EKS Auto Mode Getting Started Quiz

Related Document: Getting Started with EKS Auto Mode

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the underlying technology that powers EKS Auto Mode?

• A) Cluster Autoscaler
• B) Karpenter
• C) AWS Fargate
• D) EC2 Auto Scaling Groups

Show Answer

Answer: B) Karpenter

Explanation: EKS Auto Mode is based on Karpenter, but runs within the AWS-managed control plane. Users don't need to install or configure any node management components separately - AWS manages everything.

EKS Auto Mode Features:

• Karpenter-based automated node management
• Runs in AWS control plane
• Automatic optimal instance selection based on workload requirements
• Fast scaling within tens of seconds

2. What is the minimum EKS version required to use EKS Auto Mode?

• A) 1.27
• B) 1.28
• C) 1.29
• D) 1.30

Show Answer

Answer: C) 1.29

Explanation: EKS Auto Mode is only available on EKS version 1.29 and above.

Key Limitations:

• Minimum EKS version: 1.29
• Maximum NodePools per cluster: 100
• Maximum nodes per NodePool: 1000
• Maximum nodes per cluster: 5000

3. What is the correct way to create a new cluster with Auto Mode enabled using eksctl?

• A) eksctl create cluster --auto-mode
• B) eksctl create cluster --enable-auto-mode
• C) eksctl create cluster --with-auto-mode
• D) eksctl create cluster --compute autoMode=enabled

Show Answer

Answer: B) eksctl create cluster --enable-auto-mode

Explanation: With eksctl 0.200.0 or later, you can use the --enable-auto-mode flag to create a cluster with Auto Mode enabled.

# Create new cluster with Auto Mode enabled
eksctl create cluster \
    --name my-cluster \
    --region us-west-2 \
    --enable-auto-mode

# Enable Auto Mode on existing cluster
eksctl update cluster \
    --name my-cluster \
    --enable-auto-mode

4. What is the typical expected time for node provisioning in Auto Mode?

• A) 5-10 seconds
• B) 40-90 seconds
• C) 3-5 minutes
• D) 10-15 minutes

Show Answer

Answer: B) 40-90 seconds

Explanation: The node provisioning timeline for EKS Auto Mode is as follows:

• EC2 instance launch: 10-30 seconds
• AMI boot: 20-40 seconds
• kubelet registration: 5-10 seconds
• Pod scheduling: 1-5 seconds
• Total expected time: 40-90 seconds

Using Bottlerocket AMI can achieve faster boot times compared to AL2023.

5. What block needs to be added to enable Auto Mode on an existing EKS cluster using Terraform?

• A) auto_mode_config { enabled = true }
• B) compute_config { enabled = true }
• C) karpenter_config { enabled = true }
• D) node_config { auto_mode = true }

Show Answer

Answer: B) compute_config { enabled = true }

Explanation: With Terraform AWS Provider 5.79.0 or later, use the compute_config block to enable Auto Mode.

resource "aws_eks_cluster" "main" {
  name     = "my-cluster"
  role_arn = aws_iam_role.cluster.arn
  version  = "1.31"

  compute_config {
    enabled       = true
    node_pools    = ["general-purpose", "system"]
    node_role_arn = aws_iam_role.node.arn
  }

  kubernetes_network_config {
    elastic_load_balancing {
      enabled = true
    }
  }

  storage_config {
    block_storage {
      enabled = true
    }
  }

  vpc_config {
    subnet_ids = var.subnet_ids
  }
}

6. What service principal must be allowed in the trust relationship of the IAM role required for Auto Mode clusters?

• A) eks.amazonaws.com
• B) ec2.amazonaws.com
• C) eks-auto.amazonaws.com
• D) karpenter.amazonaws.com

Show Answer

Answer: B) ec2.amazonaws.com

Explanation: The IAM role used by Auto Mode nodes must trust the EC2 service principal because nodes run as EC2 instances.

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": {
        "Service": "ec2.amazonaws.com"
      },
      "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"
    }
  ]
}

Required managed policies:

• AmazonEKSWorkerNodeMinimalPolicy
• AmazonEC2ContainerRegistryPullOnly