It's my Cloud! Building On-Demand Kubernetes Platforms at Home
In business settings, the path to Kubernetes often feels straightforward: choose a cloud provider, spin up a managed environment, and rely on a team to keep everything running. But what if you could build and run your own platform at home - one that’s self-managed, integrated into your local network, and still practical without round-the-clock attention?
In this talk, I’ll share my journey of experimenting with self-managed on-demand Kubernetes platforms at home, a mix of fun experiments, hard lessons, and a few happy rediscoveries (hello again, Proxmox!). You’ll see how I used GitHub for management, integrated Kubernetes with virtualization and my home network, and kept everything manageable without burning out.
You’ll leave with practical tips on:
- Bootstrapping platforms outside of big cloud providers
- Avoiding common homelab pitfalls
- Integrating Kubernetes with tools like Proxmox
Whether you’re curious about Kubernetes internals, exploring platform engineering beyond the cloud, or just tinkering with homelabs, this talk will give you practical takeaways and maybe spark ideas for your own experiments.
For me, cloud-native is defined by continuous learning, experimentation, and the delivery of real value. This talk provides a framework for building a "safe-space", a personal environment where engineers can test radical ideas and explore new technologies without the constraints or costs of a corporate sandbox.
Furthermore, it highlights the immense value of 'learning by doing.' By venturing outside organizational borders to build from the ground up, we develop the kind of deep, hands-on expertise and creative problem-solving that directly benefits the companies and communities we serve.
Thomas is a Cloud Native Trainer and Owner of TSC Labs. Besides that, he's serving as a CNCF Ambassador and Tech Lead for the CNCF TAG Infrastructure. He helps organizations embrace cloud native by upskilling teams and designing developer platforms that improve the developer experience. Passionate about accessibility and community, Thomas contributes to open source projects and actively supports the growth of cloud native communities.