London fintech with regulated workloads
A payments platform splits a single VPS deployment into k3s namespaces per environment, so development, staging and production teams work in parallel without treading on each other's changes.
Managed Kubernetes & Docker Hosting UK
DevOps services · United Kingdom
Managed Kubernetes hosting for UK teams who want to ship containers without carrying the operational load. We run Docker Compose, k3s or full Kubernetes on VPS and dedicated servers in Frankfurt, and we size it honestly rather than sell you a control plane you don't need. Monthly DevOps hours are already included in your plan.
- Cluster designed, run and documented for you
- DevOps hours included every month
- EU servers: Frankfurt
- VPS 1–8 h/month; dedicated 5–10 h/month depending on plan; GPU 10 h/monthIncluded hours
- Frankfurt, in the EUData centre
- L3/L4 DDoS mitigation includedNetwork protection
- EUR invoicing, 20% UK VAT itemisedBilling
01
What we actually run
We start from your application and its real traffic, not a reference diagram. We write the Dockerfiles and manifests, stand up the cluster on VPS or dedicated hardware, wire up ingress, certificates, autoscaling and backups, then hand you access with documentation. We stay on operations afterwards: version upgrades, node rotations, incident triage and cost tuning as the cluster grows past the original plan.
- Dockerfiles, manifests and Helm charts written for your codebase
- Ingress, automatic TLS, horizontal autoscaling and resource limits
- etcd and persistent-volume backups, with restores actually tested
- Kubernetes version upgrades without a service outage window
02
Best practices we apply
A cluster stands or falls on the basics, so we treat them as a fixed checklist verified on every delivery, and we leave it written into the documentation you receive. None of these are exotic configuration choices — they are the settings that decide whether a cluster heals itself or needs a human at every deploy. We walk through the checklist with you at handover, and it's the same one we re-run whenever you request DevOps hours for a review.
- Multi-stage builds and minimal, non-root container images
- Resource requests and limits plus liveness and readiness probes
- A namespace per environment, isolated with NetworkPolicies
- Private registry with image scanning before promotion
- PodDisruptionBudgets and rolling updates for zero-downtime rollouts
03
Docker Compose, k3s or full Kubernetes
We tell you plainly when you don't need Kubernetes. A site with a handful of services and predictable traffic runs cheaper and simpler on Docker Compose on a single VPS. k3s suits projects that already want controlled rollouts and autoscaling but not a redundant control plane. Full Kubernetes, across several nodes, earns its keep at variable traffic, parallel teams, or availability commitments you've signed with your own customers.
- Compose: one VPS, few services, simple day-to-day operation
- k3s: rollout control and autoscaling, small resource footprint
- Full Kubernetes: multiple nodes, HA, several teams deploying in parallel
04
How the included hours work
DevOps hours come with the plan: 1–8 hours a month on VPS tiers, 5–10 hours a month on dedicated servers depending on the plan, 10 hours a month on GPU servers, and 1 hour from the cPanel Advanced tier upward. You request them from the client panel, under DevOps Services, propose a deadline and we deliver. Hours don't roll over month to month, so most teams plan them: a migration one month, tuning and upgrades the next. Anything beyond the monthly quota is accepted and billed separately.
How we work
Request the work from the panel
You open a request under DevOps Services in the client panel, describe the application and propose a deadline that fits your own release schedule.
We scope it and confirm the timeline
We agree the right architecture, estimate the hours against your monthly quota, and tell you clearly what's included and what's billed separately.
We deliver and verify under real traffic
We build the cluster, migrate the services, test rollout and rollback, then watch resource consumption for the first days of live traffic.
We hand over with documentation
You get the architecture diagram, the manifests in your own repository, the rollback procedure and the checklist we run on every future update.
Use cases
E-commerce retailer with seasonal peaks
A retailer doing half its annual revenue in November gets autoscaling on the storefront and order-processing workers, plus resource limits that stop a single runaway job starving the node.
Manchester digital agency serving multiple clients
An agency delivering for several clients runs one cluster per client, sharing a private registry with scanned images and separate access controls on each namespace.
Technology stack
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- k3s
- Helm
- Traefik
- Argo CD
- Prometheus
- Harbor
- Velero
Every subscription includes monthly DevOps, CyberSecurity and Programming hours: 1 h from the cPanel Advanced plan up, 1–8 h on VPS, 5–10 h on dedicated servers depending on the plan, and 10 h on GPU servers. Hours are requested from your client panel, don't roll over to the next month, and anything above the quota is accepted and billed separately.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kubernetes worth it for a small UK business or startup?
Not usually below ten services and a single production environment — Docker Compose on a VPS is cheaper and simpler to run. Kubernetes earns its cost once you need autoscaling, separate environments, controlled rollouts or redundancy across several nodes, which we'll tell you honestly during scoping.
What's the difference between Docker and Kubernetes?
Docker packages your application into an image and runs it as a container. Kubernetes decides where containers run, how many copies exist, and how they're replaced on every new release. You need Docker in any scenario; you need Kubernetes only once service count or availability requirements grow.
Do I need Kubernetes, or is Docker Compose enough?
If you're running under ten services in one production environment with predictable traffic, Docker Compose on a VPS is enough and far cheaper to operate. We move to k3s or full Kubernetes when you need autoscaling, separate environments, controlled rollouts or multi-node redundancy.
Which 4hosting plans support Docker or Kubernetes?
VPS, dedicated and GPU plans run Docker and Kubernetes with root access, in our Frankfurt data centre. cPanel isn't suited to containers — that tier runs classic LAMP sites. Migration from your current provider is free and handled white-glove.
How do you roll back a release that broke production?
Every application has a versioned rollout, so reverting is a command, not a rebuild. We keep previous images in the registry and document the procedure — including what happens to database migrations — in the handover guide you receive at delivery.
Who operates the cluster after handover?
You can continue solo with the documentation and manifests in your own repository, or leave operations to us within the included monthly hours. Most teams keep version upgrades, backups and incident triage with us and handle feature development in-house.
Want the cluster designed correctly from the start?
Describe your application and we'll tell you honestly whether you need Docker Compose, k3s or full Kubernetes, using the DevOps hours already in your plan.