AWS EKS: Hands-on Projects for DevOps Engineers

Comprehensive AWS EKS Projects for Learning & Practice

This guide covers various AWS EKS projects with step-by-step instructions on high-level.


1. Basic AWS EKS Projects

1.1 Deploy a Simple Web Application on AWS EKS

Steps:

  1. Create an EKS Cluster (AWS Console or eksctl)

  2. Set Up Node Groups (Private/Public subnets as per requirement)

  3. Deploy a Sample Web App (Nginx, Apache, or a custom application)

  4. Expose the Application via LoadBalancer (ALB/NLB)

  5. Test the Deployment (Access the application through the LB URL)

1.2 Deploy a Multi-Tier Application (Frontend, Backend, Database) on EKS

Steps:

  1. Create an EKS Cluster

  2. Deploy a Backend API Service (Node.js, Python Flask, or Spring Boot)

  3. Deploy a Database using RDS or StatefulSets (PostgreSQL, MySQL, or MongoDB)

  4. Deploy a Frontend React/Angular App

  5. Use Kubernetes Services to Link the Components


2. Advanced AWS EKS Projects

2.1 Implement CI/CD Pipeline with AWS EKS (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, or ArgoCD)

Steps:

  1. Set Up an EKS Cluster

  2. Configure a CI/CD Tool (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, ArgoCD)

  3. Set Up a Docker Registry (ECR) for Image Storage

  4. Deploy an Application Automatically on Code Push

  5. Test Rolling Updates & Canary Deployments

2.2 Secure AWS EKS Cluster with IAM, RBAC, and Network Policies

Steps:

  1. Enable IAM Authentication for EKS Cluster

  2. Configure Kubernetes RBAC (Roles, RoleBindings, ServiceAccounts)

  3. Implement Network Policies to Restrict Pod Communication

  4. Set Up Secrets Management with AWS Secrets Manager


3. AWS EKS Observability & Monitoring Projects

3.1 Implement Logging and Monitoring in AWS EKS with Prometheus and Grafana

Steps:

  1. Deploy Prometheus on EKS

  2. Set Up Grafana Dashboards

  3. Enable AWS CloudWatch Logging for EKS

  4. Create Alerts for Critical Metrics

3.2 Implement Service Mesh with Istio on AWS EKS

Steps:

  1. Deploy Istio Control Plane on EKS

  2. Inject Sidecars to Microservices

  3. Set Up Traffic Management & Observability with Kiali & Jaeger


4. AWS EKS Cost Optimization & Best Practices

4.1 Optimize AWS EKS Costs Using Karpenter for Auto Scaling

Steps:

  1. Deploy Karpenter for Dynamic Node Scaling

  2. Set Up Node Pool Auto Scaling

  3. Optimize Spot Instance Usage for Lower Costs

4.2 Implement Kubernetes Resource Limits & Requests to Prevent Over-Provisioning

Steps:

  1. Define Requests and Limits for CPU & Memory in Pod Specs

  2. Monitor Resource Usage & Adjust Limits

  3. Enable Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA) & Cluster Autoscaler (CA)


5. Real-World AWS EKS Use Cases

5.1 Disaster Recovery: Multi-Region EKS Setup

Steps:

  1. Deploy EKS in Multiple AWS Regions

  2. Set Up Multi-Region Traffic Management Using Route 53

  3. Implement Data Replication for Failover

5.2 Serverless Kubernetes: Integrate AWS Lambda with EKS

Steps:

  1. Deploy an EKS Cluster

  2. Use AWS Lambda as an Event-Driven Kubernetes Service

  3. Trigger Lambda Functions via Kubernetes Events

5.3 Machine Learning on AWS EKS with Kubeflow

Steps:

  1. Deploy Kubeflow on AWS EKS

  2. Set Up Model Training Pipelines

  3. Deploy ML Models as Scalable Kubernetes Services