Kubernetes distributions - quick overview of kubeadm, k3s, MicroK8s, Minikube, Talos Linux and RKE2

Very short overview of kubernetes variants

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Comparing self-hosting Kubernetes distributions for hosting on bare-metal or home servers, focusing on ease of installation, performance, system requirements, and feature sets.

In comparison below we are paying most of attention to simplicity, system requirements and featureset of each kubernetes distro. The detailed comparison see here: Comparison of Kubernetes Distributions for a 3-Node Homelab.

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🧪 Comparison Table / TL;DR

Feature kubeadm k3s MicroK8s Minikube Talos Linux RKE2
Ease of Install ❌ Hard ✅ Very Easy ✅ Very Easy ✅ Easy ⚠️ Moderate ⚠️ Moderate
Resource Usage ⚠️ Moderate ✅ Low ⚠️ Moderate ✅ Low ⚠️ Moderate ⚠️ Moderate
Multi-node Support ✅ Manual ✅ Built-in ✅ Built-in ❌ Limited ✅ Declarative ✅ Built-in
Home Server Friendly ⚠️ Yes ✅ Excellent ✅ Excellent ⚠️ Limited ⚠️ Yes ✅ Yes
Built-in Networking ❌ (CNI req) ✅ (flannel/klipper-lb) ✅ flannel ✅ containerd bridge ✅ yes ✅ yes
Container Runtime Your choice containerd containerd containerd containerd containerd
OS Dependency Any Linux Any Linux Ubuntu best Any OS Talos only Any Linux

Here’s a breakdown:

🧩 Major Kubernetes Variants for Self-Hosting

1. Kubernetes (vanilla) – kubeadm

  • Description: Official upstream Kubernetes using kubeadm as the bootstrap tool.

  • Best for: Learning Kubernetes the hard way, production-like DIY clusters.

  • System Requirements:

    • CPU: ≥2 cores per node.
    • RAM: ≥2GB (≥4GB recommended).
    • Disk: 20GB+.
    • OS: Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, etc.)

  • Installation Difficulty: ⚠️ Advanced

    • Requires setting up container runtime (containerd, CRI-O), networking (CNI plugins), and more.
    • Flexible but very manual.

  • Baremetal Suitability: Good, but high effort.

2. k3s (by Rancher)

  • Description: K3s is a lightweight Kubernetes distribution optimized for IoT, edge, and home lab use.

  • Best for: Home labs, Raspberry Pis, low-resource machines.

  • System Requirements:

    • CPU: 1 core minimum.
    • RAM: 512MB minimum (1GB+ recommended).
    • Disk: 1GB minimum (10GB+ ideal).

  • Installation Difficulty: ✅ Very Easy

    • Single binary, installs with one script.
    • Bundles containerd, simplified networking, etc.

  • Baremetal Suitability: Excellent.

  • Special Features:

    • SQLite as default datastore (can use etcd or external DB).
    • Built-in service load balancer (klipper-lb).
    • Auto-deploy of manifests via /var/lib/rancher/k3s/server/manifests.

3. MicroK8s (by Canonical)

  • Description: MicroK8s A single-package Kubernetes distribution, designed for simplicity and modularity.

  • Best for: Developers, test clusters, small production environments.

  • System Requirements:

    • CPU: 1+ cores.
    • RAM: 2GB minimum (4GB+ ideal).
    • Disk: 20GB+.
    • OS: Linux (best on Ubuntu).

  • Installation Difficulty: ✅ Very Easy

    • snap install microk8s --classic
    • Comes with built-in add-ons (dashboard, Istio, Knative, etc.)

  • Baremetal Suitability: Excellent, especially on Ubuntu.

  • Notes:

    • Uses own networking (flanneld).
    • Has automatic HA clustering with microk8s add-node.

4. Minikube

  • Description: Minikube is a tool for running Kubernetes locally using VMs or containers.

  • Best for: Local development only.

  • System Requirements:

    • CPU: 2+ cores.
    • RAM: 2GB+.
    • Disk: 20GB+.

  • Installation Difficulty: ✅ Very Easy

    • Installs via minikube start.

  • Baremetal Suitability: Limited (needs virtualization).

  • Not ideal for multi-node or real-world deployment.

5. Talos Linux

  • Description: Talos Linux is a secure, immutable OS designed to run Kubernetes only.

  • Best for: Advanced users seeking secure, GitOps-oriented setup.

  • System Requirements:

    • CPU: 2+ cores.
    • RAM: 2GB+.
    • Disk: 8GB+.

  • Installation Difficulty: ⚠️ Moderate to Hard

    • Requires generating configs, booting Talos OS, and installing Kubernetes via talosctl.

  • Baremetal Suitability: Good for pros; not beginner-friendly.

  • Notes:

    • OS is managed declaratively via Talos API.
    • No SSH, no package manager.

6. Flatcar Container Linux + kubeadm

  • Description: Flatcar Container Linux is an immutable OS designed for containers, like CoreOS.

  • Best for: Security and minimal OS footprint.

  • System Requirements: Similar to kubeadm.

  • Installation Difficulty: ⚠️ Advanced

    • You handle Kubernetes install via kubeadm on top of Flatcar.

  • Baremetal Suitability: Good for advanced setups.

7. RKE / RKE2 (Rancher Kubernetes Engine)

  • Description: Rancher’s own installer for Kubernetes.

  • Best for: Rancher-managed clusters, hybrid environments.

  • System Requirements:

    • Similar to kubeadm.

  • Installation Difficulty: ⚠️ Moderate

    • RKE is Docker-based.
    • RKE2 is newer and hardened (uses containerd, SELinux, etc.).

  • Baremetal Suitability: Good for users familiar with Rancher.

🔧 Recommendations

✅ Beginners / Home Labs / Raspberry Pi Clusters

  • Use: k3s or MicroK8s
  • Why: Very simple, low resource usage, fast setup.

✅ Intermediate Users / Want to Learn Kubernetes Internals

  • Use: kubeadm or RKE2
  • Why: Closer to upstream; more manual, but highly educational and customizable.

✅ Security Focus / Immutable Infra

  • Use: Talos Linux
  • Why: Secure, GitOps-native, OS-level control, but steep learning curve.

⚙️ Installation Example – k3s

curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -

Done. Kubeconfig is at /etc/rancher/k3s/k3s.yaml

Kubernetes distributions mentioned in this post