EKS Setup

2 min

Step 1: Add Helm Repositories

Add the required Helm repositories:

bash 
# Add Isovalent Helm repository
helm repo add isovalent https://helm.isovalent.com

# Add Splunk OpenTelemetry Collector Helm repository
helm repo add splunk-otel-collector-chart https://signalfx.github.io/splunk-otel-collector-chart

# Update Helm repositories
helm repo update

Step 2: Create EKS Cluster Configuration

Create a file named cluster.yaml:

yaml 
apiVersion: eksctl.io/v1alpha5
kind: ClusterConfig
metadata:
  name: isovalent-demo
  region: us-east-1
  version: "1.30"
iam:
  withOIDC: true
addonsConfig:
  disableDefaultAddons: true
addons:
- name: coredns

Key Configuration Details:

Why Disable Default Addons?

Cilium provides its own CNI implementation using eBPF, which is more performant than the default AWS VPC CNI. By disabling the defaults, we avoid conflicts and let Cilium handle all networking.

Step 3: Create the EKS Cluster

Create the cluster (this takes approximately 15-20 minutes):

bash 
eksctl create cluster -f cluster.yaml

Verify the cluster is created:

bash 
# Update kubeconfig
aws eks update-kubeconfig --name isovalent-demo --region us-east-1

# Check pods
kubectl get pods -n kube-system

Expected Output:

Note

Without a CNI plugin, pods cannot get IP addresses or network connectivity. CoreDNS will remain pending until Cilium is installed.

Step 4: Get Kubernetes API Server Endpoint

You’ll need this for the Cilium configuration:

bash 
aws eks describe-cluster --name isovalent-demo --region us-east-1 \
  --query 'cluster.endpoint' --output text

Save this endpoint - you’ll use it in the Cilium installation step.

Step 5: Install Prometheus CRDs

Cilium uses Prometheus ServiceMonitor CRDs for metrics:

bash 
kubectl apply -f https://github.com/prometheus-operator/prometheus-operator/releases/download/v0.68.0/stripped-down-crds.yaml