Best practices
Run a dry-run migration before any live migration to catch misconfigurations, missing CRDs, and provisioner mismatches before they become problems on the target cluster.
Review the extraction summary (SUMMARY.json) to verify resource counts and identify any unexpected resources before proceeding with migration.
Use a phased migration approach for large clusters. Start with non-critical workloads, validate functionality, and then gradually move remaining applications.
Capture baseline performance metrics before migration to enable accurate post-migration comparison.
Follow the principle of least privilege and grant the minimum permissions required to perform a task. For more information, see Grant least privilege and Security best practices in the IAM documentation.
Encrypt data in transit by using TLS for all Kubernetes API server communications and inter-service traffic.
Install required CRD operators on the target Amazon EKS cluster before migrating workloads that depend on them.
Keep the source cluster operational during and after migration to provide a rollback path until you have fully validated the new environment.
Train your team on Amazon EKS-specific features and AWS integrations. Update runbooks and operational procedures before cutover.
Monitor spending closely during migration. Use AWS Cost Explorer to track expenses and optimize resource usage.
For clusters with hundreds of nodes and thousands of pods, engage AWS Support for guidance on planning, testing, and troubleshooting complex scenarios.
Schedule the migration window during a low-activity period to minimize impact on dependent applications.
Key considerations for large-scale migrations
Minimize downtime
For clusters with hundreds of nodes and thousands of pods, plan carefully and test extensively. Use blue-green or phased migration approaches to maintain service availability throughout the transition.
Security
Leverage the AWS shared responsibility model. Amazon EKS manages control plane security while you handle workload security. Use IAM roles for service accounts (IRSA) to provide fine-grained AWS permissions to pods.
Scalability
The Amazon EKS control plane automatically scales with your workload demands, removing the operational burden of control plane capacity planning.
Team preparation
Train your team on Amazon EKS-specific features and AWS integrations. Update runbooks and operational procedures. Ensure on-call staff are familiar with Amazon EKS troubleshooting workflows.
Cost management
Monitor spending closely during migration. Use AWS Cost Explorer to track expenses and optimize resource usage. Consider Spot Instances for non-critical workloads and use Savings Plans for predictable baseline capacity.
