<p>I am evaluating Kubernetes (with Docker containers, not Kubernetes) and Docker Swarm and could use your input. </p>

<p>If I'm looking at 3 (8.76 hours) or 4 (52 min) 9's reliability in a server farm that is &lt; 100 servers, would Kubernetes be overkill due to its complexity? Would Docker Swarm suffice? </p>

<p>It really depends on your real needs, Kubernetes or Swarm orchestrators are not silver bullets. To take real advantage from the container technology, the applications have to be properly designed. A design guideline for these cloud native apps are the Twelve Factor app principles made by Heroku.</p>

<p>In case you want to scale and achieve global scaling, Kubernetes is a great framework to run distributed apps at scale. In case you have a lot of Java apps, maybe containerized traditional applications then Swarm is a best option.</p>

<p>The business requirements can drive you to make the right choice. </p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>
