Kubernetes for Platform Teams: Leveraging k0s and k0rdent on OpenStack
This technical article from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) explores a scalable solution for platform engineering teams managing multi-cluster Kubernetes environments. Addressing the high costs and complexity of traditional setups where each cluster requires dedicated control plane nodes, the authors propose using Hosted Control Planes (HCP). By combining k0s, a lightweight Kubernetes distribution, with k0rdent for multi-cluster orchestration, organizations can run control planes within a central management cluster. This approach significantly reduces resource overhead, lowers costs, and simplifies upgrades across development, staging, and production environments. The guide specifically targets users running workloads on OpenStack private cloud infrastructure. It provides a step-by-step tutorial on preparing the environment, installing necessary tools like kubectl and Helm, creating a management cluster with k0s, and deploying k0rdent. The result is a production-ready, cost-efficient platform stack that allows engineers to manage dozens or hundreds of clusters without spiraling complexity, offering a single pane of control for the entire fleet.
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Kubernetes for Platform Teams: Leveraging k0s and k0rdent on OpenStack
This technical article from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) explores a scalable solution for platform engineering teams managing multi-cluster Kubernetes environments. Addressing the high costs and complexity of traditional setups where each cluster requires dedicated control plane nodes, the authors propose using Hosted Control Planes (HCP). By combining k0s, a lightweight Kubernetes distribution, with k0rdent for multi-cluster orchestration, organizations can run control planes within a central management cluster. This approach significantly reduces resource overhead, lowers costs, and simplifies upgrades across development, staging, and production environments. The guide specifically targets users running workloads on OpenStack private cloud infrastructure. It provides a step-by-step tutorial on preparing the environment, installing necessary tools like kubectl and Helm, creating a management cluster with k0s, and deploying k0rdent. The result is a production-ready, cost-efficient platform stack that allows engineers to manage dozens or hundreds of clusters without spiraling complexity, offering a single pane of control for the entire fleet.
Blog – Cloud Native Computing Foundation