Overview
The Instana Operator delivers full-stack, high-fidelity observability for workloads running on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS). Available as a native Amazon EKS add-on, it simplifies monitoring by automatically discovering Kubernetes services, containers, and infrastructure components - without requiring code changes.
To use the Instana Operator, you must have an active Instana subscription. You can buy or start a free trial at https://ibm.biz/aws_marketplace-instana_paygoÂ
With Instana on Amazon EKS, you gain:
- 1-second resolution metrics and full-fidelity distributed traces for every request
- Dynamic service and dependency mapping across your Kubernetes workloads
- SmartAlerts that detect anomalies and reduce alert fatigue through AI-powered root cause analysis
- Fast deployment and upgrade cycles using the Amazon EKS add-on interface, managed directly through the AWS Management Console -Integration with over 300 technologies, including AWS services such as AWS Lambda, Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB, and AWS Fargate
Whether you are building microservices, operating a service mesh, or running hybrid cloud workloads, Instana provides DevOps, SRE, and platform teams with the visibility and context needed to optimize performance, maintain reliability, and accelerate remediation across the entire application stack.
Please find a detailed guide on how to deploy Instana agents to Amazon EKS clusters at https://ibm.biz/instana-eks_add-on-blog_postÂ
Highlights
- Delivered as a native Amazon EKS add-on and accessible directly through the Amazon EKS console. Supports both managed and self-managed node groups. Provides auto-updates and lifecycle management aligned with your Amazon EKS cluster operations.
- Gain 1-second metrics, full-fidelity distributed traces, and real-time dependency maps. Achieve complete visibility into Kubernetes components, containers, services, workloads, and infrastructure. Includes out-of-the-box support for popular technologies such as Envoy, Istio, Apache Kafka, PostgreSQL, Redis, and AWS services including AWS Lambda, Amazon RDS, and Amazon DynamoDB.
- Automatically discovers containers, services, and dependencies - no manual instrumentation or configuration required.
Details
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Delivery details
IBM Instana Observability Operator - Helm chart
- Amazon EKS
EKS add-on
An add-on is software that provides supporting operational capabilities to Kubernetes applications but isn't specific to the application. This includes software like observability agents or Kubernetes drivers that allow the cluster to interact with underlying AWS resources for networking, compute, and storage. Add-on software is typically built and maintained by the Kubernetes community, cloud providers like AWS, or third-party vendors. Amazon EKS add-ons provide installation and management of a curated set of add-ons for Amazon EKS clusters. All Amazon EKS add-ons include the latest security patches and bug fixes, and are validated by AWS to work with Amazon EKS. Amazon EKS add-ons allow you to consistently ensure that your Amazon EKS clusters are secure and stable and reduce the amount of work that you need to do to install, configure, and update add-ons.
Version release notes
Initial release of the EKS add-on for the IBM Instana Observability Operator
Additional details
Usage instructions
Once the add-on is installed into your cluster, it requires final steps to configure IBM Instana Observability for your environment:
Steps to complete the IBM Instana Observability configuration:
-
On the home page of the Instana UI, click "Deploy Agent".
-
On the agent deployment catalog page, click the tile "Kubernetes - Operator".
-
Enter the cluster name and the agent zone (optionally) that you want the cluster to be part of. The cluster name (<your_cluster_name>) is the customized name of the cluster that is monitored by this daemonset. The agent zone (<your_zone_name>) is used to customize the zone grouping, which is displayed on the infrastructure map.
-
Create a custom resource YAML file by copying the YAML template provided in the Instana UI. The YAML template is pre-filled with your agent key, host agent endpoint, cluster name, and agent zone.
Final step
Apply the custom resource YAML file you created in step 4:
"kubectl apply -f instana-agent.customresource.yaml"
Optional
Edit the custom resource YAML file:
The Instana agent custom resource supports the exact same configuration as the Instana Helm chart. For a detailed list of all the configuration parameters and examples, see Instana Helm chart documentation at https://ibm.biz/BdGUdnÂ
Extended information
This product requires an ongoing internet connection. The following ongoing external services are required to properly function:
- Instana SaaS backend and valid Agent key
With default settings, the EKS cluster needs access to the IBM Container registry at icr.io and to the IBM Instana Maven repository at artifact-public.instana.io.
Required configuration options in the Instana Agent CustomResource:
- Instana SaaS endpoint URL and port: You can get your Instana SaaS endpint URL and port from the "Install Agents" page in the Instana UI.
- Cluster name: The cluster name is required to identify your EKS cluster in the Instana Kubernetes view.
- Agent key: The Agent key authorizes IBM Instana Observability to send data to the Instana SaaS platform. You can get your Agent key from the "Install Agents" page in the Instana UI.
The following container images will be deployed during installation:
- ibm-software/instana/agent
- ibm-software/instana/operator
- ibm-software/instana/k8s-sensor
For manual installation of IBM Instana Observability into EKS or Kubernetes, follow the steps as layed out in the official Instana documentation here: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/instana-observability/current?topic=agents-installing-amazon-elastic-kubernetes-service-eksÂ
Resources
Support
Vendor support
Support contact at https://ibm.biz/instana-supportÂ
Pricing FAQ: https://ibm.biz/instana-pricing-faqÂ
We also offer shared Slack Channels during trial and subscription.
AWS infrastructure support
AWS Support is a one-on-one, fast-response support channel that is staffed 24x7x365 with experienced and technical support engineers. The service helps customers of all sizes and technical abilities to successfully utilize the products and features provided by Amazon Web Services.
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