Automated Deployment and Management of Scalable Kubernetes Clusters: A Zero-Touch Solution for On-Premises Virtualized Environments

In recent years, the need for scalable, resilient, and reproducible software infrastructure has become essential for businesses looking to modernise their information technology systems without relying entirely on costly and complex cloud providers. This Thesis introduces a Zero-Touch deployment methodology that utilises modern open-source technologies to automatically provision and configure entire on-premise infrastructures with minimal manual effort. Beginning with an in-depth analysis of software and system architectures, and followed by a practical business-oriented assessment of cloud versus on-premises solutions, the thesis concludes with a fully operational and tested deployment pipeline. The proposed approach demonstrates that a fully automated, standardised, and scalable infrastructure can be achieved even in constrained environments, thereby reducing time, cost, and operational complexity compared to traditional manual methods.