Amazon EKS Production Guide: Building and Running Kubernetes on AWS

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) is AWS’s managed Kubernetes offering that simplifies running Kubernetes on AWS while integrating deeply with AWS services. This guide covers everything you need to build production-grade EKS clusters.

Why Choose Amazon EKS?

Key Benefits

Fully Managed Control Plane: AWS manages Kubernetes control plane availability and updates
AWS Integration: Native integration with IAM, VPC, ALB, EBS, EFS, and more
High Availability: Multi-AZ control plane by default
Security: AWS-managed security patches and compliance certifications
Scalability: Scales from small dev clusters to thousands of nodes
EKS Anywhere: Run EKS on-premises with consistent tooling

EKS vs. Self-Managed Kubernetes on EC2

Feature	EKS	Self-Managed
Control Plane	AWS-managed	You manage
Upgrades	Automated	Manual
HA Setup	Built-in multi-AZ	Manual configuration
Cost	$0.10/hour per cluster + nodes	Node costs only
AWS Integration	Native	Requires configuration
Operational Overhead	Low	High

Getting Started with EKS

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      AWS Cloud (Region)                      │
│                                                               │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │         EKS Control Plane (AWS Managed)                │  │
│  │  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐ │  │
│  │  │   API Server  │  │     etcd     │  │  Scheduler   │ │  │
│  │  │  (Multi-AZ)   │  │  (Multi-AZ)  │  │              │ │  │
│  │  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘ │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│                              │                                │
│  ┌───────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │           Your VPC         │                            │ │
│  │                            ▼                            │ │
│  │   ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │ │
│  │   │         Worker Nodes (Your Account)             │  │ │
│  │   │                                                  │  │ │
│  │   │  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐     │  │ │
│  │   │  │  Node 1   │  │  Node 2   │  │  Node 3   │     │  │ │
│  │   │  │   (AZ-a)  │  │   (AZ-b)  │  │   (AZ-c)  │     │  │ │
│  │   │  │           │  │           │  │           │     │  │ │
│  │   │  │ ┌───────┐ │  │ ┌───────┐ │  │ ┌───────┐ │     │  │ │
│  │   │  │ │Pods   │ │  │ │Pods   │ │  │ │Pods   │ │     │  │ │
│  │   │  │ └───────┘ │  │ └───────┘ │  │ └───────┘ │     │  │ │
│  │   │  └──────────┘  └──────────┘  └──────────┘     │  │ │
│  │   └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │ │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Prerequisites

AWS CLI v2.x installed and configured
kubectl 1.28+ installed
eksctl CLI tool (optional but recommended)
AWS IAM permissions for EKS and related services

Creating Your First EKS Cluster

Using eksctl (Recommended for Getting Started)

# Create a production-ready cluster
eksctl create cluster \
  --name production-cluster \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --version 1.29 \
  --nodegroup-name standard-workers \
  --node-type t3.large \
  --nodes 3 \
  --nodes-min 3 \
  --nodes-max 10 \
  --managed \
  --with-oidc \
  --ssh-access \
  --ssh-public-key my-key \
  --asg-access \
  --external-dns-access \
  --full-ecr-access \
  --alb-ingress-access \
  --vpc-nat-mode Single

Using Terraform (Recommended for Production)

module "eks" {
  source  = "terraform-aws-modules/eks/aws"
  version = "~> 19.0"

  cluster_name    = "production-cluster"
  cluster_version = "1.29"

  vpc_id     = module.vpc.vpc_id
  subnet_ids = module.vpc.private_subnets

  # Enable IRSA (IAM Roles for Service Accounts)
  enable_irsa = true

  # Cluster endpoint access
  cluster_endpoint_public_access  = true
  cluster_endpoint_private_access = true

  # Cluster addons
  cluster_addons = {
    coredns = {
      most_recent = true
    }
    kube-proxy = {
      most_recent = true
    }
    vpc-cni = {
      most_recent = true
    }
    aws-ebs-csi-driver = {
      most_recent = true
      service_account_role_arn = module.ebs_csi_driver_irsa.iam_role_arn
    }
  }

