Achieve Optimal Scalability with Application Load Balancing on EKS

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Achieve Optimal Scalability with Application Load Balancing on EKS

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Tagging Public Subnets
  3. Creating an OIDC Identity Provider for the Cluster
  4. Creating an IAM Role for the Load Balancer
  5. Creating a Service Account within the Cluster
  6. Installing the Load Balancer Controller with Helm
  7. Creating the Ingress
  8. Viewing the Load Balancer in the AWS Console
  9. Accessing the Application
  10. Conclusion

Introduction

In this article, we will Continue our Journey of deploying a sample application on an EKS cluster. Previously, we deployed the application, and now we will add an Application Load Balancer to load balance the network traffic and access the application. We will not be directly provisioning the load balancer but instead creating a Kubernetes Ingress, which will Take Care of creating the load balancer automatically. Before we proceed, there are a few prerequisites we need to fulfill.

Tagging Public Subnets

The first step is to tag our public subnets with the tag kubernetes.io/role/elb. AWS expects us to tag the public subnets so that it can identify them as available for launching the load balancer. If You are using an internal load balancer, you will need to tag the private subnets instead. Make sure to follow the correct tag format Based on the Type of load balancer you are using.

Creating an OIDC Identity Provider for the Cluster

Each EKS cluster comes with an OpenID Connect (OIDC) issuer URL. This URL can be found in the overview section of the cluster. We need to Create an OIDC identity provider in the IAM section of the AWS console. The provider type will be "OpenID Connect" and will require the OIDC URL. Additionally, we need to specify the audience, which will be sts.amazonaws.com. This step allows us to create IAM roles for service accounts and access them from our Kubernetes cluster.

Creating an IAM Role for the Load Balancer

To create an IAM role for the load balancer, we first need to create a policy. The policy document can be found in the repository accompanying this tutorial. The policy grants various access permissions related to load balancing, such as registering targets, creating the load balancer, and managing listeners. Once the policy is created, we can create the IAM role and associate the policy with it. The role will serve as the identity for the load balancer.

Creating a Service Account within the Cluster

Next, we need to create a service account within our Kubernetes cluster. This service account will allow Kubernetes to provision the AWS load balancer. The necessary YAML file can be found in the repository. Make sure to replace the role ARN with the correct value if you have used a different role name.

Installing the Load Balancer Controller with Helm

To install the load balancer controller, we need to add the Helm repo for the EKS charts. Once the repo is added, we can install the load balancer controller using Helm. The command will include the cluster name, which can be found in the previous session's documentation. After executing the command, the load balancer controller will be installed in the cluster.

Creating the Ingress

Now it's time to create the Ingress itself. This Ingress document specifies the configuration for an internet-facing load balancer and the service it will load balance. We will use the same command as before (kubectl Apply) to apply the YAML file for the Ingress. After creating the Ingress, we can use kubectl to get the Ingress address, which will be the DNS name of the load balancer.

Viewing the Load Balancer in the AWS Console

We can go to the AWS console and view the load balancer we just created. In the load balancers section, we will see the load balancer being provisioned. Within the load balancer, there will be a listener automatically created. This listener will have only one rule because We Are forwarding all traffic to the same service. If your application has multiple services, you can pattern match and forward traffic accordingly. Both of our pods are connected to the same target group and are in a healthy status.

Accessing the Application

To access the application, we can use the DNS name of the load balancer. Simply copy the DNS name and paste it into a new browser tab. You should be able to see the application running successfully.

Conclusion

Setting up the Ingress for an EKS cluster is a straightforward process. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily add an Application Load Balancer to your cluster and ensure your application is accessible and load balanced. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please leave a comment below. Thank you!

Highlights

  • Deploying a sample application on an EKS cluster
  • Adding an Application Load Balancer to load balance network traffic
  • Creating a Kubernetes Ingress to automatically provision the load balancer
  • Tagging public subnets and creating an OIDC identity provider for the cluster
  • Creating an IAM role and service account for the load balancer
  • Installing the load balancer controller using Helm
  • Creating the Ingress configuration for the load balancer
  • Viewing and accessing the application through the load balancer in the AWS console

FAQs

Q: Can I use an internal load balancer instead of an internet-facing load balancer?

A: Yes, if you want to use an internal load balancer, you will need to tag the private subnets instead of the public subnets. The tag name for internal load balancers is different.

Q: How can I configure the load balancer to route traffic to different services?

A: If your application has multiple services, you can pattern match and forward traffic to different services using rules. In the Ingress configuration, you can define multiple paths and specify the desired backend service for each path.

Q: How can I scale the load balancer to handle more traffic?

A: AWS automatically scales the load balancer based on incoming traffic. As the demand for your application grows, AWS will provision additional resources to handle the increased load. You don't need to worry about manually scaling the load balancer.

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