We are happy to share that we have just released Ubuntu Pro for EKS worker nodes.
What are the advantages of running Pro clusters?
Utilizing Ubuntu Pro clusters enables you to run Pro containers, leveraging the Ubuntu Pro Extended Security Maintenance (ESM) model within the container experience. This provides security coverage for all applications, packages, and dependencies installed on your containers from the Ubuntu repositories (Main and Universe).
Ubuntu Pro for EKS also offers improved uptime for long-running tasks such as model training or data processing, an enhanced security model, compliance, and adheres to the EKS extended support model.
You can read more in our press release here.
How to launch an Ubuntu Pro cluster on EKS
Using eksctl
The most straightforward and flexible method to launch your Ubuntu Pro cluster on EKS is by using eksctl, supported since version v0.177.
For instance, you can launch an Ubuntu Pro cluster with a single line of command, as demonstrated below, or using more configurable yaml config files as shown in the official documentation.
eksctl create cluster --name cluster-pro-24 --region us-east-1 --node-ami-family=UbuntuPro2204 --nodes=3 --ssh-access=true --ssh-public-key=myKeyPair
Using Launch Templates
If you prefer using launch templates, here’s how you can obtain the latest AMI ID using AWS CLI.
Using aws ec2 describe-images API:
aws ec2 describe-images --filters Name=name,Values=ubuntu-eks-pro/k8s_1.29/images/hvm-ssd/ubuntu-jammy-22.04-amd64-server-* --query 'sort_by(Images, &CreationDate)[-1].{Name: Name, ImageId: ImageId, CreationDate: CreationDate, Owner:OwnerId}'
Using the SSM parameter store:
aws ssm get-parameters --names /aws/service/canonical/ubuntu/eks-pro/22.04/stable/current/amd64/hvm/ebs-gp2/ami-id
You can also use the AWS Marketplace listings to get the image ID.
Creating your node images from the base Pro image
You can create your own custom or golden image, with the Pro entitlements activating upon the first launch. You can use Packer, and the process follows the same methodology as shown in the official documentation.