  # EKS Managed Node Groups
  eks_managed_node_groups = {
    general = {
      name            = "general-purpose"
      instance_types  = ["t3.large"]
      capacity_type   = "ON_DEMAND"

      min_size     = 3
      max_size     = 10
      desired_size = 3

      labels = {
        workload-type = "general"
      }

      tags = {
        Environment = "production"
        ManagedBy   = "terraform"
      }
    }

    compute = {
      name            = "compute-optimized"
      instance_types  = ["c6i.2xlarge"]
      capacity_type   = "ON_DEMAND"

      min_size     = 2
      max_size     = 20
      desired_size = 2

      labels = {
        workload-type = "compute-intensive"
      }

      taints = [{
        key    = "workload-type"
        value  = "compute-intensive"
        effect = "NoSchedule"
      }]
    }

    spot = {
      name            = "spot-workers"
      instance_types  = ["t3.large", "t3a.large", "t3.xlarge"]
      capacity_type   = "SPOT"

      min_size     = 1
      max_size     = 10
      desired_size = 3

      labels = {
        workload-type = "spot"
      }

      taints = [{
        key    = "spot-instance"
        value  = "true"
        effect = "NoSchedule"
      }]
    }
  }

  # Cluster security group rules
  cluster_security_group_additional_rules = {
    ingress_nodes_ephemeral_ports_tcp = {
      description                = "Nodes on ephemeral ports"
      protocol                   = "tcp"
      from_port                  = 1025
      to_port                    = 65535
      type                       = "ingress"
      source_node_security_group = true
    }
  }

  # Node security group rules
  node_security_group_additional_rules = {
    ingress_self_all = {
      description = "Node to node all ports/protocols"
      protocol    = "-1"
      from_port   = 0
      to_port     = 0
      type        = "ingress"
      self        = true
    }
  }

  tags = {
    Environment = "production"
    ManagedBy   = "terraform"
  }
}

# EBS CSI Driver IRSA
module "ebs_csi_driver_irsa" {
  source  = "terraform-aws-modules/iam/aws//modules/iam-role-for-service-accounts-eks"
  version = "~> 5.0"

  role_name = "ebs-csi-driver"

  attach_ebs_csi_policy = true

  oidc_providers = {
    main = {
      provider_arn               = module.eks.oidc_provider_arn
      namespace_service_accounts = ["kube-system:ebs-csi-controller-sa"]
    }
  }
}

# VPC Module
module "vpc" {
  source  = "terraform-aws-modules/vpc/aws"
  version = "~> 5.0"

  name = "eks-vpc"
  cidr = "10.0.0.0/16"

  azs             = ["us-east-1a", "us-east-1b", "us-east-1c"]
  private_subnets = ["10.0.1.0/24", "10.0.2.0/24", "10.0.3.0/24"]
  public_subnets  = ["10.0.101.0/24", "10.0.102.0/24", "10.0.103.0/24"]

  enable_nat_gateway   = true
  single_nat_gateway   = false  # Multi-AZ NAT for HA
  enable_dns_hostnames = true
  enable_dns_support   = true

  # Kubernetes tags for subnet discovery
  public_subnet_tags = {
    "kubernetes.io/role/elb"                    = "1"
    "kubernetes.io/cluster/${local.cluster_name}" = "shared"
  }

  private_subnet_tags = {
    "kubernetes.io/role/internal-elb"           = "1"
    "kubernetes.io/cluster/${local.cluster_name}" = "shared"
  }

  tags = {
    Environment = "production"
  }
}

Configure kubectl Access

# Update kubeconfig
aws eks update-kubeconfig \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --name production-cluster

# Verify connection
kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods -A

AWS-Specific Integrations

1. IAM Roles for Service Accounts (IRSA)

IRSA allows Kubernetes pods to assume AWS IAM roles without storing credentials:

