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Amazon today Announced the general availability of Amazon EKS Anywhere, a deployment option for Amazon EKS that enables enterprises to create and operate Kubernetes clusters on premises using VMware vSphere. EKS Anywhere provides an installable software package for creating and operating Kubernetes clusters on premises, as well as automation tools for cluster lifecycle support.
Kubernetes, an open source container orchestration system for automating application deployment, scaling, and management, has grown in popularity as companies increasingly embrace software containerization. A container packages the code and its dependencies so that applications run reliably from one computing environment to another, often saving on implementation and maintenance costs.
EKS Anywhere and EKS connector
EKS Anywhere, introduced last December at Amazon’s AWS re: Invent 2020 conference, aims to reduce the complexity of purchasing or building management tools to create clusters, configure the operating environment, and update software. Similar to services like Google’s Anthos and Microsoft’s Azure Arc, EKS Anywhere offers businesses a single tool to manage their container clusters in on-premises data centers and clouds.
With EKS Anywhere, Amazon Web Services (AWS) customers use the EKS console to view Kubernetes clusters and integrate EKS Anywhere with partner products. EKS Anywhere also provides the ability to integrate with third-party tools in other areas, such as networking and security.
“EKS Anywhere is fully compatible with AWS. Plus, you can take advantage of the EKS console to see all of your Kubernetes clusters, running anywhere, “wrote Channy Yun, AWS Lead Developer Advocate, in a blog post.” Amazon EKS Anywhere [enables customers to] take advantage of EKS functions with [their] local infrastructure [and] accelerate adoption with partner integrations, managed add-ons, and select open source tools. “
Amazon also released the EKS connector in public preview today, a new capability that allows AWS customers to connect any Kubernetes cluster to the EKS console. The EKS connector supports self-managed clusters on EC2, EKS Anywhere clusters running on premises, and other Kubernetes clusters running outside of AWS on the EKS console.
EKS Connector is now in public preview in all AWS regions where Amazon EKS is available, Amazon said.
A play for locals
EKS Anywhere and EKS Connector are a clear game for companies adopting private infrastructure and hybrid cloud configurations. During Re: Invent’s keynote address last year, CEO Andy Jassy acknowledged this, noting that only 4% of global IT spending in 2020 went to cloud technologies.
“[Companies] I still have many … containers that [they] needs to run on premises like [they’re] making this transition to the cloud, “said Jassy. “[They] they really want to have the same management and deployment mechanisms that they have on-premises in AWS; customers have asked us to work on this. “
While spending on cloud infrastructure outpaced spending on local data centers in 2020, the local market is still incredibly strong. Companies spent $ 90 billion in data center hardware and software, as the application container market surpassed $ 2.1 billion in value, according to Statista. While it remains to be seen what lasting effect the pandemic has on cloud adoption, it is clear that there is a large customer base for products like EKS Anywhere.
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