Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)
Fully managed Kubernetes service for running containerized applications on AWS and on-premises
K3s
Lightweight, production‑ready Kubernetes in a single <100 MB binary
K3s delivers a fully conformant Kubernetes distribution that runs with half the memory, a sub‑100 MB binary, and minimal OS dependencies—ideal for edge, IoT, CI, and ARM environments.
Overview
Who should consider K3s?
K3s is built for teams that need a production‑ready Kubernetes cluster but cannot afford the resource overhead of a full upstream stack. It shines on edge gateways, IoT devices, CI pipelines, development laptops, and ARM‑based servers where memory and storage are at a premium.
Core capabilities
Packaged as a single <100 MB binary, K3s bundles containerd, flannel, CoreDNS, Traefik, and a lightweight datastore (sqlite3 by default) while remaining fully conformant with upstream Kubernetes APIs. Optional back‑ends such as etcd, MySQL, MariaDB, or Postgres can replace the default datastore. The distribution includes built‑in TLS management, automatic node‑to‑server connection handling, and real‑time manifest syncing, reducing operational complexity.
Simple deployment
Installation is a one‑liner (curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -) that registers the service with systemd or OpenRC and generates a kubeconfig at /etc/rancher/k3s/k3s.yaml. Workers join by setting K3S_URL and K3S_TOKEN. Minimal OS requirements (kernel, cgroup mounts) and the ability to swap out bundled components make K3s adaptable to a wide range of environments while keeping the footprint small.
Highlights
Single <100 MB binary containing core Kubernetes and essential add‑ons
Default sqlite3 datastore with support for etcd, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL
Built‑in TLS, automatic node‑to‑server connections, and real‑time manifest sync
Minimal OS dependencies; runs on x86_64, ARM, edge and IoT devices
Pros
- Low memory footprint suitable for constrained environments
- Simplified one‑line installation and management
- Fully conformant with upstream Kubernetes APIs
- Integrated components reduce external dependencies
Considerations
- Limited built‑in cloud provider integrations; relies on external CSI/CCM
- In‑tree storage drivers and cloud provider removed
- Customizing requires manual swapping of bundled components
- Enterprise‑grade support may need additional tooling
Managed products teams compare with
When teams consider K3s, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
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Fit guide
Great for
- Deploying Kubernetes clusters on edge gateways or IoT devices
- Running CI/CD pipelines where fast spin‑up and low resource use matter
- Development workstations needing a local cluster without heavy overhead
- ARM‑based servers or single‑board computers
Not ideal when
- Large‑scale data‑center deployments requiring extensive cloud provider integrations
- Environments dependent on in‑tree storage drivers or legacy cloud plugins
- Scenarios demanding built‑in high‑availability control plane across many nodes
- Use cases needing extensive custom CNI or ingress solutions out of the box
How teams use it
Edge gateway cluster for remote sensor aggregation
Collects and processes sensor data locally with minimal latency and resource consumption.
CI pipeline Kubernetes executor
Spins up disposable clusters for test runs, reducing build times and infrastructure costs.
Development environment on a laptop
Provides a full Kubernetes API for local testing without consuming excessive RAM or storage.
ARM‑based home server orchestration
Runs container workloads on Raspberry Pi or similar devices with a single binary install.
Tech snapshot
Go90%
Shell9%
HCL1%
Ruby1%
Dockerfile1%
Makefile1%
Frequently asked questions
How does K3s differ from standard Kubernetes?
K3s packages core Kubernetes components plus essential add‑ons into a single binary, uses sqlite3 by default, and removes in‑tree cloud and storage drivers to reduce size and memory usage.
Can I use an external database instead of sqlite?
Yes, K3s supports etcd, MySQL, MariaDB, and PostgreSQL as alternative datastores.
Is K3s compatible with existing Kubernetes manifests?
K3s is fully conformant with upstream APIs, so standard manifests, Helm charts, and kubectl commands work unchanged.
What are the system requirements?
A Linux kernel with cgroup support, basic networking, and minimal utilities; the binary itself is under 100 MB and runs on x86_64 and ARM architectures.
How do I join worker nodes?
Export K3S_URL pointing to the server and K3S_TOKEN from /var/lib/rancher/k3s/server/node-token, then run the install script on the worker.
Project at a glance
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LicenseApache-2.0
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Primary languageGo
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