<p>What is usually preferred in Kubernetes - having a one pod per node configuration, or multiple pods per node?</p>
<p>From a performance standpoint, what are the benefits of having multiple pods per node, if there is an overhead in having multiple pods living on the same node?</p>
<p>From a performance standpoint, wouldn't it be better to have a single pod per node?</p>

<p>The answer to your question is heavily dependent on your workload.</p>
<p>There are very specific scenarios (machine learning, big data, GPU intensive tasks) where you might have a one pod per node configuration due to an IO or hardware requirement for a singular pod. However, this is normally not a efficient use of resources and sort of eliminates a lot of the benefits of containerization.</p>
<p>The benefit of multiple pods per node is a more efficient use of all available resources. Generally speaking, managed kubernetes clusters will automatically schedule and manage the amount of pods that run on a node for you automatically, and many providers offer simple autoscaling solutions to ensure that you are always able to run all your workloads.</p>
