choosing an installation method doc

docs/canonicalk8s/index.md

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ Home <self>
 :maxdepth: 6
 
 src/about.md
+Choose an installation method <src/snap/installation-methods.md>
 Deploy from Snap package <src/snap/index.md>
 Deploy with Juju <src/charm/index.md>
 Deploy with Cluster API <src/capi/index.md>

docs/src/snap/explanation/installation-methods.md

@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+# Choosing an installation method
+
+{{ product }} can be installed in a variety of ways, depending on your needs and
+preferences. All installation methods provide a fully functional cluster with
+upstream Kubernetes and additional built-in features such as networking, ingress
+and storage. Your choice may be influenced by the cluster size, the 
+environment you are deploying to, and the life cycle management tools that you
+prefer to use. The following sections describe the different installation
+methods:
+
+## Snap
+
+The {{ product }} snap is a self-contained, simple to install package. It can
+be installed on any Linux distribution that supports the
+[snapd] service, such as
+[Ubuntu]. If you're using a non-Linux system, we recommend creating virtual
+machines using [Multipass] or [Lxd]. [Snaps] come with the advantage of
+automatic and atomic updates making it easy for users to install, maintain and
+update their software.
+
+If you are looking for a straightforward way to get started with {{ product }},
+and you don't intend to grow your cluster beyond a single node, installing
+{{ product }} using the snap is the recommended installation method. Follow the
+[getting-started guide] to install {{ product }} using the snap.
+
+## Juju
+
+[Juju] is an open-source orchestration engine that allows you to
+deploy, configure, scale and operate {{ product }} on any infrastructure. Juju
+uses charms which are encapsulated reusable software packages to define how
+applications are deployed and related to each other. At its core, {{ product }}
+comprises two Juju charms: a control plane charm and a worker charm.
+Additionally, the Juju charm ecosystem provides further integrations, for
+example an observability stack.
+
+If you are looking to deploy {{ product }} in a public/private cloud
+environment, on metal or in VMs you can take advantage of Juju's powerful
+lifecycle management. Get started with a simple deployment of the
+{{ product }}'s charms using the [juju-cli guide] or leverage
+[Terraform's Juju provider] by following the [installing-with-terraform]
+guide.
+
+## Cluster API (CAPI)
+
+[Cluster API] is a Kubernetes sub-project that provides declarative APIs for
+creating, configuring, and managing multiple Kubernetes clusters. 
+
+If you plan to deploy and operate a large deployment with multiple
+Kubernetes clusters, you can use the {{ product }}'s CAPI providers for AWS and
+[MAAS]. Follow the [cluster-provisioning-with-CAPI guide] to deploy and operate
+{{ product }} with the help of the CAPI providers.
+
+<!-- LINKS -->
+
+[Ubuntu]: https://help.ubuntu.com/
+[Snaps]: https://snapcraft.io/docs
+[snapd]: https://snapcraft.io/docs/installing-snapd
+[Terraform's Juju provider]: https://github.com/juju/terraform-provider-juju/
+[Multipass]: https://canonical.com/multipass
+[Lxd]: https://canonical.com/lxd
+[juju-cli guide]: /src/charm/tutorial/getting-started.md
+[getting-started guide]: /src/snap/tutorial/getting-started.md
+[installing-with-terraform]: /src/charm/howto/install-terraform.md
+[cluster-provisioning-with-CAPI guide]: src/capi/tutorial/getting-started.md
+[Juju]: https://juju.is
+[Cluster API]: https://cluster-api.sigs.k8s.io/
+[MAAS]: https://maas.io/