What is STACKIT Kubernetes Engine?
STACKIT Kubernetes Engine (SKE) is a managed Kubernetes service with a free control plane. You only pay for worker nodes. The service is CNCF-certified, ensuring 100% API compatibility with upstream Kubernetes. As a German cloud provider, STACKIT operates all clusters in German data centers, guaranteeing full GDPR compliance without US-CLOUD Act risk.
Core Features
- Free Control Plane: No monthly cluster fees like AWS EKS ($73/month)
- CNCF-certified: 100% API compatibility, existing manifests work without changes
- Auto-upgrades: In-place upgrades with zero downtime for the latest three K8s versions
- CNI Choice: Calico for network policies or Cilium for eBPF-based service mesh
- Native Integration: CSI driver for Block/File Storage, Load Balancer, Ingress controller
Typical Use Cases
Microservices for Regulated Industries: Banks and financial services deploy containerized core systems on SKE. Data sovereignty meets regulatory requirements without Cloud Act risk.
CI/CD Pipelines: DevOps teams run GitLab/Jenkins pipelines on SKE. Container images and build artifacts remain in Germany.
Serverless with Knative: Event-driven workloads without AWS Lambda dependency. Developers deploy functions on SKE with automatic scale-to-zero.
Benefits
- GDPR-compliant: All workloads in German data centers
- Cost-effective: No control plane fees, transparent node pricing
- Vendor-independent: CNCF standard prevents lock-in
- Multi-AZ: High availability across multiple availability zones
Integration with innFactory
As an official STACKIT partner, innFactory supports you with Kubernetes: cluster architecture, migration from AWS EKS/GKE/AKS, GitOps setup with ArgoCD, and security hardening.
Available Tiers & Options
Standard SKE
- Free control plane
- Auto-upgrades
- Multi-AZ
- Standard support SLA
Enterprise SKE
- Enhanced SLA
- Premium support
- Advanced features
- Higher cost
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I pay for the Kubernetes control plane?
No, the control plane is free. You only pay for worker nodes (Compute Engine instances) and associated resources.
Can I upgrade Kubernetes versions?
Yes, SKE supports in-place upgrades with zero downtime. Automated upgrade windows are available.
Is SKE CNCF-certified?
Yes, SKE is CNCF-certified, ensuring 100% API compatibility with upstream Kubernetes.
Which CNI plugins are available?
SKE supports Calico and Cilium. Cilium provides eBPF-based networking with service mesh capabilities.
How do I migrate from AWS EKS?
Migration is done via standard tools like Velero. Since SKE is CNCF-certified, existing manifests work without changes.
