution.
Do I need sudo to use MicroK8s?
Initial install requires sudo, but you can add users to the `microk8s` group to run commands without sudo.
Can I run multiple Kubernetes versions side‑by‑side?
MicroK8s lets you switch channels (stable, candidate, edge) to run different versions, but only one version per node.
How are updates applied?
Security patches are delivered through snap updates; you can apply them immediately or schedule them.
What add‑ons are available?
Built‑in add‑ons include DNS, dashboard, Istio, Linkerd, Knative, Prometheus, Grafana, Fluentd, and GPU bindings.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
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LicenseApache-2.0
Repo age7 years old
Last commityesterday
Primary languagePython
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