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Using spot compute is a great way to save costs on AWS. The catch is that instances can be reclaimed on short notice. Tools like the AWS Node Termination Handler help manage workloads in Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) clusters by gracefully draining nodes before termination.
Reference:
FinOps in Action: Efficient AWS EKS Deployment with Terraform
You Should Know:
- Setting Up AWS Node Termination Handler on EKS
Deploy the termination handler using Helm:
helm repo add eks https://aws.github.io/eks-charts helm upgrade --install aws-node-termination-handler \ --namespace kube-system \ eks/aws-node-termination-handler
2. Terraform for EKS with Spot Instances
Example Terraform snippet for EKS with spot instances:
resource "aws_eks_node_group" "spot_nodes" {
cluster_name = aws_eks_cluster.main.name
node_group_name = "spot-workers"
node_role_arn = aws_iam_role.eks_nodes.arn
subnet_ids = aws_subnet.eks_subnets[].id
scaling_config {
desired_size = 2
max_size = 5
min_size = 1
}
instance_types = ["t3.large", "t3a.large"]
capacity_type = "SPOT"
}
3. Handling Spot Interruptions in Kubernetes
Check termination notices manually:
curl http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/spot/instance-action
4. Hibernating Spot Instances (Alternative Approach)
Enable hibernation for stateful dev/test environments:
aws ec2 modify-instance-attribute \
--instance-id i-1234567890abcdef0 \
--hibernation "{\"Configured\": true}"
5. Monitoring Spot Interruptions
Use AWS CloudWatch to track spot interruptions:
aws cloudwatch get-metric-statistics \ --namespace AWS/EC2Spot \ --metric-name InterruptionRate \ --dimensions Name=AvailabilityZone,Value=us-east-1a \ --start-time $(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" --date="-1 hour") \ --end-time $(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S") \ --period 3600 \ --statistics Maximum
What Undercode Say:
Managing AWS spot instances efficiently requires automation and resilience. Tools like AWS Node Termination Handler and Terraform streamline deployments, while hibernation offers an alternative for state preservation. Monitoring interruptions via CloudWatch ensures proactive adjustments.
Prediction:
As cloud cost optimization grows, expect more FinOps tools integrating spot instance management, reducing manual intervention while maximizing savings.
Expected Output:
- AWS EKS cluster running on spot instances
- Automated node draining via termination handler
- Terraform-managed infrastructure with cost tracking
- Reduced AWS bills with minimal downtime
IT/Security Reporter URL:
Reported By: Darryl Ruggles – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
