When a Small Kubernetes Cluster Becomes an Expensive Operational Burden (opens in new tab)

When most people talk about Kubernetes costs, they usually focus on infrastructure. How many nodes are running? How much memory is allocated? What does the monthly cloud bill look like? Those are important questions, but they only tell part of the story. A few years ago, we deployed our first production Kubernetes cluster. It wasn’t massive. We weren’t operating at hyperscale. We didn’t have hundreds of microservices spread across multiple regions. In fact, by most standards, it was a relativ...