Learn Kubernetes Basics

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Learn how to use Kubernetes with conceptual, tutorial, and reference documentation. You can even help contribute to the docs!

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Setup

Kubernetes v1.13 documentation is no longer actively maintained. The version you are currently viewing is a static snapshot. For up-to-date documentation, see the latest version.

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Setup

Use this page to find the type of solution that best fits your needs.

Deciding where to run Kubernetes depends on what resources you have available and how much flexibility you need. You can run Kubernetes almost anywhere, from your laptop to VMs on a cloud provider to a rack of bare metal servers. You can also set up a fully-managed cluster by running a single command or craft your own customized cluster on your bare metal servers.

Local-machine Solutions
Hosted Solutions
Turnkey – Cloud Solutions
Turnkey – On-Premises Solutions
Custom Solutions
What's next

Local-machine Solutions

A local-machine solution is an easy way to get started with Kubernetes. You can create and test Kubernetes clusters without worrying about consuming cloud resources and quotas.

You should pick a local solution if you want to:

Try or start learning about Kubernetes
Develop and test clusters locally

Pick a local-machine solution.

Hosted Solutions

Hosted solutions are a convenient way to create and maintain Kubernetes clusters. They manage and operate your clusters so you don’t have to.

You should pick a hosted solution if you:

Want a fully-managed solution
Want to focus on developing your apps or services
Don’t have dedicated site reliability engineering (SRE) team but want high availability
Don’t have resources to host and monitor your clusters

Pick a hosted solution.

Turnkey – Cloud Solutions

These solutions allow you to create Kubernetes clusters with only a few commands and are actively developed and have active community support. They can also be hosted on a range of Cloud IaaS providers, but they offer more freedom and flexibility in exchange for effort.

You should pick a turnkey cloud solution if you:

Want more control over your clusters than the hosted solutions allow
Want to take on more operations ownership

Pick a turnkey cloud solution

Turnkey – On-Premises Solutions

These solutions allow you to create Kubernetes clusters on your internal, secure, cloud network with only a few commands.

You should pick a on-prem turnkey cloud solution if you:

Want to deploy clusters on your private cloud network
Have a dedicated SRE team
Have the resources to host and monitor your clusters

Pick an on-prem turnkey cloud solution.

Custom Solutions

Custom solutions give you the most freedom over your clusters but require the most expertise. These solutions range from bare-metal to cloud providers on different operating systems.

Pick a custom solution.

What's next

Go to Picking the Right Solution for a complete list of solutions.

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