How to Set Up an EKS Cluster with Managed Node Group and AWS Ingress Controller: A Step-by-Step Guide

Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up an Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) cluster with a managed node group and the AWS ingress controller:

Step 1: Prerequisites

• Sign in to the AWS Management Console and navigate to the Amazon EKS console.
• Create an IAM role with the necessary permissions to create and manage EKS clusters, node groups, and other resources.

Step 2: Create the EKS Cluster

• Click on “Create cluster” in the EKS console.
• Select the desired settings for your cluster, such as region, Kubernetes version, and VPC configuration.
• Choose the IAM role you created earlier for cluster creation.
• Configure any additional settings as per your requirements.
• Review and create the cluster.

Step 3: Install and Configure the AWS CLI and kubectl

• Install the AWS CLI and configure it with your AWS credentials.
• Install kubectl, the command-line tool for Kubernetes, and configure it to connect to your EKS cluster.

Step 4: Create and Configure the Managed Node Group

• In the EKS console, click on your cluster.
• Click on “Add node group” and provide the necessary details like instance type, desired capacity, and other configurations.
• Choose the IAM role you created earlier for the node group.
• Review and create the node group.

Step 5: Install the AWS Load Balancer Controller

• Open a terminal or command prompt.
• Run the following command to install the AWS Load Balancer Controller:

kubectl apply -k "github.com/aws/eks-charts/stable/aws-load-balancer-controller/crds?ref=master"

• Install the controller with the following command:

helm repo add eks https://aws.github.io/eks-charts
helm upgrade -i aws-load-balancer-controller eks/aws-load-balancer-controller -n kube-system --set clusterName=<cluster-name> --set serviceAccount.create=false --set serviceAccount.name=aws-load-balancer-controller

Step 6: Deploy and Configure the AWS Ingress Controller

• Create an AWS ALB Ingress Controller manifest file (e.g., alb-ingress-controller.yaml) with the necessary configurations.

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: alb-ingress-controller
  namespace: kube-system
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: alb-ingress-controller
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app.kubernetes.io/name: alb-ingress-controller
  replicas: 1
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app.kubernetes.io/name: alb-ingress-controller
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: alb-ingress-controller
          image: docker.io/amazon/aws-alb-ingress-controller:v1.1.7
          args:
            - --ingress-class=alb
            - --cluster-name=<cluster-name>
            - --aws-vpc-id=<vpc-id>
          env:
            - name: AWS_REGION
              value: <aws-region>
          securityContext:
            runAsNonRoot: true
      serviceAccountName: aws-load-balancer-controller

Replace <cluster-name>, <vpc-id>, and <aws-region> with the appropriate values.

• Apply the manifest file to your cluster using the following command:

kubectl apply -f alb-ingress-controller.yaml

Step 7: Deploy an Application with Ingress

• Create a Kubernetes manifest file for your application, including an Ingress resource to define the routing rules.
• Apply the manifest to your cluster using the kubectl apply command.

Step 8: Verify the Setup

• After deploying your application with the Ingress resource, wait for a few moments to allow the ingress controller to configure the necessary resources.
• Verify that the AWS ALB (Application Load Balancer) is created and associated with the Ingress rules by checking the AWS Management Console or running the appropriate AWS CLI commands.

Step 9: Test the Application

• Obtain the DNS name or IP address of the ALB created by the ingress controller.
• Access your application by entering the ALB’s DNS name or IP address in a web browser or using tools like cURL or Postman.

Congratulations! You have now successfully set up an EKS cluster with a managed node group and the AWS ingress controller. Your application is accessible through the ALB created by the ingress controller.