# Create OIDC provider (if not already done)
eksctl utils associate-iam-oidc-provider \
  --cluster production-cluster \
  --approve

Example: S3 Access for Pods

# Create IAM policy
cat > s3-policy.json <<EOF
{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "s3:GetObject",
        "s3:PutObject",
        "s3:ListBucket"
      ],
      "Resource": [
        "arn:aws:s3:::my-app-bucket/*",
        "arn:aws:s3:::my-app-bucket"
      ]
    }
  ]
}
EOF

# Create IAM role for service account
eksctl create iamserviceaccount \
  --name s3-access-sa \
  --namespace default \
  --cluster production-cluster \
  --attach-policy-arn $(aws iam create-policy \
    --policy-name S3AccessPolicy \
    --policy-document file://s3-policy.json \
    --query 'Policy.Arn' --output text) \
  --approve

# Deploy application using IRSA
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: s3-app
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: s3-app
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: s3-app
    spec:
      serviceAccountName: s3-access-sa  # Uses IRSA
      containers:
      - name: app
        image: my-app:latest
        env:
        - name: AWS_REGION
          value: us-east-1
        # No AWS credentials needed - IRSA handles authentication

2. AWS Load Balancer Controller

Replace the deprecated ALB Ingress Controller:

# Install AWS Load Balancer Controller
helm repo add eks https://aws.github.io/eks-charts
helm repo update

# Create IAM policy
curl -o iam-policy.json https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/aws-load-balancer-controller/main/docs/install/iam_policy.json

aws iam create-policy \
  --policy-name AWSLoadBalancerControllerIAMPolicy \
  --policy-document file://iam-policy.json

# Create service account with IAM role
eksctl create iamserviceaccount \
  --cluster=production-cluster \
  --namespace=kube-system \
  --name=aws-load-balancer-controller \
  --attach-policy-arn=arn:aws:iam::ACCOUNT_ID:policy/AWSLoadBalancerControllerIAMPolicy \
  --approve

# Install controller
helm install aws-load-balancer-controller eks/aws-load-balancer-controller \
  -n kube-system \
  --set clusterName=production-cluster \
  --set serviceAccount.create=false \
  --set serviceAccount.name=aws-load-balancer-controller

Application Load Balancer (ALB) Ingress

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: web-app
  annotations:
    # ALB Configuration
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/scheme: internet-facing
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/target-type: ip
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/listen-ports: '[{"HTTP": 80}, {"HTTPS": 443}]'
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: '443'

    # Certificate
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/certificate-arn: arn:aws:acm:us-east-1:ACCOUNT:certificate/CERT_ID

    # Health check
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/healthcheck-path: /health
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/healthcheck-interval-seconds: '15'
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/healthcheck-timeout-seconds: '5'
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/healthy-threshold-count: '2'
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/unhealthy-threshold-count: '2'

    # WAF
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/wafv2-acl-arn: arn:aws:wafv2:us-east-1:ACCOUNT:regional/webacl/NAME/ID

    # Access logs
    alb.ingress.kubernetes.io/load-balancer-attributes: access_logs.s3.enabled=true,access_logs.s3.bucket=my-logs-bucket
spec:
  ingressClassName: alb
  rules:
  - host: api.example.com
    http:
      paths:
      - path: /
        pathType: Prefix
        backend:
          service:
            name: web-app
            port:
              number: 80

Network Load Balancer (NLB) Service

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: web-app-nlb
  annotations:
    service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-type: "external"
    service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-nlb-target-type: "ip"
    service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-scheme: "internet-facing"
    service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-cross-zone-load-balancing-enabled: "true"
    service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-backend-protocol: "tcp"
    service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-healthcheck-protocol: "http"
    service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-healthcheck-path: "/health"
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer
  selector:
    app: web-app
  ports:
  - port: 80
    targetPort: 8080
    protocol: TCP

3. Amazon EBS CSI Driver

For persistent storage with EBS volumes:

