Amazon has launched Amazon EKS Anywhere which is a deployment option for Amazon EKS. It helps companies to create and maintain Kubernetes clusters on-premises using VMware vSphere. It has an installable software package for the same and an automation tooling for cluster lifecycle support.
As businesses adopt software containerization, Kubernetes, an open-source container orchestration system for automating app deployment, scaling, and administration, has increased in popularity. Containers package code and its dependencies so that apps may operate reliably in many computer environments, saving time and money in the process. EKS Anywhere, which was announced in December at Amazon’s AWS re:Invent 2020 conference, seeks to simplify the process of creating clusters, configuring the operating environment, and updating software by reducing the burden of buying or building management solutions. EKS Anywhere, similar to Google Anthos and Microsoft Azure Arc, gives enterprises a single tool to manage their container clusters across clouds and on-premise datacenters.
Customers of Amazon Web Services (AWS) can observe Kubernetes clusters and integrate EKS Anywhere with partner products via the EKS console. EKS Anywhere also allows for integration with third-party technologies in areas like networking and security. Channy Yun, principal developer advocate at AWS said that AWS supports EKS Anywhere completely. He added that the EKS console can be used to see all Kubernetes clusters, operating anywhere.
Additionally, Amazon announced the EKS Connector in public preview, a feature that allows AWS users to connect any Kubernetes cluster to the EKS dashboard. The EKS Connector connects self-managed EC2 clusters, EKS Anywhere on-premises clusters, and other Kubernetes clusters outside of AWS to the EKS dashboard. According to Amazon, the EKS Connector is now available in public preview in all AWS Regions where Amazon EKS is available.
EKS Anywhere and EKS Connector are key components of a clear play for enterprises adopting hybrid cloud and private infrastructure architectures. CEO Andy Jassy admitted this during his Re:Invent keynote last year, stating that cloud computing would account for only 4% of global IT spending in 2020.
Despite the fact that cloud infrastructure spending will surpass on-premises datacenter investment in 2020, the on-premises industry will remain extremely strong. According to Statista, businesses spent $90 billion on datacenter gear and software, with the app container industry reaching $2.1 billion in value. While the pandemic’s long-term impact on cloud adoption is unknown, it’s apparent that technologies like EKS Anywhere have a sizable customer base.
