Deploying and Managing AWS Kubernetes Clusters with GKE Enterprise

Introduction to GKE Enterprise

GKE Enterprise, formerly known as Anthos, is a subscription service from Google Cloud that adds configuration and policy management, service mesh, and other features to support running Kubernetes workloads in Google Cloud, other clouds, and on-premises environments. This article focuses on deploying and managing Kubernetes clusters on AWS using GKE Enterprise.

Benefits of GKE Enterprise

• Ability to run Kubernetes clusters across multiple clouds while maintaining a single developer experience and centralized management.
• Freedom to choose the target for workload deployments, such as Google Cloud, AWS, or even Azure.
• Simplified workflow for multi-cloud deployments.

Setting Up AWS for GKE Enterprise

To use GKE Enterprise in AWS, several components and configurations need to be set up:

• Create an AWS VPC with subnets, routes, and gateways.
• Configure encryption keys for EC2 instance data, EBS volumes, and ETCD state data.
• Create IAM roles and SSH key pairs for GKE to operate within the AWS VPC.

AWS Networking Setup

GKE Enterprise requires a dedicated AWS VPC with private and public subnets, internet gateways, routing tables, elastic IPs, and NAT gateways. The detailed steps for setting up the AWS networking infrastructure are provided, including creating subnets, associating route tables, configuring NAT gateways, and more.

Building AWS Kubernetes Clusters

After setting up the required AWS infrastructure, you can create a Kubernetes cluster and its control plane using the `gcloud` command. The article provides the necessary commands and options, such as specifying the cluster version, AWS region, Google Cloud region, VPC and subnet IDs, and encryption keys.

Next, you can create a node pool for the cluster by specifying the minimum and maximum number of nodes, root volume size, subnet ID, and instance profile.

Testing and Managing AWS Kubernetes Clusters

• Obtain credentials for the Kubernetes API using `gcloud` and store them in the local `kubeconfig` file.
• Deploy and expose a sample application using `kubectl` commands.
• Access the deployed application via the assigned Load Balancer hostname.

Deleting AWS Kubernetes Clusters and Resources

The article provides instructions for deleting AWS Kubernetes clusters, including separate steps for deleting node pools and the control plane. Additionally, it highlights the importance of deleting other AWS resources created during the setup process to avoid incurring further charges.

Automation with Terraform

The article includes a section on automating the creation of GKE Enterprise components and Kubernetes objects using Terraform. It provides code examples and explanations for creating VPCs, subnets, clusters, and deployments using Terraform.

Summary

The article demonstrates how to build and manage Kubernetes clusters on AWS using GKE Enterprise, covering the necessary infrastructure setup, cluster creation, testing, and deletion. It highlights the benefits of using GKE Enterprise for multi-cloud Kubernetes deployments and provides a comprehensive guide for leveraging Kubernetes across Google Cloud and AWS.