# StorageClass for gp3 volumes (recommended)
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: ebs-gp3
provisioner: ebs.csi.aws.com
parameters:
  type: gp3
  iops: "3000"
  throughput: "125"
  encrypted: "true"
  kmsKeyId: arn:aws:kms:us-east-1:ACCOUNT:key/KEY_ID
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
allowVolumeExpansion: true
---
# PersistentVolumeClaim
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: postgres-data
spec:
  accessModes:
  - ReadWriteOnce
  storageClassName: ebs-gp3
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 100Gi
---
# StatefulSet using PVC
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: StatefulSet
metadata:
  name: postgres
spec:
  serviceName: postgres
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: postgres
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: postgres
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: postgres
        image: postgres:15
        ports:
        - containerPort: 5432
        volumeMounts:
        - name: data
          mountPath: /var/lib/postgresql/data
  volumeClaimTemplates:
  - metadata:
      name: data
    spec:
      accessModes: ["ReadWriteOnce"]
      storageClassName: ebs-gp3
      resources:
        requests:
          storage: 100Gi

4. Amazon EFS CSI Driver

For shared storage across multiple pods:

# Install EFS CSI Driver
kubectl apply -k "github.com/kubernetes-sigs/aws-efs-csi-driver/deploy/kubernetes/overlays/stable/?ref=master"

# Create EFS filesystem
aws efs create-file-system \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --performance-mode generalPurpose \
  --throughput-mode bursting \
  --encrypted \
  --tags Key=Name,Value=eks-efs

# StorageClass for EFS
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: efs-sc
provisioner: efs.csi.aws.com
parameters:
  provisioningMode: efs-ap
  fileSystemId: fs-1234567890abcdef0
  directoryPerms: "700"
---
# PersistentVolumeClaim
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: shared-storage
spec:
  accessModes:
  - ReadWriteMany
  storageClassName: efs-sc
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 5Gi
---
# Deployment using shared EFS storage
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: web-app
spec:
  replicas: 5
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: web-app
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: web-app
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: app
        image: nginx
        volumeMounts:
        - name: shared-data
          mountPath: /usr/share/nginx/html
      volumes:
      - name: shared-data
        persistentVolumeClaim:
          claimName: shared-storage

EKS Networking Best Practices

VPC CNI Configuration

The AWS VPC CNI uses ENIs (Elastic Network Interfaces) to assign VPC IP addresses to pods:

# Configure VPC CNI for custom networking
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: amazon-vpc-cni
  namespace: kube-system
data:
  # Enable custom networking
  AWS_VPC_K8S_CNI_CUSTOM_NETWORK_CFG: "true"
  ENI_CONFIG_LABEL_DEF: "topology.kubernetes.io/zone"

  # Enable prefix delegation for more IPs per node
  ENABLE_PREFIX_DELEGATION: "true"

  # Network policy enforcement
  AWS_VPC_K8S_CNI_NETWORK_POLICY_ENFORCING_MODE: "standard"

  # Pod security group
  ENABLE_POD_ENI: "true"

Security Groups for Pods

Assign security groups directly to pods:

apiVersion: vpcresources.k8s.aws/v1beta1
kind: SecurityGroupPolicy
metadata:
  name: database-pods-sg
  namespace: default
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: database
  securityGroups:
    groupIds:
    - sg-0123456789abcdef0
---
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: postgres
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: database
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: database
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: postgres
        image: postgres:15

EKS Security Best Practices

1. Pod Security Standards

# Enforce restricted pod security standard
apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: production
  labels:
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce: restricted
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/audit: restricted
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/warn: restricted

2. Network Policies with Calico

Install Calico for network policy support:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/projectcalico/calico/v3.26.0/manifests/calico-vxlan.yaml

# Default deny all traffic
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: default-deny-all
  namespace: production
spec:
  podSelector: {}
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  - Egress
---
# Allow specific traffic
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: allow-web-app
  namespace: production
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: web-app
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  - Egress
  ingress:
  - from:
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          app: ingress-controller
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 8080
  egress:
  - to:
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          app: postgres
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 5432

