Tech conferences, once bustling hubs for idea exchange and networking, are fondly remembered by the author, who recounts attending a session at North American KubeCon in San Diego. The session introduced K3s, a lightweight Kubernetes distribution optimized for IoT and Edge Computing, developed by Rancher Labs. The author shares a personal project involving K3s and Kong Gateway, aiming to expose services within a K3s server, highlighting the necessity of Kong for its plugin functionalities. The guide details the installation and configuration of K3s on Ubuntu, the deployment of Kong Ingress Controller, and the use of a rate-limiting plugin, demonstrating how Kong can manage traffic to Kubernetes applications. The author appreciates the flexibility offered by Kong’s plugins, suggesting their usefulness in home automation projects, and invites further inquiries via email.