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Goodluck Ekeoma Adiole
Goodluck Ekeoma Adiole

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# Deploying a Production-Style Amazon EKS Cluster on Fargate with AWS Load Balancer Controller and the 2048 Sample Application

#devops #aws #kubernetes #infrastructure

Introduction

This guide provides a detailed walkthrough of deploying a Kubernetes application on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) using AWS Fargate, exposing the application through an Application Load Balancer (ALB) managed by the AWS Load Balancer Controller.

The project demonstrates:

  • Creating an EKS cluster using eksctl
  • Configuring IAM permissions
  • Enabling OIDC integration
  • Implementing IAM Roles for Service Accounts (IRSA)
  • Creating Fargate profiles
  • Installing the AWS Load Balancer Controller
  • Deploying the 2048 sample application
  • Exposing the application using an ALB Ingress
  • Troubleshooting common deployment issues

At the end of this guide, users will have a fully functional Kubernetes application running on EKS Fargate and accessible through an AWS Application Load Balancer.

Architecture Overview

The deployed architecture consists of:

Internet Users

↓

Application Load Balancer (ALB)

↓

AWS Load Balancer Controller

↓

Ingress Resource

↓

Kubernetes Service

↓

2048 Application Pods

↓

Amazon EKS on AWS Fargate

All application workloads run on AWS Fargate, eliminating the need to manage worker nodes.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure the following tools are installed:

AWS CLI

Verify installation:

aws --version
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kubectl

Verify installation:

kubectl version --client
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eksctl

Verify installation:

eksctl version
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Helm

Verify installation:

helm version
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IAM Permissions Required

The IAM user performing the deployment requires the following AWS managed policies:

AmazonEKSClusterPolicy

Provides permissions to create and manage EKS clusters.

AmazonEKSServicePolicy

Allows EKS to interact with AWS services.

AmazonEKSWorkerNodePolicy

Required for node and Fargate-related operations.

AmazonEKS_CNI_Policy

Required for Kubernetes networking.

AmazonEC2ContainerRegistryReadOnly

Allows Kubernetes components to pull container images from ECR.

IAMFullAccess

Required to create IAM roles and service accounts.

AmazonVPCFullAccess

Required for networking resources.

CloudFormationFullAccess

Required because eksctl creates AWS CloudFormation stacks.

AWS Authentication Configuration

Verify identity:

aws sts get-caller-identity --profile dev
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Verify configuration:

aws configure list --profile dev
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Expected output should display:

  • Account ID
  • IAM user ARN
  • Region

Creating the EKS Cluster

Create the cluster using Fargate:

eksctl create cluster \
  --name demo-eks-cluster \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --fargate
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This command provisions:

  • EKS Control Plane
  • VPC
  • Public Subnets
  • Private Subnets
  • Fargate Profiles
  • IAM Roles

Verify cluster creation:

eksctl get cluster
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Updating kubeconfig

Configure kubectl to communicate with the cluster:

aws eks update-kubeconfig \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --name demo-eks-cluster \
  --profile dev
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Verify access:

kubectl get nodes
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For Fargate deployments, no EC2 nodes will appear.

Understanding OIDC and IRSA

What is OIDC?

OpenID Connect (OIDC) enables Kubernetes service accounts to assume AWS IAM roles securely.

Without OIDC:

Pods cannot securely access AWS services.

With OIDC:

Pods receive temporary AWS credentials through IAM Roles for Service Accounts (IRSA).

Associating OIDC Provider

Set cluster variable:

export cluster_name=demo-eks-cluster
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Associate OIDC:

eksctl utils associate-iam-oidc-provider \
  --cluster demo-eks-cluster \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --approve
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Verify:

eksctl utils associate-iam-oidc-provider \
  --cluster demo-eks-cluster \
  --region us-east-1
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Expected output:

IAM Open ID Connect provider is already associated
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Creating a Fargate Profile for the Application

Create namespace-specific Fargate profile:

eksctl create fargateprofile \
  --cluster demo-eks-cluster \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --name alb-game-2048 \
  --namespace game-2048
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Verify:

eksctl get fargateprofile \
  --cluster demo-eks-cluster \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --profile dev
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Expected output:

alb-game-2048
fp-default
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Installing AWS Load Balancer Controller

The AWS Load Balancer Controller creates and manages Application Load Balancers for Kubernetes Ingress resources.

