Using Kernel >= 6.8 for EKS worker node (or Ubuntu 24.04)

Thanks Shabbar for your response. That is correct, I want to use kernel >= 6.8 for my EKS worker node instances.

I did explored creating Custom AMI for EKS from the knowledge center url.

But the the guide seems to be little outdated and hit roadblock.

The file https://github.com/awslabs/amazon-eks-ami/blob/master/eks-worker-al2.json does not seem to be available now. Or may be I do not have access to it ?

Thanks

For Ubuntu based EKS images, I would suggest looking here: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/eks-partner-amis.html

The current images are based on Ubuntu 22.04 with kernel 6.2 or 6.5. Does not look like Canonical has updated to the 24.04 yet.

What is your reason for specifically wanting 6.8+ kernel?

Hello,

Greetings for the day!!

From your correspondence I can understand that you would like to use the kernel version of 6.8 or greater for your EKS worker node instances. Please correct me if I misunderstood anything.

The EKS optimized AMIs provided by AWS use specific kernel versions that have been tested and validated to work with the Kubernetes components. Using a custom kernel version like 6.8 is generally not recommended as it may cause compatibility issues and is not a supported configuration.

The EKS optimized AMI presently uses kernel version 5.10 and I have verified the same on my side. If you would like to use higher kernel versions such as 6.8 then you can do the following:

You would need to build a custom AMI with the desired kernel version. Please refer this documentation [2] on how to build custom AMI with EKS. (The drawback here is that, if you use a custom AMI then you will loose the benefit of using EKS optimized AMI)

One you have your custom AMI then you can create a launch template to use that AMI and then create a managed or self managed nodegroup on the EKS cluster using that launch template.

In general, it is strongly recommended to use the EKS optimized AMIs provided by AWS with the included kernel versions to ensure full compatibility and support. Deviating from the standard configurations should only be done if absolutely necessary and with careful consideration of the potential risks and implications.

Please feel free to write back to me if you have any issues or queries and I will be happy to help.

Have a fantastic day ahead!!

Reference:
[1] AMI Releases: https://github.com/awslabs/amazon-eks-ami/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/amazon-linux-2-kernel-upgrade/?nc1=h_ls
[2] Create custom Amazon Linux AMIs for Amazon EKS: https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/eks-custom-linux-ami/