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2024-09-01Hünkar Döner

What is AWS EKS? The Most Comprehensive Guide

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What is AWS EKS? The Most Comprehensive Guide

When it comes to container orchestration in the cloud computing world, the first name that comes to mind is undoubtedly Kubernetes. However, installing and managing Kubernetes on your own servers (Self-Managed) requires a significant operational burden and expertise. This is where Amazon Web Services (AWS) steps in with Amazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service).

In this guide, we will examine every detail from what EKS is to its benefits, setup, and cost structure.

What is AWS EKS?

Amazon EKS is a managed service that makes it easy for you to run Kubernetes on AWS without needing to stand up or maintain your own Kubernetes control plane. Kubernetes is an open-source project, and EKS is fully upstream Kubernetes compliant. This means that any application running on a standard Kubernetes cluster will run on EKS without any changes.

How EKS Works?

The EKS architecture consists of two main components:

  1. Control Plane: Contains critical components like API Server, etcd database, Scheduler. AWS manages, backs up, and scales this layer for you. You cannot access this layer directly; you only talk to the API.
  2. Data Plane: These are the worker nodes where your applications (Pods) run. You can manage these nodes as EC2 instances (Managed Node Groups) or run them completely serverless with AWS Fargate.

Why Should You Use EKS?

Why should you prefer EKS over building your own Kubernetes cluster?

  • High Availability: EKS automatically distributes the control plane across multiple Availability Zones (AZs). Even if a data center goes down, your cluster continues to run.
  • Security: EKS automatically applies the latest security patches. Also, thanks to IAM (Identity and Access Management) integration, you can manage Kubernetes authorizations with AWS IAM roles.
  • Integration: EKS is natively integrated with other AWS services (ALB, ECR, CloudWatch, VPC). For example, the Load Balancer Controller, which we frequently use in our AWS Consultancy projects, automatically routes traffic to your pods.
  • Community Support: EKS supports all tools developed by the open-source community (Helm, Prometheus, Grafana).

EKS Setup Methods

There are several different methods for EKS setup:

  1. AWS Management Console: Click-and-create method via the graphical interface. Good for learning but not recommended for automation.
  2. eksctl: A command-line tool developed specifically for EKS. You can set up a fully equipped cluster with a single command (eksctl create cluster).
  3. Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Managing infrastructure as code using Terraform or CloudFormation is the most professional approach.

Cost Structure

EKS cost consists of two items:

  1. Cluster Fee: You pay approximately $0.10 per hour (~$73 per month) for each EKS cluster.
  2. Worker Node Fee: You pay standard AWS prices for the EC2 servers or Fargate usage where your applications run. It is possible to reduce this cost by up to 90% using Spot Instances.

Conclusion

AWS EKS is an enterprise-grade platform that combines the power of Kubernetes with the reliability of AWS. If you are looking for a scalable, secure, and easy-to-manage container infrastructure, EKS is the strongest candidate.