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Amazon EKS — Managed Kubernetes Service
Amazon EKS simplifies running Kubernetes on AWS without needing to install and operate your own control plane or nodes.
What it is
- Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) is a managed service that makes it easy to run Kubernetes on AWS without the operational overhead of managing the control plane.
When I reach for it
- When you need to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications using Kubernetes.
- When you require high availability and scalability for your Kubernetes workloads.
- When you want to integrate with other AWS services like Amazon RDS, Amazon S3, and AWS IAM.
Key architectural decisions
- Node Types: Choose between EC2 instances or Fargate for serverless Kubernetes.
- Networking: Decide between VPC-native (CNI) or overlay networking for pod communication.
- Cluster Autoscaler: Configure for dynamic scaling based on demand.
- Add-ons: Use Amazon EKS add-ons for common Kubernetes operational tools like CoreDNS and kube-proxy.
Gotchas & exam traps
- Remember that EKS has a control plane cost which is charged per cluster.
- AWS IAM roles are crucial for managing permissions; misconfigurations can lead to access issues.
- Ensure that you understand VPC configuration, as networking issues are common in exam scenarios.
The architect view
- EKS is ideal for organizations looking to leverage Kubernetes without the complexity of managing the infrastructure.
- Focus on security and compliance by leveraging IAM roles and security groups effectively.
- Use AWS best practices for monitoring and logging with tools like Amazon CloudWatch and AWS X-Ray.