Cloud Native Operations

English

한국어

English

한국어

Appearance

EKS Auto Mode NodePool Configuration Quiz ​

Related Document: NodePool Configuration

Multiple Choice Questions ​

1. What are the optional built-in NodePools provided by EKS Auto Mode? ​

  • A) default, worker
  • B) general-purpose, system
  • C) compute, memory
  • D) primary, secondary
Show Answer

Answer: B) general-purpose, system

Explanation: When enabled, general-purpose and system use On-Demand C/M/R instances of generation 5 or newer. General-purpose uses amd64; system supports amd64 and arm64 and has a CriticalAddonsOnly taint. Use a custom pool for Spot. Auto Mode's local DNS/service-networking functions are not ordinary Pods that must be scheduled on the system pool.

yaml
# eksctl configuration fragment
autoModeConfig:
  enabled: true
  nodePools: [general-purpose, system]

Removing a built-in name deletes its NodePool and drains/terminates managed nodes. Disabling both also means you must provide a custom NodeClass rather than assuming default exists.

2. How is IMDS configured for Auto Mode nodes? ​

  • A) Set metadataOptions.httpTokens: optional in NodeClass
  • B) AWS enforces IMDSv2 and hop limit 1; NodeClass cannot override these settings
  • C) Set hop limit 0 to make IMDSv2 work
  • D) Select AL2023 to disable IMDS authentication
Show Answer

Answer: B) AWS enforces IMDSv2 and hop limit 1; NodeClass cannot override these settings

Explanation: The managed-instance defaults require IMDSv2 and hop limit 1, and cannot be changed in Auto Mode. The former metadataOptions example belonged to a different API. The hop limit restricts non-host-network Pods; it does not guarantee isolation for every Pod, including host-network workloads. Use workload identity and explicit region/configuration instead of relying on node credentials. See managed instance restrictions.

3. Who selects the operating-system image for Auto Mode nodes? ​

  • A) The user chooses Amazon Linux 2 or Ubuntu in amiFamily
  • B) AWS selects the appropriate managed Bottlerocket variant
  • C) The user supplies any Windows AMI
  • D) NodePool weight chooses AL2023 instead of Bottlerocket
Show Answer

Answer: B) AWS selects the appropriate managed Bottlerocket variant

Explanation: Auto Mode uses AWS-managed Bottlerocket variants. It does not expose an amiFamily: AL2023 or amiFamily: Bottlerocket choice in the AWS NodeClass. Use documented NodeClass settings for storage, networking, certificates and supported kernel configuration. These are different from arbitrary AMI selection or shell user data.

4. Which NodePool label selects GPU manufacturer in Auto Mode? ​

  • A) karpenter.k8s.aws/gpu-vendor
  • B) eks.amazonaws.com/instance-gpu-manufacturer
  • C) nvidia.com/gpu-family
  • D) karpenter.sh/gpu-type
Show Answer

Answer: B) eks.amazonaws.com/instance-gpu-manufacturer

Explanation: Use the AWS Auto Mode label eks.amazonaws.com/instance-gpu-manufacturer. For NVIDIA GPU hardware, the requirements can include:

yaml
# Requirements fragment inside a complete NodePool
requirements:
  - key: eks.amazonaws.com/instance-category
    operator: In
    values: ["g", "p"]
  - key: eks.amazonaws.com/instance-gpu-manufacturer
    operator: In
    values: ["nvidia"]

Hardware selection does not allocate a GPU to a container. The Pod must request the appropriate extended resource, such as nvidia.com/gpu, and use a compatible image/runtime. No GPU execution was performed in this audit.

5. Which condition selects EC2 generation 6 or newer? ​

  • A) node.kubernetes.io/instance-generation: "6"
  • B) eks.amazonaws.com/instance-generation with Gt and value "5"
  • C) eks.amazonaws.com/generation: "6"
  • D) instance-generation: 6
Show Answer

Answer: B) eks.amazonaws.com/instance-generation with Gt and value "5"

Explanation:Gt is a strict numeric lower bound, so Gt ["5"] selects generation 6 and newer. In ["6"] selects exactly generation 6; it is not equivalent. Neither condition means only the latest available generation.

yaml
# Requirements fragment inside a complete NodePool
requirements:
  - key: eks.amazonaws.com/instance-generation
    operator: Gt
    values: ["5"]

6. How do you select private subnets for a NodeClass? ​

  • A) Set subnetType: private
  • B) Select reviewed subnet IDs/tags and verify their routing and IP settings
  • C) Set privateSubnetsOnly: true
  • D) Set networkType: private
Show Answer

Answer: B) Select reviewed subnet IDs/tags and verify their routing and IP settings

Explanation:subnetSelectorTerms selects by IDs or tags. Tags such as kubernetes.io/role/internal-elb are a convention, not evidence of a private route table. Terms are alternatives; multiple tags within one term must match together. Review VPC/AZ selection, routes and public-IP behavior.

yaml
# Selection fragment; a complete NodeClass also needs identity and security groups
subnetSelectorTerms:
  - tags:
      kubernetes.io/role/internal-elb: "1"
      Environment: production
advancedNetworking:
  associatePublicIPAddress: false

Setting associatePublicIPAddress: false prevents public IP assignment but does not create NAT routes or VPC endpoints. Provide the complete NodeClass identity/security-group configuration and verify readiness.