There are many ways to deploy Kubernetes, depending on your needs (learning, production, cloud-native, on-premises, bare metal, multi-cloud, etc). Here’s a structured list of the main ways people deploy Kubernetes in 2025:

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1. Managed Kubernetes Services

Cloud providers run the control plane, manage upgrades, scaling, and availability.

• Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
• Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)
• Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• Oracle Cloud Container Engine for Kubernetes (OKE)
• IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service
• Alibaba Cloud Container Service (ACK)
• DigitalOcean Kubernetes
• Linode Kubernetes Engine (LKE)

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2. Kubernetes Installers/Tools

Tools/scripts to automate cluster setup on your own infrastructure (cloud, on-prem, bare metal).

• kubeadm (official tool for “vanilla” clusters; suitable for learning and production)
• kops (great for AWS, also supports GCP)
• Rancher Kubernetes Engine (RKE, RKE2)
• Kubicorn (cloud provider agnostic, but less common now)
• k3s (lightweight Kubernetes distribution, perfect for edge/IoT/dev/lab)
• Minikube (single-node local clusters, for development/testing)
• Kind (Kubernetes IN Docker) (runs Kubernetes clusters in Docker containers, often used for CI/CD testing)
• MicroK8s (single-package, lightweight, can form multi-node clusters easily)

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3. Kubernetes Distributions

Enterprise-ready, often bundled with monitoring, security, storage, and support.

• OpenShift (Red Hat) (adds developer tools, security, and more)
• VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid
• Mirantis Kubernetes Engine (formerly Docker Enterprise)
• Canonical Charmed Kubernetes
• Platform9 Managed Kubernetes
• SUSE Rancher
• Amazon EKS Anywhere (on-prem EKS)
• Anthos (Google) (hybrid/multi-cloud management, includes GKE on-prem)

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4. Bare Metal/On-Prem Deployments

For maximum control, cost savings, or regulatory reasons.

• kubeadm (DIY, most flexible)
• RKE/RKE2 (easy setup for bare metal)
• OpenShift
• Canonical Charmed Kubernetes
• Metal³ (bare metal management with Cluster API)
• Talos Linux (API-driven OS for Kubernetes, highly secure)

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5. Local/Learning Environments

For development, testing, or learning purposes.

• Minikube (the classic choice for single-node clusters)
• Kind (Kubernetes IN Docker, fast to spin up/down for CI/CD)
• MicroK8s (easy to install, supports multi-node clusters)
• k3d (runs k3s in Docker containers)
• Play with Kubernetes (play.kubernetes.io, online lab environment)
• Katacoda Scenarios (interactive Kubernetes labs, now part of O’Reilly)

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6. Edge and Lightweight Deployments

For IoT, edge computing, resource-constrained environments.

• k3s (the leading lightweight Kubernetes distro)
• MicroK8s
• OpenYurt (Alibaba, edge native)
• KubeEdge

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7. Cluster API-based Deployments

For declarative, automated, and lifecycle-managed Kubernetes clusters.

• Cluster API (CAPI) (works with AWS, Azure, GCP, vSphere, bare metal, etc.)
• Metal³ (bare metal provider for Cluster API)
• Tanzu Community Edition

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8. Other Notable Methods

• Helm-based Installers (not for cluster creation but for app deployments)
• Terraform Modules (e.g., AWS EKS module for IaC-driven clusters)
• Ansible Playbooks (for fully customized deployments)
• Custom Bash Scripts/Automation

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How to Choose?

• For cloud and production: Managed services (GKE, EKS, AKS) or OpenShift
• For self-hosted/enterprise: OpenShift, RKE, Charmed Kubernetes, Tanzu, or kubeadm
• For learning/dev: Minikube, Kind, MicroK8s, k3s
• For edge/IoT: k3s, MicroK8s, KubeEdge

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Summary Table

Purpose	Best Choice(s)
Cloud Production	GKE, EKS, AKS, OpenShift
On-Prem	OpenShift, RKE2, kubeadm, Charmed K8s
Bare Metal	kubeadm, RKE2, Metal³, Talos
Development	Minikube, Kind, MicroK8s, k3s, k3d
Edge/IoT	k3s, MicroK8s, KubeEdge

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