K3s install for the 2 GB server

The live node is deliberately light. The install path keeps the cluster small, adds swap, and leaves room for the site workloads and ingress controller.

Key choices

k3s on the host instead of a full Kubernetes distribution.
2 GB swap enabled before the cluster comes up.
Traefik stays in place for the MVP ingress path.
Image volume workloads are only used where Kubernetes 1.36 is required.

Example install flow

ssh root@server2.example.com
fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
chmod 600 /swapfile
mkswap /swapfile
swapon /swapfile
curl -fsSL https://get.k3s.io | sh -
k3s kubectl get nodes

Why the lightweight path helps

Small servers run more predictably when the base platform stays narrow. Swap buys breathing room, and k3s avoids the overhead of a full upstream control plane.