3. Secrets Management with AWS Secrets Manager

# Install External Secrets Operator
helm repo add external-secrets https://charts.external-secrets.io
helm install external-secrets \
  external-secrets/external-secrets \
  -n external-secrets-system \
  --create-namespace

# Create IAM role for External Secrets
eksctl create iamserviceaccount \
  --name external-secrets \
  --namespace external-secrets-system \
  --cluster production-cluster \
  --attach-policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/SecretsManagerReadWrite \
  --approve

# SecretStore
apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1
kind: SecretStore
metadata:
  name: aws-secrets-manager
  namespace: default
spec:
  provider:
    aws:
      service: SecretsManager
      region: us-east-1
      auth:
        jwt:
          serviceAccountRef:
            name: external-secrets
---
# ExternalSecret
apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1
kind: ExternalSecret
metadata:
  name: database-credentials
  namespace: default
spec:
  refreshInterval: 1h
  secretStoreRef:
    name: aws-secrets-manager
    kind: SecretStore
  target:
    name: postgres-secret
    creationPolicy: Owner
  data:
  - secretKey: username
    remoteRef:
      key: prod/database/postgres
      property: username
  - secretKey: password
    remoteRef:
      key: prod/database/postgres
      property: password

Monitoring and Observability

Amazon CloudWatch Container Insights

# Install CloudWatch agent and Fluent Bit
ClusterName=production-cluster
RegionName=us-east-1
FluentBitHttpPort='2020'
FluentBitReadFromHead='Off'

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aws-samples/amazon-cloudwatch-container-insights/latest/k8s-deployment-manifest-templates/deployment-mode/daemonset/container-insights-monitoring/quickstart/cwagent-fluent-bit-quickstart.yaml | \
sed "s/{{cluster_name}}/${ClusterName}/;s/{{region_name}}/${RegionName}/;s/{{http_server_toggle}}/\"On\"/;s/{{http_server_port}}/${FluentBitHttpPort}/;s/{{read_from_head}}/${FluentBitReadFromHead}/" | \
kubectl apply -f -

Prometheus and Grafana

# Install kube-prometheus-stack
helm repo add prometheus-community https://prometheus-community.github.io/helm-charts
helm install kube-prometheus-stack prometheus-community/kube-prometheus-stack \
  --namespace monitoring \
  --create-namespace \
  --set prometheus.prometheusSpec.storageSpec.volumeClaimTemplate.spec.storageClassName=ebs-gp3 \
  --set prometheus.prometheusSpec.storageSpec.volumeClaimTemplate.spec.resources.requests.storage=50Gi \
  --set grafana.persistence.enabled=true \
  --set grafana.persistence.storageClassName=ebs-gp3 \
  --set grafana.persistence.size=10Gi

Cost Optimization

1. Use Spot Instances for Fault-Tolerant Workloads

# Deploy to spot instances
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: batch-processor
spec:
  replicas: 10
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: batch-processor
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: batch-processor
    spec:
      nodeSelector:
        workload-type: spot
      tolerations:
      - key: spot-instance
        operator: Equal
        value: "true"
        effect: NoSchedule
      containers:
      - name: processor
        image: batch-processor:latest

2. Cluster Autoscaler

# Install Cluster Autoscaler
helm repo add autoscaler https://kubernetes.github.io/autoscaler
helm install cluster-autoscaler autoscaler/cluster-autoscaler \
  --namespace kube-system \
  --set autoDiscovery.clusterName=production-cluster \
  --set awsRegion=us-east-1 \
  --set rbac.serviceAccount.annotations."eks\.amazonaws\.com/role-arn"=arn:aws:iam::ACCOUNT:role/cluster-autoscaler

