Creating a simple and fast EKS Cluster

As a DevOps engineer, having the ability to quickly create and manage Kubernetes clusters is essential. In this article, I'll show you three different ways to create an EKS cluster on AWS, from the simplest to the most complete, helping you be more efficient in your daily tasks.

How This Will Help DevOps Engineers

• 
  Quick Environment Setup: Create dev/test environments in minutes


• 
  Infrastructure as Code: Maintain cluster configurations in version control


• 
  Automation Ready: Easy to integrate with CI/CD pipelines


• 
  Scalable Approach: Start simple and evolve as needed

Choose the one that best suits your needs!

Option 1: EKS Cluster in One Command

For those who want to start quickly, there's a super simple way:

eksctl create cluster --name simple-cluster

Done! With this single command you already have:

• 2 t2.micro nodes


• New VPC


• Public subnets


• Basic security groups

Option 2: Cluster with Custom Settings

If you need more control, you can use this command with parameters:

eksctl create cluster \

    --name middle-cluster \

    --region us-east-1 \

    --version 1.28 \

    --nodegroup-name workers \

    --node-type t3.medium \

    --nodes 2 \

    --nodes-min 2 \

    --nodes-max 4 \

    --managed \

    --asg-access \

    --external-dns-access \

    --full-ecr-access \

    --tags "Environment=development" \

    --zones us-east-1a,us-east-1b

Done! This command gives you:

• t3.medium nodes with auto-scaling


• ECR and external DNS access


• Organization tags


• Specific availability zones

Option 3: Cluster via Configuration File

For more robust environments, use a cluster.yaml file:

apiVersion: eksctl.io/v1alpha5

kind: ClusterConfig



metadata:

  name: hard-cluster

  region: us-east-1

  version: "1.28"

  tags:

    karpenter.sh/discovery: cluster-with-karpenter



availabilityZones: ["us-east-1a", "us-east-1b", "us-east-1c"]  



vpc:

  cidr: "10.0.0.0/16"

  nat:

    gateway: Single



iam:

  withOIDC: true



karpenter:

  version: 'v0.20.0'

  createServiceAccount: true

  withSpotInterruptionQueue: true



nodeGroups:

  - name: apps

    availabilityZones: ["us-east-1a", "us-east-1b", "us-east-1c"]

    instanceType: t3.medium

    desiredCapacity: 2

    minSize: 2

    maxSize: 4

   labels:

      role: apps

    tags:

      Environment: production

    iam:

      withAddonPolicies:

        autoScaler: true

        albIngress: true



- name: system

    instanceType: t3.small

    availabilityZones: ["us-east-1a", "us-east-1b", "us-east-1c"]

    desiredCapacity: 2

    minSize: 2

    maxSize: 3

    labels:

      role: system



cloudWatch:

    clusterLogging:

        enableTypes: ["api", "audit", "authenticator", "controllerManager", "scheduler"]

        logRetentionInDays: 1 



addons:

  - name: vpc-cni

    version: latest

  - name: coredns

    version: latest

Execute with:

eksctl create cluster -f cluster.yaml

Done! This configuration gives you:

• Custom VPC with specific CIDR


• Two node groups with different purposes:


• Apps group: t3.medium nodes with auto-scaling


• System group: t3.small nodes for system components


• Auto Scaler and ALB Ingress enabled


• Latest versions of core addons


• Production-ready setup with proper labeling

Which Option to Choose?

Option 1 (Simple Command)

• Quick tests


• POCs


• Learning

Option 2 (Command with parameters)

• Development environment


• Specific configurations


• Script automation

Option 3 (Configuration file)

• Production environment


• Version-controlled configuration


• Multiple node groups

Cleaning Up Resources

Don't forget to delete the cluster when you no longer need it:

# For any of the options

eksctl delete cluster --name CLUSTER_NAME

# For cluster created with file

eksctl delete cluster -f cluster.yaml

Conclusion

Creating EKS clusters quickly and efficiently brings several key benefits for DevOps professionals:

Time and Productivity Benefits

Rapid Development Cycles: Create new environments in minutes instead of hours

Quick Testing: Validate changes and configurations without long setup times

Fast Disaster Recovery: Quickly spin up new clusters if needed

Efficient Experimentation: Test new configurations and settings without lengthy processes

Cost Benefits

Pay Only What You Need: Create clusters only when needed

Environment Control: Easily spin up and tear down environments

Resource Optimization: Scale environments based on actual needs

Development Cost Reduction: Use temporary clusters for testing instead of maintaining permanent ones

Technical Benefits

Infrastructure as Code: Maintain consistent environments across teams

Version Control: Track all cluster configurations in Git

Automation Ready: Easily integrate with CI/CD pipelines

Environment Parity: Ensure development matches production

Team Benefits

Self-Service Infrastructure: Teams can create their own environments

Reduced Dependencies: Less reliance on infrastructure teams

Better Learning: Quick feedback loop for learning Kubernetes

Increased Confidence: More testing and validation opportunities

Business Benefits

Faster Time to Market: Reduce environment setup time

Improved Quality: More thorough testing in production-like environments

Risk Reduction: Test changes in isolated environments

Better Resource Utilization: Create and destroy environments as needed

By mastering these cluster creation methods, you'll be able to:

Support development teams more effectively

Respond to incidents faster

Manage resources more efficiently

Implement better testing practices

Improve your infrastructure automation

Remember: The ability to quickly create and manage EKS clusters isn't just about technical capability - it's about enabling your organization to move faster, work more efficiently, and deliver better results.