Kubernetes As A Service Using Amazon EKS
Kubernetes is one of the most popular open source software which helps in smooth managing and deploying your containerized applications and infrastructures.
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Updated November 2026. This was first published on 4 August 2022. The idea is the same. Any number below is what the original piece said then. It is not a new count.
Key takeaways
- Kubernetes is one of the most popular open source software which helps in smooth managing and deploying your containerized applications and infrastructures.
- As it’s a complex software system, it becomes challenging to manage.
- But, there’s a solution to this where you can use a Service solution like Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS).
Kubernetes is one of the most popular open source software which helps in smooth managing and deploying your containerized applications and infrastructures. As it’s a complex software system, it becomes challenging to manage. But, there’s a solution to this where you can use a Service solution like Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS).
The technical architecture of Kubernetes consists of two significant components these are.
Control planes***: It determines where to run your pod Worker node: It determines where your workload runs.
To use Amazon EKS, you must know some key points and prerequisites to help you set up and manage EKS. Along with that, we will also see how to take advantage of the native integration of EKS with other AWS services.
What Is Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)? #
Amazon EKS is designed to manage the Kubernetes service smooth and to run on AWS. The best part about using EKS is that it does not require installing and operating your Kubernetes cluster. AWS is one of the most popular cloud computing services that take care of all the heavy lifting like patching, cluster provisioning, and upgrades.
Migrating your existing Kubernetes cluster to AWS is relatively easy because EKS runs the upstream Kubernetes version. Also, during migration, you don’t need to change the codebase. EKS eliminates the single point of failure by running your infrastructure to multiple availability zones.
Different Components of EKS #
In an AWS EKS cluster, there are two primary components.
Control Plane**: This component consists of nodes that help run the Kubernetes API server and the Kubernetes software etcd. AWS ensures three etcd nodes and two API server nodes are always available across three Availability Zones. This is done by taking care of scalability and the high availability of the control plane.
Data Plane**: A Data Plane in AWS EKS is where your application/workload runs for checks. The other reason it’s a significant component of AWS EKS is that it consists of a Kube-proxy server and Kubelet. Amazon EKS can manage your control plane. managing your data plane depends on your requirements and control needs.
Moreover, to manage your Data Plane nodes, AWS offers three options.
Unmanaged Worker Nodes: You must fully work your Data Plane in this option. Managed Node Groups: In this option, the worker nodes are partially managed by EKS. But, it allows you to control your resources. AWS Fargate: In this option, AWS will take care of managing your worker nodes completely.
In this competitive cloud market, AWS is the only one heeding the call; many other cloud providers also offer services that support Kubernetes.
Here’s a quick comparison between the three most popular ones from the list.
Comparing Amazon’s EKS, Azure AKS, and Google’s GKE #
A depth analysis is mandatory before selecting any managed Kubernetes service. If not all, at least for the top three- to know the strengths and weaknesses of each under different circumstances. All managed services’ primary aim is to deploy your Kubernetes cluster quickly.
Here’s a critical comparison between the top three managed services.
In 2015, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) arrived first in the market, gaining maximum attention and user trust. After this, in 2018, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) hit the market, giving tough competition to GKE.
The EKS control plane costs you $72, and the GKE control plane is free for one zone cluster; otherwise, it also costs $72. On the other hand, the AKS control plane is completely free.
AKS and GKE have quite an easier setup, whereas EKS has a slightly complicated setup. The good thing is that you can make the EKS setup simple using the eksctl tool.
GKE and AWS use features like Fargate and Autopilot to manage your worker nodes.
That’s about the basic comparison between the three available managed offerings.
It’s the most popular and widely used Kubernetes-managed service.
AWS offers complete integration of Kubernetes tools like DNS and certificate management.
Amazon EKS allows you to bring your own Amazon Machine Image (AMI).
To quickly set up and use your EKS cluster, you can use tools like Terraform and eksctl.
A large user community support in case of any issue.
Creating Your EKS Cluster #
After installing your eksctl you can easily create the EKS cluster. Make sure to go through the complete prerequisites mentioned on their official website before creating your EKS Cluster.
Here are some necessary commands that you need to pass after successfully running the eksctl command.
eksctl create cluster will create the EKS cluster for you,.
version will let you specify the Kubernetes version,.
name is used to give your EKS cluster name, if you omit this value, eksctl will generate a random name for you,.
region is the name of the region where you want to set up your EKS cluster,.
nodegroup-name is the name of the node group,.
nodes is the total number of worker nodes (default value is 2),.
node-type is the instance type for the node (default value is m5.large),.
nodes-min is to specify the minimum number of worker nodes,.
Questions and answers #
What is the main point? #
Kubernetes is one of the most popular open source software which helps in smooth managing and deploying your containerized applications and infrastructures.
What else did the original piece say? #
As it’s a complex software system, it becomes challenging to manage.