Hey all. Looking to build a home kube lab. So I can learn for work. But also wanted to run games servers, like Minecraft, on it for the kids. Something to motivate me to maintain. Was thinking of using PI4s. But they are expensive right now. And not 100% sure if all games will work on the pi. Wondering if you have any good ideas on x86 alternatives to the PI that might be the same price as the PIs are right now.
Kube home cluster hardware ideas
- Thread starter Hirox13
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Honestly, I don't really know how much a RPI 4 is worth when you factor in all components needed.
But something like HP T630's (thin clients with x86 CPU) could probably work.
Of course there are other manufacturers/models like Dell/Wyse 5070 or Fujitsu Futro's that are not too expensive (as long as you don't buy the models that support an extra PCIe card).
But something like HP T630's (thin clients with x86 CPU) could probably work.
Of course there are other manufacturers/models like Dell/Wyse 5070 or Fujitsu Futro's that are not too expensive (as long as you don't buy the models that support an extra PCIe card).
If your goal is to learn about CNI, CRI-O, load balancer, ingress, HPA, etc., you can do all that with minikube / kind / k3d on a single beefy server with plenty of RAM. Combined with occasional test runs with a managed kubernetes provider (EKS, GKE, Digital Ocean, Linode, etc.), this is sufficient to get you to the point you can use a cluster provided by someone else.
If you want to learn about running k8s on bare-metal so you can provide a cluster for someone else, then 3-5x older uSFF/TMM boxes over gigabit would be plenty. 1151-1 is getting quite cheap and is very low power -- Optiplex 3050, Lenovo m710q, HP 400 G2, etc. If you want the option of adding 10GbE later, consider m720q (1151-2) with pcie riser.
If you want to learn about running k8s on bare-metal so you can provide a cluster for someone else, then 3-5x older uSFF/TMM boxes over gigabit would be plenty. 1151-1 is getting quite cheap and is very low power -- Optiplex 3050, Lenovo m710q, HP 400 G2, etc. If you want the option of adding 10GbE later, consider m720q (1151-2) with pcie riser.
I love the H3+ but I don’t think brand new anything is going to be cost effective for this learning lab.
Personally I’d go with 3-5 older/cheaper used TMM boxes to start, preferable the Lenovo’s with a pci-e riser to have more networking options later.
Personally I’d go with 3-5 older/cheaper used TMM boxes to start, preferable the Lenovo’s with a pci-e riser to have more networking options later.
That H3 looks interesting. I am trying really hard not to let personal bias come into this. Got a lot of years working with optiplex and small HPs and really hating them. But that was help desk. With enterprise machines, with a custom windows image with all the bloated security policies ect. LOL. I'm sure there are a few of you that feel that pain.
Found this little guy. Anything I should be aware of with this brand or anything nefarious? Looks promising. Might get 4. And this should end up more powerful, more versatile, and cheaper than the PI4 build I was looking at. Less fun on the hardware build side. But might be a better end result.
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Limited-time deal: KAMRUI AMD 3.3GHz Mini PC, Windows 10 Pro Micro Desktop Computers,8GB RAM 128GB M.2 2280 SSD, Radeon Vega 3 Support 4K DP + HDMI Dual Screen Small Form Factor for Home Theater/Office,Remote Teaching https://a.co/d/bMgkSM3
So... here's another thought, why not just virtualize the nodes and then use 1 slightly beefy server? (probably won't need to be all that beefy if the mark to beat is a RPI)
Regarding a link to the device mentioned, here's one example from eBay for a HP T630:
Regarding a link to the device mentioned, here's one example from eBay for a HP T630:
HP T630 Thin Client 16GB Flash 4GB Quad-Core WiFi Memory WES7E | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for HP T630 Thin Client 16GB Flash 4GB Quad-Core WiFi Memory WES7E at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
You are describing current cloud paradigm, destroy and deploy in a heartbeat or between coffee / tea break.
Proxmox host
terraform to deploy VM,
Ansible to configure VM , Install docker , deploy K3s or K8s.
5-10 min top.