Orchestration Wars 2024: Kubernetes vs. Nomad vs. Swarm on Nordic Infrastructure

I have watched too many startups burn their runway trying to debug a CrashLoopBackOff on a Kubernetes cluster that they didn't need. In 2024, the pressure to adopt "Cloud Native" standards is crushing, but engineering reality often disagrees with marketing hype. If you are deploying services in Norway or Northern Europe, you aren't just battling complexity; you are battling latency, data sovereignty (GDPR), and the laws of physics inside the data center.

Let's cut the noise. I've deployed clusters ranging from 3 nodes to 300. Today, we dissect the three main contenders—Kubernetes (K8s), HashiCorp Nomad, and Docker Swarm—specifically looking at how they perform on high-performance Virtual Dedicated Servers (VDS) and why the underlying hardware determines your uptime more than your YAML files do.

The Hidden Killer: Etcd Latency

Before we compare features, we must address the hardware requirement that kills 90% of bare-metal K8s deployments: storage latency. Kubernetes relies on etcd as its source of truth. If etcd cannot write to the disk (fsync) fast enough, the cluster heartbeats fail, and the control plane panics.

You might think your current VPS is fast. It isn't. On shared hosting, "noisy neighbors" steal IOPS. For orchestration, you need NVMe with consistent IO latency under 10ms (ideally under 2ms). Here is how you check if your current server is even capable of running a stable K8s control plane:

# Install FIO (Flexible I/O Tester)
apt-get update && apt-get install -y fio

# Run a fsync latency test simulating etcd behavior
fio --rw=write --ioengine=sync --fdatasync=1 \
    --directory=. --size=22m --bs=2300 --name=etcd_fsync_test

If the 99th percentile duration is above 10ms, your cluster will degrade under load. This is why we default to KVM-based virtualization at CoolVDS. By isolating the I/O path on local NVMe storage, we typically see latencies in the 0.5ms - 1.5ms range, which is critical for maintaining quorum.

The Contenders: A Technical Breakdown

1. Kubernetes (The Standard)

Best for: Large teams, complex microservices, and resume padding.
The Reality: It is an operating system in itself. In 2024, v1.31 brings stability, but the operational overhead is massive. You need CNI plugins, CSI drivers, Ingress controllers, and endless CRDs.

2. HashiCorp Nomad (The Sniper)

Best for: Mixed workloads (Binaries + Java + Docker), simplicity, and speed.
The Reality: Nomad is a single binary. It schedules workloads. That's it. It integrates tightly with Consul and Vault, but doesn't force them on you. It is arguably the best choice for small-to-medium DevOps teams who actually want to sleep at night.

3. Docker Swarm (The Undead)

Best for: Pure Docker environments, rapid prototyping.
The Reality: Despite rumors of its death, Swarm is still alive in 2024. It comes built-in with Docker. No extra installation. However, it lacks the advanced scheduling logic and ecosystem of K8s.

Configuration: The Nordic Context

When hosting in Norway, you are often targeting users in Oslo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen. You want low latency at the network edge. Using a massive cloud provider often routes traffic inefficiently through central European hubs before returning North. With a local VPS in Oslo, you hit the NIX (Norwegian Internet Exchange) directly.

Nomad: The Efficiency King

Nomad shines on VDS because it doesn't eat your resources. Here is a production-ready job specification for a Go service. Notice the explicit resource constraints—essential when you are paying for dedicated cores.

job "api-service" {
  datacenters = ["oslo-dc1"]
  type = "service"

  group "api" {
    count = 3

    network {
      port "http" {
        to = 8080
      }
    }

    task "server" {
      driver = "docker"

      config {
        image = "coolvds/api:v2.4"
        ports = ["http"]
      }

      resources {
        cpu    = 500 # 500 MHz
        memory = 256 # 256 MB
      }

      service {
        name = "api-http"
        tags = ["urlprefix-/api"]
        port = "http"
        check {
          name     = "alive"
          type     = "http"
          path     = "/health"
          interval = "10s"
          timeout  = "2s"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

To run this, you simply execute:

Kubernetes: Taming the Beast

If you commit to Kubernetes, do not use the default settings. On a CoolVDS instance, you have access to raw Linux capabilities. Use them. We need to optimize the kernel for high-throughput networking, especially if you expect DDoS attacks.

Add this to your /etc/sysctl.d/k8s.conf:

net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-ip6tables = 1
net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables = 1
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1
# Increase connection tracking for high load
net.netfilter.nf_conntrack_max = 131072
# Optimize for low latency
net.core.somaxconn = 32768
net.ipv4.tcp_tw_reuse = 1

Apply it with:

Furthermore, when initializing the cluster with kubeadm, explicitly define your pod network CIDR to avoid collisions with your VPN or internal networks:

Data Sovereignty and Compliance

Technically, K8s doesn't care about GDPR. But Datatilsynet (The Norwegian Data Protection Authority) certainly does. If you use a managed K8s service from a US-based hyperscaler, you are navigating a legal minefield regarding data transfer mechanisms (Schrems II).

Pro Tip: Hosting on CoolVDS keeps your data physically located in Norway. You own the encryption keys. You control the bits. For compliance audits, being able to point to a specific rack in Oslo is infinitely better than pointing to a nebulous "eu-north" availability zone owned by a US corporation.

Why Infrastructure Makes or Breaks Orchestration

I recently audited a setup where a Docker Swarm cluster was randomly ejecting managers. The culprit? "Steal Time" (st) on the CPU. The hosting provider was overselling their cores. When a neighbor spiked their usage, the Swarm heartbeats were delayed beyond the timeout threshold.

We migrated that workload to CoolVDS High-Performance instances. Why? Because KVM virtualization guarantees that the CPU cycles you pay for are actually yours. Container orchestration is chatty. It requires constant network and disk communication.

Monitoring the Pulse

Regardless of your choice, you need visibility. Here is a simple Bash snippet to check your node health status across a Swarm cluster immediately after migration:

#!/bin/bash

MANAGER_NODE="192.168.1.50"

echo "Checking Swarm Node Status..."
ssh root@$MANAGER_NODE "docker node ls --format 'table {{.Hostname}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Availability}}\t{{.ManagerStatus}}'"

echo "\nChecking Service Replication..."
ssh root@$MANAGER_NODE "docker service ls --format 'table {{.Name}}\t{{.Replicas}}\t{{.Image}}'"

Run this. If you see flapping states or Down statuses, check your disk I/O immediately.

Verdict: What Should You Choose?

• Choose Kubernetes if you need the entire CNCF ecosystem and have a dedicated platform team. Ensure you run it on NVMe storage with guaranteed IOPS.
• Choose Nomad if you want 80% of the benefits with 10% of the complexity. It is rock solid on standard VDS instances and scales effortlessly.
• Choose Swarm if you are a small shop running simple web apps and just need basic redundancy.

The software is only as good as the iron it runs on. Don't let slow I/O kill your SEO or your uptime. Deploy a test instance on CoolVDS in 55 seconds and see what true dedicated performance feels like.