Download IAM Policy 

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/aws-load-balancer-controller/main/docs/install/iam_policy.json
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Create policy:

aws iam create-policy \
  --policy-name AWSLoadBalancerControllerIAMPolicy \
  --policy-document file://iam_policy.json \
  --profile dev
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Create IAM Service Account 

eksctl create iamserviceaccount \
  --cluster demo-eks-cluster \
  --namespace kube-system \
  --name aws-load-balancer-controller \
  --role-name AmazonEKSLoadBalancerControllerRole \
  --attach-policy-arn arn:aws:iam::622370466829:policy/AWSLoadBalancerControllerIAMPolicy \
  --approve \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --profile dev
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Verify:

eksctl get iamserviceaccount \
  --cluster demo-eks-cluster \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --profile dev
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Verify service account annotation:

kubectl get sa aws-load-balancer-controller \
  -n kube-system \
  -o yaml | grep role-arn
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Expected output:

arn:aws:iam::622370466829:role/AmazonEKSLoadBalancerControllerRole
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Helm Repository Issue Encountered

While attempting to install the controller:

helm repo add eks https://aws.github.io/eks-charts
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Error:

EOF
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Although:

curl https://aws.github.io/eks-charts/index.yaml
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worked successfully.

The issue was traced to Helm repository communication in the environment.

Manual Helm Chart Installation

Download chart:

wget https://aws.github.io/eks-charts/aws-load-balancer-controller-3.4.3.tgz
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Install controller:

helm install aws-load-balancer-controller \
  ./aws-load-balancer-controller-3.4.3.tgz \
  -n kube-system \
  --set clusterName=demo-eks-cluster \
  --set serviceAccount.create=false \
  --set serviceAccount.name=aws-load-balancer-controller
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Controller CrashLoopBackOff Issue

Initial deployment failed.

Check logs:

kubectl logs \
  -n kube-system \
  aws-load-balancer-controller-<pod-name> \
  --previous
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Error:

failed to fetch VPC ID from instance metadata
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Reason:

Fargate pods cannot access EC2 Instance Metadata Service (IMDS).

Solution:

Retrieve VPC ID:

aws eks describe-cluster \
  --name demo-eks-cluster \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --profile dev \
  --query "cluster.resourcesVpcConfig.vpcId" \
  --output text
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Output:

vpc-0e0b589efa0ebf333
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Update deployment:

kubectl edit deployment aws-load-balancer-controller \
  -n kube-system
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Add:

- --vpc-id=vpc-0e0b589efa0ebf333
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Save and exit.

Verify:

kubectl get pods -n kube-system
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Controller should become healthy.

Deploying the 2048 Application

Deploy application:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/aws-load-balancer-controller/v2.5.4/docs/examples/2048/2048_full.yaml
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Verify:

kubectl get all -n game-2048
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Expected:

  • 5 Pods
  • 1 Service
  • 1 Deployment
  • 1 ReplicaSet

Verifying Service

Check service:

kubectl get svc -n game-2048
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Output:

TYPE: NodePort
EXTERNAL-IP: <none>
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This is expected.

The public endpoint will be attached to the Ingress, not the Service.

Verifying Ingress

Check ingress:

kubectl get ingress -n game-2048
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Output:

ingress-2048
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Example:

k8s-game2048-ingress2-eb1cd6e4f4-117964419.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com
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Verifying Subnet Discovery

Retrieve subnet information:

aws ec2 describe-subnets \
  --filters "Name=vpc-id,Values=vpc-0e0b589efa0ebf333" \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --profile dev \
  --query 'Subnets[*].{Subnet:SubnetId,Tags:Tags}' \
  --output json
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Confirm:

Public subnets contain:

kubernetes.io/role/elb=1
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Private subnets contain:

kubernetes.io/role/internal-elb=1
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These tags allow the AWS Load Balancer Controller to discover suitable subnets.

Successful Deployment Verification

Verify controller:

kubectl get pods -n kube-system
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Expected:

aws-load-balancer-controller Running
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Verify application:

kubectl get all -n game-2048
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Verify ingress:

kubectl get ingress -n game-2048
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Open the ALB DNS name in a browser.

The 2048 game should load successfully.

Lessons Learned

  1. OIDC association is mandatory for IRSA.
  2. Fargate workloads cannot rely on EC2 metadata.
  3. AWS Load Balancer Controller requires IAM permissions through IRSA.
  4. Ingress resources create ALBs, not Services.
  5. Service EXTERNAL-IP remaining empty is normal when using Ingress.
  6. Subnet tagging is critical for ALB discovery.
  7. Helm repository issues can be bypassed by manually downloading charts.

Cleanup

Delete application:

kubectl delete namespace game-2048
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Remove controller:

helm uninstall aws-load-balancer-controller -n kube-system
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Delete IAM service account:

eksctl delete iamserviceaccount \
  --cluster demo-eks-cluster \
  --namespace kube-system \
  --name aws-load-balancer-controller \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --profile dev
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Delete cluster:

eksctl delete cluster \
  --name demo-eks-cluster \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --profile dev
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Conclusion

This project demonstrated the deployment of a fully managed Kubernetes environment using Amazon EKS and AWS Fargate, integrated with IAM Roles for Service Accounts (IRSA) and exposed through an AWS Application Load Balancer managed by the AWS Load Balancer Controller. By completing this deployment, you gained practical experience with Kubernetes networking, AWS identity management, ingress architecture, Fargate-based container execution, and production-style application exposure patterns commonly used in modern cloud-native environments.

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