Edka Self-Hosted PaaS for Simplified Kubernetes on Hetzner
Over the past few years, I’ve assisted few small to medium-sized companies in migrating their workloads from major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud to more cost-effective alternatives, notably Hetzner. While Hetzner offers compelling pricing, it lacks the extensive managed service catalog of the larger providers. This necessitated the development of custom solutions to bridge the gap.
My primary approach has consistently involved leveraging Kubernetes for its power and flexibility. However, the initial setup, configuration, and integration of Kubernetes with essential tooling can be a significant time investment. As client needs grew, particularly the demand for multiple environments and self-service capabilities for cluster provisioning and tool installation, I began to automate these repetitive processes. Common requirements for various projects led to the gradual addition of more components, transforming an initial set of automation scripts into what has now become a more comprehensive platform.
Today, I’m pleased to announce Edka, a self-hosted Platform as a Service (PaaS) designed to provision and manage Kubernetes clusters on your own Hetzner account.
The goal with Edka is to provide a lightweight control plane that simplifies Kubernetes management – from initial provisioning and upgrades to scaling and backups – while leveraging the cost-efficiency of Hetzner. Edka aims to offer PaaS-like simplicity without sacrificing the flexibility you need for real-world applications, potentially offering significant savings (up to 90% compared to some major cloud providers, by using direct cloud pricing).
Key aspects of Edka include:
- Rapid Cluster Provisioning: Get a hardened, production-ready k3s Kubernetes cluster up and running in under 2 minutes.
- Simplified Management: Easy-to-use interface and GitOps workflows for managing your infrastructure.
- Cost Efficiency: Utilize your own Hetzner account for direct and transparent pricing. Edka only charges a small fee based on the number of clusters provisioned. If you disconnect Edka, you can continue to manage your cluster manually or with other tools, like
kubectl. - Scalability & Flexibility: Auto-scale across regions and customize your setup with one-click add-ons for databases, ingress controllers, observability tools, and CI/CD.
- Full Control: While providing abstractions for speed, Edka ensures you retain full access to customize, extend, or integrate with other providers and platforms.
I’m launching Edka with a public beta program, and I’d be very grateful for your feedback. You can currently create one cluster for free to test out the platform. The process involves provisioning a cluster, managing it either through the Edka dashboard, GitOps, or directly via the Kubernetes API.
To get started and join the beta, please visit: https://edka.io/blog/join-our-beta/
The documentation, with more in-depth information, can be found at: https://docs.edka.io/
Roadmap:
- Transform Kubernetes clusters into full-fledged PaaS environments with just a few clicks.
- Provide a catalog with blueprints for popular stacks like Next.js, Laravel, Django, Ruby on Rails and more.
- Integrate monitoring, logging, and alerting capabilities directly into the management dashboard.
- Expand integrations with additional external service providers.
I built Edka to streamline infrastructure deployment and management, particularly for those looking for a more cost-effective and flexible Kubernetes experience. I invite you to try it out, deploy your applications, and let me know your thoughts. Your feedback will be invaluable as I continue to develop and refine the platform.
Check it out at https://edka.io.
