AWS unveils EKS Auto Mode and Hybrid Nodes for Kubernetes – News

A key theme at this year’s re:Invent has been improved developer experience, with the general discourse tying into Kubernetes’ expanding role as the platform clocks 10 years. For its part, Amazon Web Services Inc. has largely contributed to Kubernetes’ growth, with developments such as EKS Auto Mode and Hybrid Nodes serving as testaments to that commitment to innovation.

“When we look at this, it’s not about the product or the service; it’s not about the feature that you’re building. It’s about the end user,” said Barry Cooks (pictured), vice president of Kubernetes at AWS. “Who are they? What do they need? What’s their day job? What about it is hard right now that we could improve? That’s how we tend to approach it. For us, a lot of times you have to understand the organizational structure.”

Cooks spoke with theCUBE Research’s Rob Strechay for theCUBE’s “Cloud AWS re:Invent Coverage,” during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, News Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed AWS reaffirming its role as a leader in shaping the future of container orchestration, with consistent contributions such as EKS Auto Mode. (* Disclosure below.)

Analyzing EKS Auto Mode and Hybrid Nodes

EKS Auto Mode and Hybrid Nodes were among the standout unveilings at re:Invent 2024. Auto Mode simplifies Kubernetes adoption by automating cluster management, patching and scaling, reducing the complexity for users at various expertise levels.

“The first big thing that we had was EKS Auto Mode. The idea behind it is we should just be managing more of this for you, if that’s what you want,” Cooks said. “If you want to manage these other pieces yourself, we still allow that. We’re not changing, it’s just a new feature in EKS.”

On the other hand, Hybrid Nodes bridge the gap between on-premises workloads and cloud migration, allowing businesses to integrate existing hardware into AWS-managed clusters while transitioning at their own pace, according to Cooks.

“What this will allow you to do now is take existing hardware in your data center and connect it to an EKS cluster that we run and manage,” he said. “If you’re in Auto Mode, we’re going to take on a whole bunch of that operational structure for you. You can now just point containers at this on-prem component and have it be a node in your cluster. You can have nodes here, nodes there. It really helps you to start the journey in a stepwise fashion.”

One of AWS’ core principles is offering choice and flexibility. EKS supports various Kubernetes tools, such as service meshes and security configurations, without imposing limitations. This customer-first approach allows organizations to select tools tailored to their unique needs, ensuring scalability across diverse workloads — from gaming to financial services and generative AI, according to Cooks.

“We strive to give users more flexibility than what we would do in a fully opinionated solution because that’s what this community is used to,” he said. “They like choice. One of the keys in Auto Mode is we’re still fully Kubernetes conformant. You can still bring in and run anything you want out of the CNCF ecosystem that works on Kubernetes, and that was a really important first principle in the design and building of that product.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of News’s and theCUBE’s “Cloud AWS re:Invent Coverage”:

(* Disclosure: Amazon Web Services Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither AWS nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or News.)

Photo: News