What is Amazon EKS?
Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) is a fully managed Kubernetes service. AWS handles installation, operation, scaling, and patching of the Kubernetes control plane. EKS is 100% compatible with standard Kubernetes, so existing tools and workflows work seamlessly. The service integrates natively with IAM, VPC, CloudWatch, and Application Load Balancer.
Core Features
- Managed Control Plane: AWS manages Kubernetes master nodes with Multi-AZ high availability
- Flexible Compute Options: EC2 for control, Fargate for serverless, Auto Mode for full automation
- Native AWS Integration: IAM authentication, VPC networking, CloudWatch monitoring
- Add-ons Management: Managed updates for CoreDNS, kube-proxy, and VPC CNI
- Security Features: Pod Security Standards, secrets encryption with KMS, IRSA
Typical Use Cases
Microservices Platforms: EKS provides full Kubernetes functionality for complex microservices architectures. Service meshes like Istio, GitOps with ArgoCD, and observability with Prometheus/Grafana integrate seamlessly.
AI/ML Workloads: GPU instances for training, elastic scaling for inference, and integration with SageMaker make EKS the ideal platform for machine learning applications.
Hybrid Cloud Deployments: With EKS Hybrid Nodes or EKS Anywhere, you distribute workloads across AWS and on-premises data centers with unified control plane and tooling.
Benefits
- Standard Kubernetes with full ecosystem support
- No control plane management required
- Multi-cloud portability through Kubernetes compatibility
- Enterprise-grade security with AWS integration
Integration with innFactory
As an AWS Reseller, innFactory supports you with Amazon EKS: cluster architecture, migration of container workloads, platform engineering with GitOps, AI/ML deployments, and ongoing operations with cost optimization.
Available Tiers & Options
EKS on EC2
- Full control
- Cost optimization
- Custom instance types
- More management
- Node maintenance required
EKS on Fargate
- Serverless
- No node management
- Automatic scaling
- Higher cost
- Limited customization
EKS Auto Mode
- Fully automated
- Simplified operations
- Built-in best practices
- Less control
- Newer feature
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does EKS cost per month?
The EKS control plane is billed per cluster hour, with an additional surcharge for clusters running Kubernetes versions in extended support. Worker node costs (EC2, Fargate, or Auto Mode) are additional. Total cost depends heavily on cluster size and chosen compute options; current prices are listed on the official AWS pricing page.
EKS or ECS: Which service should I choose?
ECS is suitable for AWS-native deployments with a simpler learning curve. EKS is better for multi-cloud requirements, existing Kubernetes experience, or need for Kubernetes ecosystem tools like Helm and Istio.
What is EKS Fargate?
With EKS Fargate, you run Kubernetes pods without EC2 node management. AWS handles provisioning and patching. Ideal for variable workloads but approximately 30-50% more expensive than EC2-based nodes.
Can I use EKS on-premises?
Yes, through EKS Anywhere or EKS Hybrid Nodes. EKS Anywhere enables complete Kubernetes clusters in your own data center with EKS tooling and support.
How long does AWS support a Kubernetes version in EKS?
Each Kubernetes minor version receives 14 months of standard support in EKS from availability, followed by 12 months of paid extended support. After that, the control plane is automatically upgraded to a supported version.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of AWS (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by AWS.