Yep, it's a cluster OS. If you need to run a cluster, you need to explore and understand the trade offs of k8s versus other approaches. Personally I run a small cluster on k3s, for internal tools, and love it. Yes it's a load of new abstractions to learn, but once learnt if really helps in designing large scalable systems. I manage lots of pet machines and VMs for clients, and it would be soooo much easier on k8.