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Kubernetes Installation🔗

Kubernetes is an ecosystem, not a single product.

There are many Kubernetes distributions and platforms available, including managed cloud services, enterprise distributions, and lightweight local environments.

DSX-Connect supports any conformant Kubernetes cluster.

This page focuses on recommended installations for:

  • Local development
  • Testing environments
  • Lab deployments
  • Lightweight production use cases

Enterprise production environments should use a managed Kubernetes platform.

Supported Kubernetes Platforms🔗

Kubernetes platforms generally fall into three categories:

Managed Cloud Platforms🔗

  • Amazon EKS
  • Azure AKS
  • Google GKE
  • Red Hat OpenShift

These platforms provide:

  • Managed control planes
  • High availability
  • Integrated cloud networking
  • Enterprise security features
  • Automated upgrades

Recommended for enterprise production workloads.

Lightweight Local and Edge Platforms🔗

  • Colima (macOS)
  • k3s (Linux)
  • Minikube
  • Kind
  • MicroK8s

These platforms are appropriate for development, testing, and smaller deployments.

This guide standardizes on:

  • Colima for macOS
  • k3s for Linux

Colima provides a lightweight Linux virtual machine with containerd and optional Kubernetes support.

It offers:

  • Minimal resource overhead
  • Clean runtime model
  • Native kubectl compatibility
  • Production-like behavior

Install🔗

brew install colima kubectl
````

### Start Kubernetes

```bash
colima start --kubernetes

Verify🔗

kubectl get nodes

A single-node cluster should report Ready.

k3s is a lightweight, CNCF-certified Kubernetes distribution designed for:

  • Edge environments
  • Single-node deployments
  • Resource-constrained systems
  • Lightweight production

Install🔗

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

Verify🔗

sudo k3s kubectl get nodes

To use standard kubectl:

sudo cp /etc/rancher/k3s/k3s.yaml ~/.kube/config

k3s supports both single-node and multi-node configurations.

For enterprise-grade high availability, use a managed Kubernetes platform.

Windows🔗

There is no widely adopted native lightweight Kubernetes distribution for Windows equivalent to k3s.

Recommended approaches:

  • Docker Desktop (WSL2 backend)
  • A Linux virtual machine
  • Remote access to a Linux-based cluster

Windows environments are typically used for development, not production hosting.

Cluster Topology Overview🔗

Local or Lightweight Deployment🔗

flowchart LR
    A[macOS or Linux Host]
    B[Colima or k3s]
    C[Single Node Cluster]
    A --> B --> C

Characteristics:

  • Single-node
  • Control plane and workloads on same host
  • Suitable for development and edge deployments
  • No node-level high availability

Enterprise Production Deployment🔗

flowchart TD
    CP[Managed Control Plane]
    N1[Worker Node 1]
    N2[Worker Node 2]
    N3[Worker Node 3]

    CP --> N1
    CP --> N2
    CP --> N3

Characteristics:

  • Distributed worker nodes
  • High availability
  • Horizontal scalability
  • Rolling updates
  • Automated infrastructure management

Kubernetes UI and Cluster Management🔗

Lightweight distributions such as Colima and k3s do not include a built-in graphical user interface.

Cluster management is typically performed using:

  • kubectl
  • Terminal-based tools
  • Observability stacks

k9s is a terminal UI for Kubernetes clusters.

https://k9scli.io/

It provides:

  • Pod inspection
  • Log streaming
  • Resource navigation
  • Context switching
  • Port forwarding
  • Real-time status views

k9s works with:

  • Local clusters
  • Remote clusters
  • Managed cloud platforms
  • Production environments

For most DSX-Connect deployments, k9s provides sufficient operational visibility without requiring a browser-based dashboard.

Minikube and Kind🔗

Minikube and Kind are fully supported Kubernetes environments.

They are widely used and compatible with DSX-Connect.

They are not the primary recommendations for this guide because:

  • Minikube is primarily optimized for learning and experimentation.
  • Kind is optimized for CI pipeline testing and ephemeral clusters.
  • k3s and Colima more closely reflect production runtime behavior.

Minikube and Kind remain valid alternatives.

Deployment Guidance for DSX-Connect🔗

Scenario Recommended Platform
macOS Development Colima
Linux Development k3s
CI Validation Kind
Learning Kubernetes Minikube
Lightweight Production k3s
Enterprise Production EKS / AKS / GKE / OpenShift

For most users:

  • Use Colima on macOS.
  • Use k3s on Linux.
  • Use a managed Kubernetes service for enterprise production environments.

Validation🔗

After installation, confirm cluster readiness:

kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods -A

Nodes must report Ready before deploying DSX-Connect.