// tool
Kubernetes Resource Calculator
Plan Kubernetes requests and limits without guessing. See node-fit, cluster totals, and recommended burst.
// observed peak usage
// cluster totals for 3 replicas
975m
1.95Gi
resources:
requests:
cpu: "325m"
memory: "666Mi"
limits:
memory: "1.30Gi"How to size Kubernetes Pods
Start from real numbers
Measure actual peak usage from a running Pod with kubectl top pod or Prometheus. Guessing leads to overprovisioning (wastes money) or underprovisioning (evictions and OOMKills).
Then add headroom
Workloads have bursts your metrics didn't capture. 25-50% headroom is typical. If traffic is unpredictable, lean higher. If cost matters more than reliability, lean lower.
Why CPU limits are controversial
Kubernetes throttles containers that exceed their CPU limit, even when the node has idle CPU. This can cause tail-latency spikes. Many teams set CPU requests (for scheduling fairness) and leave CPU limits unset. Memory limits are different because memory can't be throttled and has to be bounded somehow.
// related simulators
Kubernetes Scheduler Challenge
Drag-and-drop Pods onto Nodes while honoring kube scheduling rules: resources, taints/tolerations, selectors, and topology spread.
Horizontal vs Vertical Scaling Simulator
Interactive game to learn scaling strategies for web applications. Experiment with horizontal and vertical scaling, see the effects on performance, cost, and reliability with realistic pricing simulation and budget constraints.