Stretched Kubernetes clusters versus multi-cluster Kubernetes

There are several reasons to run multiple Kubernetes clusters:

• You want redundancy in case the geographical zone your cluster runs in has some issues
• You need more nodes or pods than a single Kubernetes cluster supports
• You want to isolate workloads across different clusters for security reasons

For the first reason it is possible to use a stretched cluster; for the other reasons, you must run multiple clusters.

Understanding stretched Kubernetes clusters

A stretched cluster (AKA wide cluster) is a single Kubernetes cluster where the control plane nodes and the work nodes are provisioned across multiple geographical availability zones or regions. Cloud providers offer this model for HA-managed Kubernetes clusters.

Pros of a stretched cluster

There are several benefits to the stretched cluster model:

• Your cluster, with proper redundancy, is protected from data center...