AWS EKS Auto Mode: Early Community Feedback

Key Takeaways

• EKS Auto Mode fully automates Kubernetes cluster management, reducing operational overhead and enabling teams to focus on application development
• Other potential benefits include potential reductions in cloud costs and developer overhead, and improved availability and security.  The need for Kubernetes expertise is also reduced.
• The costs and potential disadvantages are a 10-15% cost premium on EC2 costs and limits on customization and compatibility
• While initial reception from the developer and ops community is positive, organizations should evaluate their customization needs when considering adoption

Industry Reception of EKS Auto Mode

AWS recently introduced EKS Auto Mode, described by Nathan Taber, Head of Product for Kubernetes at AWS, as "one of the biggest features we've ever built for Amazon EKS." According to Taber, the feature "fully automates compute, storage, and networking management for new or existing Amazon EKS clusters."

The initial response from industry professionals has been notably positive. Ahmed Bebars, Principal Engineer at The New York Times, called it a "game-changer for those starting their Kubernetes journey and people like me who've been in the trenches for years." 

Vijay Kumar Kodam, a Principal Engineer at Nokia said that Auto Mode “automates much of the undifferentiated heavy lifting, allowing customers to focus on what matters most: building great applications”.

In the education sector, Imran Muhammad, a Professor at Humber Polytechnic observed its impact on students.  He noted that many in his cloud computing program can leverage EKS Auto Mode for their microservice solutions class projects. The feature's ability to automatically manage infrastructure make it particularly valuable for students using Kubernetes.

How is EKS Auto Mode different from EKS & EKS Fargate?‍

From a management complexity perspective, EKS Auto Mode represents an intermediate option between EKS and EKS Fargate.  Managing EKS running on EC2 requires the most management effort.  EKS Auto Mode reduces that effort.  EKS Fargate further reduces many management burdens. See below for an assessment, based in part on work by Pranay Mate on Medium:

Key Benefits of EKS Auto Mode

The launch of EKS Auto Mode represents a significant step forward in managed Kubernetes services, offering comprehensive benefits across several critical areas. As Gajanan Chandgadkar, Principal Cloud Operations Architect from HP Inc. notes, it enables organizations to "reduce operational complexity, enhance security, and achieve cost efficiency, all while focusing on delivering innovative applications."  Let’s dive into some of these benefits:

Operational Productivity Benefits of EKS Auto Mode

EKS Auto Mode dramatically reduces operational overhead through several key features:

• Single-click cluster setup that streamlines the deployment process
• Automated management of core add-ons, eliminating manual installation and maintenance tasks
• Automated provisioning and management of cluster infrastructure
• Built-in handling of updates, patching, and security configurations
• Eliminating the need for Karpenter adoption and migration
• Avoiding plugin management overhead 

As Mihir Kagrana, Technical Project Manager at Sunflower Lab points out, EKS Auto Mode enables teams to "focus on building applications that drive innovation instead of on cluster management tasks" and "get started quickly, improve performance and reduce overhead," allowing them to focus on innovation rather than infrastructure management.

Reducing the K8s Knowledge Barrier with EKS Auto Mode

Sarvar Nadaf, Cloud Architect at Deloitte, writing on DEV Community, highlighted how Auto Mode elevates automation to a new level, with AWS handling crucial tasks like instance selection and patching. This makes the system more accessible to those without extensive Kubernetes expertise.

Cloud Cost Efficiency Benefits of EKS Auto Mode

The service incorporates several features designed to optimize costs:

• Dynamic resource scaling that automatically adjusts compute resources based on demand
• Intelligent workload consolidation
• Automated termination of unused instances
• Built-in optimization of instance selection

Enhanced Security Benefits of EKS Auto Mode

EKS Auto Mode implements comprehensive security measures:

• Automated OS patching and security updates
• 21-day maximum node lifetime ensuring regular infrastructure cycling
• Immutable infrastructure with read-only root file systems
• SELinux mandatory access controls
• Native support for Kubernetes Network Policies
• Integration with AWS IAM for secure authentication
• Fine-grained access control through EKS access entries

High Availability Benefits of EKS Auto Mode

The service ensures robust availability through:

• Multi-AZ deployment of the Kubernetes control plane across three AWS Availability Zones
• Automated detection and replacement of unhealthy control plane nodes
• Dynamic compute resource scaling based on demand
• Integration with Amazon's Elastic Load Balancing service
• Advanced support for both Application and Network Load Balancers

Potential Disadvantages of EKS Auto Mode

Compatibility Issues

Prashant Lakhera, Lead System Engineer at Salesforce, provided a comprehensive analysis on Medium of several key compatibility challenges:

• Applications relying on specific node configurations or versions may face incompatibility challenges during automatic updates
• Workloads dependent on specific Kubernetes features or non-AWS plugins may encounter compatibility issues
• Version mismatches can occur between automated updates and older Helm charts, manifests, or custom controllers
• Applications using deprecated APIs may fail after automated updates
• Network configuration conflicts can arise for applications requiring fixed IP addresses, custom DNS settings, or direct peering connections

Customization Limitations

Prashant hands-on testing (also here) revealed several significant customization constraints:

• No direct SSH or AWS Systems Manager (SSM) access to nodes for debugging or customization
• Limited ability to modify NodePools directly from the UI for instance categories
• Cannot use custom AMIs in Auto Mode
• Standardized templates for provisioning infrastructure may conflict with specialized requirements like custom kernel modules or GPU-specific workloads
• Automatic RBAC configurations may conflict with existing tailored access control rules
• System-critical workloads without adequate replicas or configured Pod Disruption Budgets may experience downtime during automated updates

Cost Premium Considerations

However, EKS Auto Mode does incur an additional management fee based on the duration and type of Amazon EC2 instances it launches and manages, on top of standard EC2 instance costs. Community feedback on Reddit suggests this premium is a "10-15% cost premium on the ec2 nodes for a nearly entirely managed system."

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Conclusions on EKS Auto Mode

While the initial reception of EKS Auto Mode has been overwhelmingly positive, its value proposition varies significantly based on organizational size, expertise, and needs:

EKS Auto Mode Best Suited For:

• Small to medium-sized organizations looking to leverage Kubernetes without managing its complexity
• Teams lacking deep Kubernetes expertise or wanting to focus engineering resources on application development
• Educational institutions and training environments, where the premium is on using containers rather than understanding the details
• Organizations with standard deployment patterns that align well with AWS best practices

EKS Auto Mode Less Suitable For:

• Large enterprises with significant Kubernetes spend, where the premium cost could be substantial (e.g., $12M additional cost on $100M Kubernetes spend)
• Organizations requiring extensive customization of their infrastructure or specialized node configurations
• Teams with existing investments in Kubernetes expertise and established operational patterns
• Workloads requiring specialized networking, storage, or security configurations

EKS Auto Mode Key Considerations:

• The tradeoff between operational simplicity and control should be carefully evaluated
• While the 10-15% premium may be justified for smaller deployments, larger organizations should consider negotiating costs
• Organizations should assess their specific requirements around node access, custom AMIs, and infrastructure customization before adoption
• The real value may lie in the reduction of operational overhead and faster time-to-market for applications, rather than direct infrastructure costs

As the service matures, we can expect AWS to address some of the current limitations around customization and compatibility. However, EKS Auto Mode's core value proposition appears to be firmly centered on simplification rather than extensive customization, suggesting it will remain most attractive to organizations prioritizing operational simplicity over fine-grained control.