Canonical and AWS have joined forces to offer Ubuntu worker nodes tailored for Amazon’s Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS). This collaboration simplifies the use of Kubernetes on AWS, catering to users who may not possess in-depth expertise in Kubernetes cluster management.
These Ubuntu worker nodes are constructed upon the official Ubuntu Minimal LTS images and come equipped with a specialized Ubuntu-aws optimized kernel. They are expressly designed for EKS usage and are not intended for general-purpose operating system images.
For users seeking advanced security features, an upgrade to Ubuntu Pro is available. This upgrade unlocks functionalities such as FIPS mode, Extended Security Maintenance (ESM), CIS or Disa STIG hardening, and Kernel Livepatch.
To deploy Ubuntu worker nodes on EKS, several options are at your disposal, including eksctl, EC2 Launch templates for Node Group creation via the EKS console, CloudFormation templates, and alternative deployment mechanisms.
Should you require the heightened security and capabilities offered by Ubuntu Pro, you can learn more about the upgrade by visiting the AWS Marketplace link provided. This partnership between Canonical and AWS aims to provide a user-friendly and secure experience for running Kubernetes workloads on AWS EKS while allowing users to choose between standard images and Ubuntu Pro based on their specific needs.
