https://www.terraformpilot.com/categories/kubernetes/Recent content in Kubernetes on Terraform PilotHugo -- gohugo.ioen-USSun, 12 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.terraformpilot.com/articles/terraform-eks-auto-mode/Sun, 12 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.terraformpilot.com/articles/terraform-eks-auto-mode/EKS Auto Mode is AWS’s answer to “Kubernetes is too complicated.” It automates node management, scaling, networking, and security patching — you just define your cluster and deploy workloads. No managed node groups, no Karpenter configuration, no AMI updates. EKS Auto Mode vs Standard EKS Feature Standard EKS EKS Auto Mode Node management You manage (node groups) AWS manages automatically Scaling Configure Karpenter/CAS Built-in, automatic AMI updates Manual or automation Automatic Security patches Your responsibility AWS handles it Instance selection You choose AWS selects optimal instances Networking Install VPC CNI plugin Built-in Pod identity Configure IRSA/Pod Identity Built-in Cost EKS + EC2 EKS + Auto Mode compute (slight premium) Control Full Less (AWS decides instance types, patches) Terraform complexity ~100 lines ~30 lines Basic EKS Auto Mode Cluster resource "aws_eks_cluster" "main" { name = "production" role_arn = aws_iam_role.