AWS has announced EKS Dashboard. This is a new feature in the EKS console that provides cloud architects and Kubernetes cluster administrators with a centralized view of their entire cluster landscape.
This central view makes it easier to monitor clusters spread across multiple AWS regions and accounts. This supports better management of cluster inventory, compliance control, and operational planning, such as scheduling version upgrades.
As organizations scale their Kubernetes deployments, they are increasingly choosing to deploy multiple clusters across different environments. This is done to increase availability, but also to ensure business continuity or comply with local data storage regulations.
Complex access management
However, this distribution also presents challenges. In practice, it is difficult to maintain an overview of a fragmented landscape of clusters spread across multiple accounts and regions. Many organizations therefore resort to external tools for centralized visibility, but this adds complexity in terms of access management, licensing costs, and maintenance.
With EKS Dashboard, AWS introduces a native solution that alleviates these problems. The dashboard feature is available directly in the AWS console and provides insights into clusters, managed node groups, EKS add-ons, and more. Users get a consolidated view of cluster distribution by region and account, insight into versions used, cluster support status, expected costs for extended support, and various health metrics. Automatic filters allow users to easily zoom in on specific data points, helping to quickly identify clusters that require attention.
EKS Dashboard is activated via the management or delegated administrator accounts within AWS Organizations. Configuration requires only a one-time enablement of trusted access in the EKS organization settings. Once activated, the management account will have access to the dashboard functionality. Detailed instructions are available in the official AWS documentation.
Multiple display options
The user interface of the dashboard feature offers various display options. Graphically, in tables, and even on a world map. There are extensive filtering and search options, and users can export data for further analysis or reporting. In addition, the dashboard provides insight into node groups, including distribution by instance type, AMI versions used, and configurations via launch templates.
Although the focus is on Amazon EKS clusters, the dashboard also supports connected Kubernetes clusters running outside AWS, such as on-premises or in other clouds. The data available from these external clusters may be more limited, but the functionality does allow for centralized monitoring of a fully hybrid or multicloud Kubernetes environment.
EKS Dashboard is available immediately in the US East region and supports data collection from all commercial AWS regions. There are no additional costs associated with using this new functionality.