Edge environments are messy—small devices, unreliable networks, and no on-site engineers when something breaks. Yet companies like Chick-fil-A, retail chains, and manufacturing plants are proving that Kubernetes can run reliably at the edge if designed correctly.

In this talk, we’ll explore how to run Kubernetes in production on resource-constrained edge nodes using lightweight distros like K3s and cloud-connected frameworks like KubeEdge. We’ll cover real-world challenges (limited CPU/RAM, intermittent connectivity, security, and operational scale), the architectural patterns that work, and best practices for keeping edge clusters resilient and autonomous.

The session includes a live demo: deploying a small Golang microservice to a K3s edge node on a Raspberry Pi, pushing images to a local edge registry, and demonstrating Kubernetes self-healing in a simulated failure scenario.

Attendees will leave with a practical blueprint for building production-ready edge platforms using Kubernetes—and a clear understanding of when and why edge Kubernetes makes sense.