Announcing the Rafay Management Operator add-on for Amazon EKS

We are thrilled to announce the availability of the Rafay Management Operator as an add-on for Amazon EKS. This addition to the EKS add-ons collection simplifies the installation, configuration, and update management of cluster capabilities for administrators using the Amazon EKS service. Rafay’s Cloud automation platform enables organizations to provide guardrails that allow developers and operations teams to focus on delivering speed of innovation and business agility.

Rafay Management Operator as EKS add-on

Choosing Rafay’s Management Operator as an EKS add-on boils down to simplification and ease of deployment. If you’re looking to harness Rafay as your go-to EKS management and automation platform, integrating it as an EKS add-on streamlines your onboarding process. This integration means you can quickly bring your EKS clusters under Rafay’s advanced Cloud automation platform, leveraging its full suite of features more naturally and efficiently.

For those new to EKS add-ons, they are essential tools that enhance the operational capabilities of Kubernetes applications within the EKS ecosystem. These add-ons facilitate the installation and management of critical functions for Amazon EKS clusters, ensuring you always have the latest security updates, bug fixes, and AWS-validated compatibility.

With Rafay’s Management Operator now deployable as an EKS add-on, you can enjoy the combined strengths of both the Rafay Platform and EKS add-ons in a unified solution. AWS has thoroughly tested and seamlessly integrated the Rafay add-on into the EKS workflow, making the deployment of Rafay’s Management Operator in EKS configurations remarkably straightforward – often just a single command line argument away. This integration significantly reduces the complexity of managing your EKS clusters, all while being backed and validated by AWS’s EKS experts and Rafay’s specialists.

Get Started

Deploying the Rafay Management Operator on a new EKS cluster is straightforward and can be accomplished through two primary methods: using the AWS web console or the AWS CLI. Before delving into the step-by-step procedures for both methods, it’s crucial to address the prerequisites necessary for a smooth deployment process. Let’s begin by outlining these prerequisites, ensuring you have everything in place to get started with either option.

Prerequisites

Before leveraging the Rafay Add-On in your EKS environment, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

• A subscription to the Rafay Kubernetes Automation Platform.
• An Amazon EKS cluster configured with an OIDC provider.
• Creation of an imported Amazon EKS cluster in the Rafay Console using the same cluster name as your EKS cluster.
• Whitelisting of connectivity to the Rafay SaaS controller (detailed requirements can be found on our website).
• Configuration of port 443 outbound on your cluster and network firewall to allow access to the Rafay SaaS controller and other Rafay services.

Installation Steps

Using the AWS Console

• Navigate to your EKS cluster in the AWS console and select the ‘Add-ons‘ tab.
• Click on ‘Get more add-ons‘ and search for Rafay Kubernetes Operations Platform in the AWS Marketplace add-ons.
  
• Choose the latest version of the Rafay Operator Add-on.
• Download the Add-on configuration values file via the Rafay API (instructions provided below).
• In the EKS console, under ‘Configuration values‘, paste the downloaded values.
  
• Click ‘Next’ and then ‘Create’ to initiate the installation of the Rafay Operator addon.
  

Using the AWS CLI

• Download the Add-on configuration values file using the Rafay API. Refer to section “Retrieving Add-on Configurations Value” below for additional instruction.

  curl -X 'GET' 'https://console.rafay.dev/v2/scheduler/project/<PROJECT_ID>/cluster/<CLUSTER_NAME>/download/valuesyaml?json=false' -H 'accept: application/x-rafay-yaml' -H 'X-RAFAY-API-KEYID: <RAFAY_API_KEY>'

• Save these values into a file in your local terminal.
• Install the addon using the following AWS CLI command:

  aws eks create-addon --cluster-name <CLUSTER_NAME> --addon-name rafay-systems_rafay-operator --addon-version v1.0.6-eksbuild.1 --configuration-values file:///<PATH_TO_VALUES_FILE> --region <AWS_REGION>

Validating the Install

To ensure the installation is successful, monitor the installation status with:

kubectl get pods -n rafay-system --watch

All pods should eventually reach a ‘Running’ status. If any issues arise, refer to our documentation for troubleshooting.

Retrieving Add-on Configurations Values

You can obtain the add-on configuration values through the Rafay API, either using the built-in Swagger UI or a regular CURL command. Instructions for both methods are available on our website.

Via Swagger UI

• Retrieve your project id using the Projects API.
  
  
• Register your new cluster and obtain configuration values via the Cluster API.
  
  
• Use this configuration value when setting up Rafay Add-on in the EKS console / API / CLI.

Using CURL

Use the provided CURL command, substituting the PROJECT_ID and CLUSTER_NAME as required. Further details on using the Rafay API are available in our API documentation.

curl -X 'GET' 'https://console.rafay.dev/v2/scheduler/project/<PROJECT_ID>/cluster/<CLUSTER_NAME>/download/valuesyaml?json=false' -H 'accept: application/x-rafay-yaml' -H 'X-RAFAY-API-KEYID: <RAFAY_API_KEY>'