AWS re:Invent 2024 - Amazon EKS for edge and hybrid use cases

Picture yourself as a tech leader at a big company with many different departments. You've set up all your cloud work using Kubernetes, specifically Amazon EKS on AWS. But here's the thing: a lot of your applications still run in your own data centers. Why? Some still runs on-premises due to legacy integrations, low-latency requirements, or data residency constraints. This mix of cloud and on-site systems creates problems. It's like having separate teams that don't talk to each other, it takes more work to keep everything running, and it's harder to try new ideas. So, how can you bring the good parts of Amazon EKS to your own data centers and other locations?

At AWS re:Invent 2024, Eric Chapman and Gokul Chandra Purnachandra Reddy tackled this challenge head-on in their session "Amazon EKS for edge and hybrid use cases". They showed how AWS is expanding Amazon EKS to work beyond the cloud, helping companies with various setups. Let's look at the key points from their talk.

The Hybrid Challenge and AWS's Solutions

Chapman started the talk by pointing out a problem many big companies face: how to keep things running the same way in the cloud and in their own data centers. To help with this, AWS created three ways to use Amazon EKS outside of the cloud:

1. Amazon EKS on AWS Outposts
2. Amazon EKS Anywhere
3. Amazon EKS Hybrid Nodes (newly announced)

Each of these options is designed for different needs. Let's look at each one closely.

Amazon EKS on AWS Outposts

For organizations wanting to use AWS in their data center, Amazon EKS on AWS Outposts provides the most cloud-consistent experience for running Kubernetes on-premises. It gives you the most cloud-like experience for running Kubernetes in your own building. Chapman explained that this option works well for everyday automation tasks, jobs that need to process data locally (like in banking or gaming), and companies that want to use AWS services closely with their own systems.

Amazon EKS on Outposts provides two deployment models:

1. Extended clusters: The control plane runs in the AWS region, while worker nodes run on Outposts.
2. Local clusters: A local control plane runs on Outposts, which lets you keep working even if the internet goes down.

Amazon EKS Anywhere: Kubernetes on Your Infrastructure

Gokul Chandra introduced Amazon EKS Anywhere, a solution for customers who need to use existing on-premises hardware or require air-gapped environments. He explained that EKS Anywhere provides AWS-supported Kubernetes management software that runs on customer-managed infrastructure.

Amazon EKS Anywhere offers key features that enhance its functionality. It supports both bare metal and virtualized environments. Amazon EKS Anywhere uses GitOps for cluster management, which helps automate updates and configurations. AWS provides curated add-on packages to extend Amazon EKS Anywhere's capabilities. The service also supports flexible deployment topologies, including single cluster setups or separate management and workload clusters

Chandra shared a case study of NTT DOCOMO using EKS Anywhere to deploy a nationwide 5G open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture across Japan, serving 90 million subscribers. This real-world example demonstrated the scalability and versatility of EKS Anywhere in demanding telco environments.

Amazon EKS Hybrid Nodes: Cloud-Managed Control Planes for On-Prem Workloads

Chapman introduced the newest addition to the Amazon EKS hybrid family: Amazon EKS Hybrid Nodes. This solution connects on-premises infrastructure to an Amazon EKS control plane running in the AWS cloud.

Chapman highlighted the benefits of this approach:

• It lets you transfer control plane management to AWS while keeping workloads on-premises. You can use existing Amazon EKS features and tooling, and create operational consistency across environments.
• it adapts the Amazon EKS-optimized Amazon Linux AMI tooling for customer-managed hardware.

Chapman also presented a new utility called nodeadm, which simplifies the process of connecting on-premises nodes to the cloud-based Amazon EKS control plane.

Choosing the Right EKS Hybrid Solution

Chapman presented a decision tree to guide the selection of the appropriate Amazon EKS hybrid solution:

This decision tree guides organizations through the process of selecting the appropriate Amazon EKS hybrid solution.

Best Practices for EKS Hybrid Deployments

Chapman and Chandra highlighted key best practices applicable across all Amazon EKS hybrid solutions:

• Amazon EKS hybrid deployments benefit from node bootstrapping automation, particularly for Amazon EKS Hybrid Nodes. This process streamlines setup and maintenance.
• Minimizing latency between control planes and worker nodes improves overall system performance and responsiveness.
• Using compatible Amazon EKS add-ons enhances monitoring, logging, and identity management capabilities in hybrid environments.
• Collaboration with networking and security teams helps establish proper connectivity and access controls, which are crucial for hybrid deployments.

Conclusion

Kubernetes continues to lead in container orchestration, and Amazon EKS evolves to address the varied requirements of organizations operating in hybrid and edge environments. AWS Outposts, Amazon EKS Anywhere, and the new Amazon EKS Hybrid Nodes offer consistent, manageable Kubernetes experiences across different deployment scenarios.

For a more in-depth exploration, the full session recording is available on the AWS YouTube channel. This recording features Eric Chapman and Gokul Chandra providing detailed explanations and demonstrations. They also recommended using resources such as the Amazon EKS workshop and best practices guide to further expand knowledge in this area.