Choosing Your On-Prem Kubernetes Distro: Kubeadm vs OpenShift vs Rancher

Running Kubernetes on your own hardware offers power but also complexity, forcing choices about core components. Think of deployment tools as "distributions," similar to Linux, packaging K8s with opinions and tooling. This episode dives into a comparison of popular on-prem K8s distributions: the minimalist `kubeadm`/Kubespray, the integrated OpenShift/OKD, and the versatile Rancher (K3S/RKE2). We explore how they differ significantly in deployment methods, feature sets, operating system integration, and built-in components. Discover the fundamental trade-offs between the raw flexibility of minimal setups and the convenience of opinionated, "batteries-included" platforms. Understand the core philosophies behind each option to help you decide which on-prem Kubernetes flavor best suits your team's needs and infrastructure.

Read the original paper: http://arxiv.org/abs/2407.01620v1
Music: 'The Insider - A Difficult Subject'