EKS managed node groups (MNG) let AWS handle the provisioning, patching, and graceful draining of EC2 worker nodes. You retain full control over instance types, AMI selection, sizing, and node-level configuration while AWS owns the underlying Auto Scaling group lifecycle.
This example demonstrates two separate clusters — one using the Amazon Linux 2023 (AL2023) AMI and one using Bottlerocket — to show how the eks_managed_node_groups map works with different operating systems.
Prerequisites
- AWS credentials with permissions to create EKS, EC2, IAM, and VPC resources
- Terraform >= 1.5.7
- AWS provider >= 6.28
- The example provisions its own VPC — no pre-existing VPC is required
VPC and shared locals
Both clusters share a common VPC defined in main.tf.
provider "aws" {
region = local.region
}
data "aws_availability_zones" "available" {
# Exclude local zones
filter {
name = "opt-in-status"
values = ["opt-in-not-required"]
}
}
locals {
name = "ex-eks-mng"
region = "eu-west-1"
vpc_cidr = "10.0.0.0/16"
azs = slice(data.aws_availability_zones.available.names, 0, 3)
tags = {
Example = local.name
GithubRepo = "terraform-aws-eks"
GithubOrg = "terraform-aws-modules"
}
}
module "vpc" {
source = "terraform-aws-modules/vpc/aws"
version = "~> 6.0"
name = local.name
cidr = local.vpc_cidr
azs = local.azs
private_subnets = [for k, v in local.azs : cidrsubnet(local.vpc_cidr, 4, k)]
public_subnets = [for k, v in local.azs : cidrsubnet(local.vpc_cidr, 8, k + 48)]
intra_subnets = [for k, v in local.azs : cidrsubnet(local.vpc_cidr, 8, k + 52)]
enable_nat_gateway = true
single_nat_gateway = true
public_subnet_tags = {
"kubernetes.io/role/elb" = 1
}
private_subnet_tags = {
"kubernetes.io/role/internal-elb" = 1
}
tags = local.tags
}
Amazon Linux 2023 cluster (eks-al2023.tf)
AL2023 is the default AMI type for EKS managed node groups starting with Kubernetes 1.30. It uses nodeadm for node initialization, and additional configuration can be injected via cloudinit_pre_nodeadm.
module "eks_al2023" {
source = "terraform-aws-modules/eks/aws"
version = "~> 21.0"
name = "${local.name}-al2023"
kubernetes_version = "1.33"
# EKS Addons
addons = {
coredns = {}
eks-pod-identity-agent = {
before_compute = true
}
kube-proxy = {}
vpc-cni = {
before_compute = true
}
}
vpc_id = module.vpc.vpc_id
subnet_ids = module.vpc.private_subnets
eks_managed_node_groups = {
example = {
# Starting on 1.30, AL2023 is the default AMI type for EKS managed node groups
instance_types = ["m6i.large"]
ami_type = "AL2023_x86_64_STANDARD"
min_size = 2
max_size = 5
# This value is ignored after the initial creation
# https://github.com/bryantbiggs/eks-desired-size-hack
desired_size = 2
# This is not required - demonstrates how to pass additional configuration to nodeadm
# Ref https://awslabs.github.io/amazon-eks-ami/nodeadm/doc/api/
cloudinit_pre_nodeadm = [
{
content_type = "application/node.eks.aws"
content = <<-EOT
---
apiVersion: node.eks.aws/v1alpha1
kind: NodeConfig
spec:
kubelet:
config:
shutdownGracePeriod: 30s
EOT
}
]
}
}
tags = local.tags
}
Bottlerocket cluster (eks-bottlerocket.tf)
Bottlerocket is a Linux-based OS purpose-built for container workloads. Node configuration is injected via the bootstrap_extra_args field using TOML syntax.
module "eks_bottlerocket" {
source = "terraform-aws-modules/eks/aws"
version = "~> 21.0"
name = "${local.name}-bottlerocket"
kubernetes_version = "1.33"
# EKS Addons
addons = {
coredns = {}
eks-pod-identity-agent = {
before_compute = true
}
kube-proxy = {}
vpc-cni = {
before_compute = true
}
}
vpc_id = module.vpc.vpc_id
subnet_ids = module.vpc.private_subnets
eks_managed_node_groups = {
example = {
ami_type = "BOTTLEROCKET_x86_64"
instance_types = ["m6i.large"]
min_size = 2
max_size = 5
# This value is ignored after the initial creation
# https://github.com/bryantbiggs/eks-desired-size-hack
desired_size = 2
# This is not required - demonstrates how to pass additional configuration
# Ref https://bottlerocket.dev/en/os/1.19.x/api/settings/
bootstrap_extra_args = <<-EOT
# The admin host container provides SSH access and runs with "superpowers".
# It is disabled by default, but can be disabled explicitly.
[settings.host-containers.admin]
enabled = false
# The control host container provides out-of-band access via SSM.
# It is enabled by default, and can be disabled if you do not expect to use SSM.
# This could leave you with no way to access the API and change settings on an existing node!
[settings.host-containers.control]
enabled = true
# extra args added
[settings.kernel]
lockdown = "integrity"
EOT
}
}
tags = local.tags
}
Key configuration options
AMI types
ami_type value | OS | Notes |
|---|
AL2023_x86_64_STANDARD | Amazon Linux 2023 (x86) | Default from Kubernetes 1.30+ |
AL2023_ARM_64_STANDARD | Amazon Linux 2023 (ARM) | For Graviton instances |
BOTTLEROCKET_x86_64 | Bottlerocket (x86) | TOML-based configuration |
BOTTLEROCKET_ARM_64 | Bottlerocket (ARM) | For Graviton instances |
before_compute addon flag
Setting before_compute = true on vpc-cni and eks-pod-identity-agent ensures those addons are installed before the first node joins the cluster, preventing race conditions where pods start before the CNI is ready.
desired_size and drift
desired_size is only respected on the initial creation of the node group. After creation, the Auto Scaling group’s actual desired capacity is the source of truth. See eks-desired-size-hack for a workaround pattern.
Use use_latest_ami_release_version = true on a node group to automatically track the latest patched AMI release for the configured AMI type and Kubernetes version.
Deploy
Apply
Both clusters are created together. Expect 15–20 minutes for all resources. Configure kubectl
# For the AL2023 cluster
aws eks update-kubeconfig --region eu-west-1 --name ex-eks-mng-al2023
# For the Bottlerocket cluster
aws eks update-kubeconfig --region eu-west-1 --name ex-eks-mng-bottlerocket
Key outputs
| Output | Description |
|---|
cluster_name | Name of the EKS cluster |
cluster_endpoint | Kubernetes API server endpoint |
eks_managed_node_groups | Map of attributes for all managed node groups |
eks_managed_node_groups_autoscaling_group_names | Auto Scaling group names for each node group |
Full example on GitHub
View the complete example including outputs.tf, variables.tf, and versions.tf.