The difference between k3s and k3d.

K3s and k3d are related but serve different purposes:

K3s:

• K3s is a lightweight Kubernetes distribution developed by Rancher Labs.
• It’s a fully compliant Kubernetes distribution, but with a smaller footprint.
• K3s is designed to run on production, IoT, and edge devices.
• It removes many unnecessary features and non-default plugins, replacing them with more lightweight alternatives.
• K3s can run directly on the host operating system (Linux).

K3d:

• K3d is a wrapper for running k3s in Docker.
• It allows you to create single- and multi-node k3s clusters in Docker containers.
• K3d is primarily used for local development and testing.
• It makes it easy to create, delete, and manage k3s clusters on your local machine.
• K3d requires Docker to run, as it creates Docker containers to simulate Kubernetes nodes.

Key differences:

1. Environment: K3s runs directly on the host OS, while k3d runs inside Docker containers.
2. Use case: K3s is suitable for production environments, especially resource-constrained ones. K3d is mainly for development and testing.
3. Ease of local setup: K3d is generally easier to set up locally as it leverages Docker, making it simple to create and destroy clusters.
4. Resource usage: K3d might use slightly more resources due to the Docker layer, but it provides better isolation.

In essence, k3d is a tool that makes it easy to run k3s clusters locally in Docker, primarily for development purposes. K3s itself is the actual Kubernetes distribution that can be used in various environments, including production.