Running Docker and Kubernetes on a VPS: Complete Setup Guide for Developers

Why Containers Changed Hosting Forever

Docker (released 2013) and Kubernetes (released 2014) fundamentally changed how software is built, shipped, and run. Before containers, deploying an application meant managing dependencies, system libraries, and configuration files on every server. Containers package the application and all its dependencies into a single portable image that runs identically everywhere.

Installing Docker on Ubuntu 24.04

# Remove old versions
apt remove docker docker-engine docker.io containerd runc

# Install Docker using official script
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sh get-docker.sh

# Add your user to the docker group
usermod -aG docker $USER

# Verify installation
docker run hello-world

Running Your First Application with Docker Compose

Docker Compose allows you to define multi-container applications in a YAML file. Here is an example deploying WordPress with MySQL:

version: '3.8'
services:
  db:
    image: mysql:8.0
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: rootpass
      MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress
  wordpress:
    image: wordpress:latest
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    depends_on:
      - db
    environment:
      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db
      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: rootpass
volumes:
  db_data:

Setting Up a Single-Node Kubernetes Cluster with k3s

For production deployments on a single VPS or a small cluster, k3s is a lightweight Kubernetes distribution that runs with significantly less memory overhead than full Kubernetes:

curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -

# Check installation
kubectl get nodes

Persistent Storage in Kubernetes

Containers are ephemeral — when a pod restarts, data stored inside the container is lost. For databases and stateful applications, you need PersistentVolumes. In k3s, local-path storage provisioner is included automatically.

FAQ

How much RAM does Kubernetes need?

k3s can run on as little as 512 MB RAM for a minimal cluster, but production workloads typically need 2–4 GB for the control plane plus RAM for your applications. We recommend 8+ GB for a serious Kubernetes deployment.

Can I run Kubernetes on a ₹699 Power Down VPS?

The 2 vCore / 8 GB RAM plan can run k3s with a few small applications. For production workloads, we recommend at least 4 vCores and 16 GB RAM.