…EKS Add-Ons

This post explains the practical challenges of running EKS add-ons on Fargate-only clusters and why a small managed node group provides better reliability, cost efficiency, and automation for production environments.

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Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

- Combine "The Terraform Catch-22" with "The Problem with No Nodes" to eliminate duplication
- Fix logical inconsistency: clarify co-location issue is with MNG, not Fargate
- Add acknowledgment that recommendation diverges from official AWS guidance
- Add citations to AWS EKS Best Practices, Karpenter docs, and Fargate configuration docs
- Add context about why Fargate was initially attractive
- Document additional Fargate architectural constraints
- Note evolution of Karpenter's own defaults to MNG
- Add "Your Mileage May Vary" section acknowledging teams that successfully use Fargate
- Clarify that frequently-rebuilt dev clusters are worse candidates for Fargate
- Strengthen conclusion to focus on operational requirements determining choice

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Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Fix confusion about which component uses which instance type:
- Static MNG runs On-Demand instances for reliability of cluster-critical add-ons
- Karpenter provisions Spot instances for dynamic application workloads
- Update "Cost and Flexibility" section to clearly distinguish the two
- Update "Lessons Learned" section to specify instance types per component

This addresses the concern that mixing Spot instances in the static MNG would
undermine the reliability we're advocating for.

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Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

The previous wording "dynamic workloads" was ambiguous and could be misread
as including cluster add-ons. This explicitly states:
- MNG with On-Demand instances = cluster add-ons (stable foundation)
- Karpenter with Spot instances = application workloads only (cost savings)

This distinction is critical to the stability argument.

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Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

EKS Auto Mode (announced December 2024) solves the bootstrap deadlock problem
by running Karpenter and other cluster components off-cluster as AWS-managed
services. This eliminates the chicken-and-egg dependency entirely.

Added balanced coverage noting:
- How Auto Mode sidesteps the bootstrap problem
- Trade-offs: 12-15% cost premium, CNI lock-in, less control
- When it makes sense vs when MNG + Karpenter approach is still relevant

This provides readers with awareness of all current options.

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Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>