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Kubernetes Engine

STACKIT Kubernetes Engine (SKE) is a robust, scalable, and managed Kubernetes service. SKE supplies a CNCF-compliant Kubernetes cluster, and makes it easy to provide standard Kubernetes applications and containerized workloads.

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Content

Basics

Understand the basic working principles of STACKIT Kubernetes Engine and dive into the terminology and concepts.

Getting started

Setup and manage your first Kubernetes cluster in minutes, with STACKIT Kubernetes Engine.

How-tos

Learn how to perform common tasks and operations with/in STACKIT Kubernetes Engine.

Deep dive

Explore in-depth technical insights, architectural deep dives, and advanced concepts related to STACKIT Kubernetes Engine.

FAQ

Find answers to frequently asked questions about STACKIT Kubernetes Engine.

Release notes

Discover what's new in STACKIT Kubernetes Engine, including added features, bug fixes and deprecation notices.

Features

STACKIT Kubernetes Engine offers a range of features to simplify application development and deployment:

  • Self-service cluster creation (Portal): Create Kubernetes clusters quickly and easily via the self-service user interface in the STACKIT Cloud Portal.
  • Infrastructure as code & automation: Provision and manage clusters using the Terraform provider, SKE API, or STACKIT CLI for repeatable automated workflows.
  • Managed control plane: The Control Plane of the clusters is managed and highly available.
  • Auto-updates: Kubernetes and operating system versions are automatically updated to keep clusters up to date.
  • Automatic repair functions: Detect and repair problems on the cluster automatically.
  • Event-driven autoscaling: Pod and node autoscaling elastically adjust clusters based on workload.
  • Temporary cluster shutdown: Clusters can be automatically switched off if the application is only to be accessible at certain times of the day.

Use cases

Popular use cases for STACKIT Kubernetes Engine are the following:

  • Migration of existing applications: Quickly and easily containerize existing applications and run them on SKE in the European cloud without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.
  • Operation of cloud-native applications: Create new cloud-native applications in the form of microservices, utilizing the Kubernetes ecosystem for service meshes, serverless applications, and CI/CD pipelines.
  • Creation of stateful applications: Operate stateful applications on SKE clusters using persistent block storage.
  • Development and testing environments: Set up isolated environments for development and testing to ensure consistency and reliability across different stages of application deployment.
  • Scalable web applications: Deploy web applications that can automatically scale based on demand, ensuring high availability and performance.
  • Machine learning workloads: Run machine learning models and data processing tasks efficiently using Kubernetes orchestration and resource management.

University

Section titled “University”

Kubernetes Fundamentals (EN)

Master container orchestration, deployment, scaling, and management with K8s.

Deploying an Application with STACKIT Kubernetes Engine

Learn to deploy and manage containerized applications using the STACKIT Kubernetes Engine.

Latest updates

Section titled “Latest updates”
  • feature

    Advanced identity management features for SKE clusters

    Section titled “Advanced identity management features for SKE clusters”

    Developers can now access SKE clusters via single sign-on (SSO):

    • STACKIT Identity Provider (IdP) integration: SKE clusters can now be connected to the STACKIT IdP. This allows developers to seamlessly access clusters without having to manage separate credentials.
    • Fine-grained cluster permissions: Once a cluster is connected to STACKIT IdP, administrators can use standard Kubernetes RBAC rules to manage developer permissions.

    In-cluster workloads can now use Workload Identity to access STACKIT APIs with temporary credentials:

    • Service Account federation: STACKIT Service Accounts can now federate against SKE clusters. This allows Kubernetes Service Accounts to act as STACKIT Service Accounts.
    • Automatic Workload Identity injection in Pods: Pods can be annotated with a Kubernetes Service Account. They will automatically receive the necessary token for STACKIT API access. This allows the STACKIT CLI or SDK to access STACKIT APIs without manual secrets management.
  • deprecated

    Kubernetes version 1.33 is getting deprecated in SKE

    Section titled “Kubernetes version 1.33 is getting deprecated in SKE”

    Kubernetes version 1.33 reaches the end of its official maintenance support on 28 June 2026.

    This version will be removed from SKE on 08 July 2026 at 8 AM UTC. Starting with the date of removal, all clusters that are still using 1.33 will be automatically upgraded to 1.34 during the cluster’s maintenance time window.

    For detailed information, refer to:

    Our Help Center is always at your disposal if you have any questions.

  • announcement

    API Update: Optional Gateway API support for DNS integration

    Section titled “API Update: Optional Gateway API support for DNS integration”

    The STACKIT Kubernetes Engine (SKE) API has been updated to include optional Gateway API support in our DNS integration. This allows you to easily migrate away from Ingress without needing to deploy and manage external-dns yourself.

    To streamline your automation workflows (such as Terraform), enabling this feature is now non-blocking. You can create a cluster with Gateway API support enabled even before the required Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) are deployed. The DNS extension dynamically adapts to partially deployed CRDs and will seamlessly detect and integrate them during the next reconciliation cycle.

    Please refer to our how-to guide “Use the STACKIT DNS extension with your cluster” to learn more.