I have a couple of months to create and deploy a small cluster for running docker containers.
The cluster will consist of 3 master nodes and some workers. When it is ready, it will consist of about 15 servers.
I have little experience with Docker (managing some containers on my home server), I have spent the last 4 or 5 weeks studying and testing with Kubernetes and I think it's a little overkill for what it's going to take. You run the risk of adding unnecessary complexity.
I am seeing that instead Docker Swarm seems easier to set up and manage.
To consider that I will be on my own to manage it.
I'm not really sure what the state of docker swarm is, but I'd recommend taking a look at Hashicorp Nomad too. It's between swarm and k8s in complexity, but it's been great to work with so far.
Kunernetes is what I see most companies using, but it's also usually overly complicated for what they need.
There's nothing wrong with having an over complicated homelab! I manage dozens of kubernetes clusters at work and it really is a good skill to have for career reasons. My dig at it is mostly that a lot of smaller teams or companies will jump to it without really looking at their other options first.
Oh sure, I totally get it. Once I was fully bought in to k8s and GitOps for one environment, it just made sense to have my other ones use the same tooling.