☁️ Introduction to Kubernetes and EKS
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates:
Deployment
Scaling
Management of containerized applications
AWS EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service) is a managed Kubernetes service that allows you to run Kubernetes clusters on AWS without managing the control plane manually.
Key Benefits of EKS:
Fully managed control plane with automatic updates and patching
Integration with AWS services (VPC, IAM, CloudWatch, ALB)
High availability across multiple availability zones
Security and compliance managed by AWS
🛠 Core Concepts of EKS
1. Cluster Components
Control Plane: Managed by AWS, handles scheduling, API server, etc.
Worker Nodes: EC2 instances or Fargate running your containers
Node Groups: Group of worker nodes managed together
Namespaces: Logical separation of resources
Pods: Smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes
Services: Expose pods internally or externally
2. AWS Integrations
IAM Roles for Service Accounts (IRSA): Grant fine-grained permissions
Elastic Load Balancer (ALB / NLB): Expose applications externally
CloudWatch: Monitoring and logging of cluster and application
VPC CNI: Assigns native VPC IPs to pods
🔄 Setting Up an EKS Cluster
Step 1: Create the Cluster
You can use the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, or eksctl (simplest tool).
Using eksctl:
eksctl create cluster \
--name my-cluster \
--region us-east-1 \
--nodegroup-name linux-nodes \
--node-type t3.medium \
--nodes 3 \
--nodes-min 2 \
--nodes-max 5 \
--managed
✅ Key Points:
Managed Node Groups: AWS automatically patches nodes
Auto-scaling: Adjust node count based on load
Region & AZs: Ensure high availability
Step 2: Configure kubectl
aws eks --region us-east-1 update-kubeconfig --name my-cluster
kubectl get nodes
You should see your worker nodes listed.
Step 3: Deploy Applications
Example: Deploy Nginx
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: nginx-deployment
spec:
replicas: 3
selector:
matchLabels:
app: nginx
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
containers:
- name: nginx
image: nginx:latest
ports:
- containerPort: 80
kubectl apply -f nginx-deployment.yaml
kubectl get pods
Expose via Load Balancer:
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
name: nginx-service
spec:
type: LoadBalancer
selector:
app: nginx
ports:
- protocol: TCP
port: 80
targetPort: 80
kubectl apply -f nginx-service.yaml
kubectl get svc
✅ AWS automatically provisions an ELB for external access.
📊 Monitoring and Logging on EKS
CloudWatch Container Insights: Monitor CPU, memory, network, and disk usage
AWS CloudTrail: Track API calls and security events
Prometheus + Grafana: Custom metrics and dashboards
Fluent Bit / Fluentd: Centralized log aggregation
🔧 Best Practices
Practice Recommendation
Use Managed Node Groups Reduces operational overhead
Enable Auto Scaling Handle traffic spikes automatically
Use Namespaces Organize environments (dev, staging, prod)
Secure Cluster with IAM & RBAC Limit permissions per service
Enable Logging Send logs to CloudWatch or external logging solution
Use Fargate for Serverless Pods For lightweight workloads without managing nodes
Version Management Keep control plane and nodes updated
💡 Key Advantages of EKS
Managed Kubernetes: AWS handles the control plane and upgrades
Seamless AWS Integration: IAM, ALB, CloudWatch, RDS, S3
High Availability: Multi-AZ deployments with self-healing nodes
Scalability: Auto-scaling worker nodes and pods
Security: Fine-grained IAM policies with IRSA
💬 Summary
AWS EKS allows developers to run containerized applications with Kubernetes without managing the control plane manually. It integrates with AWS services for networking, scaling, monitoring, and security, making it ideal for deploying highly available, scalable, and secure cloud-native applications.
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