Amazon EKS End of Life Support Options

Regarding your Amazon EKS cluster running version 1.25, it's important to understand what happens after the extended support period ends. Here's what you need to know:

1. You cannot continue using an unsupported version indefinitely. Amazon EKS does not offer manual extensions beyond the extended support period.

2. When the extended support period ends, your cluster will not suddenly go offline. However, AWS has an automatic process in place to handle outdated clusters.

3. At the end of the extended support period (which for version 1.25 is indeed in May 2025), your cluster will be automatically upgraded by Amazon EKS to the earliest supported version. This happens through a gradual deployment process after the end of support date.

4. It's crucial to note that while the control plane will be automatically updated, you will need to manually update cluster add-ons and Amazon EC2 nodes after this automatic upgrade.

5. Regarding pricing, during the extended support period (which lasts 12 months after the end of standard support), you are charged $0.60 per cluster per hour. This is higher than the standard support price of $0.10 per cluster per hour.

6. After the automatic upgrade, your cluster will return to the standard support pricing of $0.10 per cluster per hour, assuming it's upgraded to a version still within its standard support window.

It's strongly recommended to plan for an upgrade before the end of extended support to ensure a smooth transition and to maintain control over the upgrade process. Relying on the automatic upgrade could potentially cause compatibility issues with your workloads if they're not prepared for the new version.

Remember, while AWS provides this automatic upgrade as a safety net, it's always best practice to proactively manage your cluster versions to ensure security, stability, and access to the latest features.

Sources
Amazon EKS extended support for Kubernetes versions pricing | Containers
EKS v1.21 extended support | AWS re:Post
AWS EKS cost for 'out of support' versions (example: 1.22) | AWS re:Post