Create standard support EKS cluster with eksctl

Currently eksctl does not support creating cluster with standard support. There is a feature request for "passing UpgradePolicy attribute for cluster creation" [1]. However, there is no ETA on when this feature will be released. We would like to recommend to check the status of the issue, and also the EKS release page [2].

Now you can use AWS CLI to create a cluster with standard support [3]:

aws eks create-cluster --name <cluster-name>  \
   --role-arn arn:aws:iam::<account-number>:role/<role-name> \
   --resources-vpc-config subnetIds=<subnet-id>,securityGroupIds=<security-group-id> \
   --upgrade-policy supportType=STANDARD

Or, you can disable EKS extended support using the update-cluster-config API [4]

aws eks update-cluster-config \
--name <cluster-name> \
--upgrade-policy supportType = STANDARD

[1] https://github.com/eksctl-io/eksctl/issues/7932 [2] https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/doc-history.html [3] https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/eks/create-cluster.html [4] https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/disable-extended-support.html

Yes, it is possible to create an Amazon EKS cluster with standard support using eksctl, although by default, new clusters are set to extended support. To create a cluster with standard support, you'll need to use a config file with eksctl instead of the simple command-line approach.

Here's how you can do it:

1. Create a YAML config file (e.g., cluster-config.yaml) with the following content:

apiVersion: eksctl.io/v1alpha5
kind: ClusterConfig

metadata:
name: your-cluster-name
region: your-region

managedNodeGroups:
- name: ng-1
instanceType: m5.large
minSize: 2
maxSize: 4

upgradePolicy:
supportType: STANDARD

2. Use this config file to create your cluster with eksctl:

eksctl create cluster -f cluster-config.yaml

By specifying supportType: STANDARD in the upgradePolicy section of the config file, you're explicitly setting the cluster to use standard support instead of the default extended support.

This approach allows you to create an EKS cluster with standard support, which means it will be eligible for automatic upgrades at the end of the standard support period for its Kubernetes version. This setting also ensures you won't incur extended support charges.

Remember that with standard support, your cluster will automatically upgrade to the next supported Kubernetes version when the current version reaches the end of its standard support period. Make sure this aligns with your organization's policies and operational requirements.
Sources
Create an Amazon EKS cluster - Amazon EKS
CreateCluster - Amazon EKS
View current cluster upgrade policy - Amazon EKS