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  "path": "/prokshita_nagarajan_16a4d/deploying-a-single-node-kubernetes-cluster-on-aws-ec2-with-k3s-25ma",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-21T13:38:52.000Z",
  "site": "https://dev.to",
  "tags": [
    "aws",
    "devops",
    "kubernetes",
    "tutorial"
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  "textContent": "Running a full Kubernetes cluster doesn't always mean spinning up multiple nodes. If you're prototyping, running a small production workload, or just want a lightweight environment to learn on, a **single EC2 instance** running Kubernetes is more than enough — and a lot cheaper.\n\nIn this post, I'll walk through the options for running Kubernetes on a single EC2 instance, why I went with **K3s** , and exactly how to get a working single-node cluster up in under five minutes.\n\n##  Options for Running Kubernetes on EC2\n\nBefore picking a tool, it's worth knowing what's out there:\n\n1] **k3s** : Single node, lightweight.\n2] **MicroK8s** : Ubuntu-native, addons built-in.\n3] **Kubeadm** : Full control, standard k8s.\n4] **Kind/Minikube** : Local dev only, not for EC2 prod.\n\nEach has a place. `kubeadm` gives you the full vanilla Kubernetes experience and is the right call if you're planning to scale to multiple nodes later. `MicroK8s` is a solid choice if you're already in the Ubuntu/Canonical ecosystem and want snap-based add-ons. `Kind` and `Minikube` are built for local development and aren't meant for EC2 production use at all.\n\n##  Why K3s\n\nSince the goal here was a **single EC2 instance** running a working cluster, K3s was the clear choice:\n\n  * **Single command install** — literally one line, no multi-step bootstrap process\n  * **Half the memory footprint** of full Kubernetes, so it runs comfortably on smaller instances\n  * **Production-grade** — it's not a toy; K3s is used widely in real-world deployments, including edge and IoT environments\n  * **Batteries included** — containerd, Flannel (CNI), Traefik (ingress), and CoreDNS all ship built-in, so there's nothing extra to install\n  * **100% kubectl compatible** — every `kubectl` command, every manifest, every Helm chart works exactly the same as it would on a \"real\" cluster\n\n\n\n##  Prerequisites\n\n  1. An AWS account\n  2. An EC2 instance with:\n     * **AMI:** Ubuntu 22.04 LTS\n     * **Instance type:** `t3.medium` (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM)\n     * **Storage:** 20GB gp3\n\n\n\n##  Step 1: Install K3s\n\nSSH into your EC2 instance and run:\n\n\n\n    curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -\n\n\nThat's the entire installation. Behind the scenes, this single command:\n\n  * Installs **containerd** as the container runtime\n  * Installs the **control plane components** (API server, controller manager, scheduler)\n  * Installs **Flannel** for pod networking\n  * Installs **Traefik** as the ingress controller\n  * Installs **CoreDNS** for cluster DNS\n  * Configures the node to act as both **control plane and worker** , since this is a single-node setup\n  * Registers itself as a **systemd service** , so it survives reboots\n\n\n\n##  Step 2: Verify the Cluster\n\nCheck that the node is up and ready:\n\n\n\n    sudo kubectl get nodes\n\n\nYou should see a single node in `Ready` state:\n\n\n\n    NAME              STATUS   ROLES                  AGE   VERSION\n    ip-172-31-x-x     Ready    control-plane,master   1m    v1.29.x+k3s1\n\n\nThat's it — you now have a fully functional, kubectl-compatible Kubernetes cluster running on a single EC2 instance, ready to take workloads.\n\n##  What's Next\n\nFrom here, the cluster behaves like any other Kubernetes cluster: deploy with manifests, expose services via Traefik ingress, install Helm charts, or wire it into a CI/CD pipeline to pull and run container images from a registry like ECR.\n\nK3s strips away the operational overhead of running Kubernetes without compromising on compatibility — making it the simplest way to get a real cluster running on a single EC2 instance.",
  "title": "Deploying a Single-Node Kubernetes Cluster on AWS EC2 with K3s"
}