3. Karpenter (Next-Gen Autoscaling)

# Install Karpenter
helm repo add karpenter https://charts.karpenter.sh
helm install karpenter karpenter/karpenter \
  --namespace karpenter \
  --create-namespace \
  --set serviceAccount.annotations."eks\.amazonaws\.com/role-arn"=arn:aws:iam::ACCOUNT:role/karpenter-controller \
  --set settings.aws.clusterName=production-cluster \
  --set settings.aws.defaultInstanceProfile=KarpenterNodeInstanceProfile

# Karpenter Provisioner
apiVersion: karpenter.sh/v1alpha5
kind: Provisioner
metadata:
  name: default
spec:
  requirements:
  - key: karpenter.sh/capacity-type
    operator: In
    values: ["spot", "on-demand"]
  - key: node.kubernetes.io/instance-type
    operator: In
    values: ["t3.large", "t3.xlarge", "c6i.large", "c6i.xlarge"]
  limits:
    resources:
      cpu: 1000
      memory: 1000Gi
  providerRef:
    name: default
  ttlSecondsAfterEmpty: 30
---
apiVersion: karpenter.k8s.aws/v1alpha1
kind: AWSNodeTemplate
metadata:
  name: default
spec:
  subnetSelector:
    karpenter.sh/discovery: production-cluster
  securityGroupSelector:
    karpenter.sh/discovery: production-cluster
  instanceProfile: KarpenterNodeInstanceProfile
  tags:
    ManagedBy: Karpenter

Upgrade Strategy

Control Plane Upgrade

# Upgrade EKS control plane
aws eks update-cluster-version \
  --name production-cluster \
  --kubernetes-version 1.29

# Wait for upgrade to complete
aws eks describe-update \
  --name production-cluster \
  --update-id <update-id>

Node Group Upgrade

# Update managed node group
aws eks update-nodegroup-version \
  --cluster-name production-cluster \
  --nodegroup-name general-purpose \
  --kubernetes-version 1.29

# Or using eksctl
eksctl upgrade nodegroup \
  --cluster production-cluster \
  --name general-purpose \
  --kubernetes-version 1.29

Disaster Recovery

Backup with Velero

# Install Velero
velero install \
  --provider aws \
  --plugins velero/velero-plugin-for-aws:v1.8.0 \
  --bucket velero-backup-bucket \
  --backup-location-config region=us-east-1 \
  --snapshot-location-config region=us-east-1 \
  --secret-file ./credentials-velero

# Create backup
velero backup create full-cluster-backup \
  --include-namespaces '*' \
  --snapshot-volumes

# Schedule daily backups
velero schedule create daily-backup \
  --schedule="0 2 * * *" \
  --include-namespaces '*'

Production Checklist

Infrastructure

Security

IRSA configured for workload IAM access
Pod Security Standards enforced
Network policies configured
Secrets stored in AWS Secrets Manager
Security groups properly configured
AWS WAF on ALB (if needed)

Networking

AWS Load Balancer Controller installed
VPC CNI properly configured
Network policies enforced
DNS (Route53 or External DNS) configured

Storage

EBS CSI Driver installed
EFS CSI Driver installed (if needed)
Snapshot policies configured
Storage classes defined

Monitoring

Cost Management

Cluster Autoscaler or Karpenter installed
Spot instances for appropriate workloads
Resource quotas configured
Cost allocation tags applied

Backup and DR

Velero backup solution deployed
Regular backup schedule configured
DR runbook documented
Recovery tested

Conclusion

Amazon EKS provides a robust, scalable, and secure platform for running Kubernetes on AWS. By following these best practices and leveraging AWS-native integrations, you can build production-grade container platforms that are reliable, cost-effective, and easy to operate.

The key to success with EKS is understanding both Kubernetes fundamentals and AWS service integrations. Start with a simple cluster, gradually add features as needed, and always prioritize security and reliability.

Ready to master Amazon EKS? Our AWS training programs cover EKS in depth, from basic deployments to advanced multi-cluster architectures. Contact us for customized training tailored to your team’s needs.