Migrate a self-managed Kubernetes cluster to EKS with managed node groups

SAP-C02 By islever Editorial Last updated

Determine the optimal migration approach for existing workloads. Determine a new architecture for existing workloads. Determine opportunities for modernization and enhancements.

Short answer

B Create an EKS cluster with managed node groups, copy the images to ECR, deploy the existing manifests, and use Aurora PostgreSQL.

Question

A company wants to migrate its website to AWS. The website uses microservices and runs on containers that are deployed in an on-premises, self-managed Kubernetes cluster. All the manifests that define the deployments for the containers in the Kubernetes deployment are in source control. All data for the website is stored in a PostgreSQL database. An open source container image repository runs alongside the on-premises environment. A solutions architect needs to determine the architecture that the company will use for the website on AWS. Which solution will meet these requirements with the LEAST effort to migrate?
  1. Create an AWS App Runner service. Connect the App Runner service to the open source container image repository. Deploy the manifests from on premises to the App Runner service. Create an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL database.
  2. Create an Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) cluster that has managed node groups. Copy the application containers to a new Amazon Elastic Container Registry (Amazon ECR) repository. Deploy the manifests from on premises to the EKS cluster. Create an Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster. Correct Answer
  3. Create an Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) cluster that has an Amazon EC2 capacity pool. Copy the application containers to a new Amazon Elastic Container Registry (Amazon ECR) repository. Register each container image as a new task definition. Configure ECS services for each task definition to match the original Kubernetes deployments. Create an Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster.
  4. Rebuild the on-premises Kubernetes cluster by hosting the cluster on Amazon EC2 instances. Migrate the open source container image repository to the EC2 instances. Deploy the manifests from on premises to the new cluster on AWS. Deploy an open source PostgreSQL database on the new cluster.

Key Takeaways

EKS with managed node groups accepts the existing Kubernetes manifests with minimal change, so the artifacts the team already maintains in source control carry over directly, and managed node groups remove the node lifecycle the team had to operate itself.

A website runs as microservices on containers in an on-premises self-managed Kubernetes cluster, with all deployment manifests in source control and an open source container image repository alongside the on-premises environment. The team must determine the target architecture with the least migration effort.

Common mistake: Rebuilding the Kubernetes control plane on EC2 instances. That is a lift-and-shift of the cluster's own infrastructure rather than a migration to a managed service, and it leaves the team responsible for control plane upgrades, etcd backups, and node management with no reduction in effort.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

The team's source of truth is the Kubernetes manifests in source control, so the lowest-effort target is a managed Kubernetes service that runs those manifests as they are. Amazon EKS with managed node groups accepts the existing deployment manifests, and the container images can be copied into an Amazon ECR repository so the manifests point at a registry the cluster can pull from. Managed node groups remove the responsibility for provisioning and managing the worker nodes, which is the part a self-managed cluster forces the team to own. Aurora PostgreSQL is the natural managed relational target for the existing PostgreSQL data.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

A: Amazon App Runner is a fully managed service for building and running containerized applications, but it does not run Kubernetes deployment manifests, so the team's existing manifests would have to be converted into an App Runner service configuration, which is more translation work rather than less. C: ECS requires each container image to be registered as a new task definition and an ECS service to be created for each, so the Kubernetes manifests must be rewritten into ECS constructs, which is also more work. D: Rebuilding the cluster on EC2 instances means the team still operates the Kubernetes control plane, so this is a lift-and-shift of infrastructure to maintain rather than a move to a managed service, and it also requires migrating the image repository and running a self-managed PostgreSQL server on the same cluster.

Community Comment Notes

The community voted 100 to 0 for B, with the top-voted comment linking the AWS architecture field notes on migrating a self-managed Kubernetes cluster on EC2 to Amazon EKS. A dissenting comment observed that EKS still requires manifest adjustments and questioned whether it is genuinely the least effort, while another noted that option D is the true lift-and-shift, but neither addressed that D leaves the team owning the control plane, which is the effort the question asks to minimise.

Official Reference

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/what-is-eks.html

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Community Votes

B
100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer B. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 10 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 10

  1. kejam 👍 4 Answered B
    Answer B: LEAST effort to migrate Minor changes to the manifest files seems like the least amount of work compared to what needs to be done in the other answers.
  2. HunkyBunky 👍 3 Answered B
    Answer is B - because only in that case - we don't need to do any changes in application A - is out, because we will need to create deployments for many micro-services C - is out, because we will need to create ecs deployments for many micro-services D - is out, because it will require a lot of overhead and efforts for self-managed K8S setup
  3. Spike2020 👍 3
    B is best to manage, but is it easiest to migrate? you still need to adjust manifest file for managed node groups and ECR repo. D is lift and shift.
  4. TonytheTiger 👍 2 Answered B
    Option B: Some additional migration to EKS info (1) https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/architecture/field-notes-migrating-a-self-managed-kubernetes-cluster-on-ec2-to-amazon-eks/ (2) https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/containers/migrating-from-self-managed-kubernetes-to-amazon-eks-here-are-some-key-considerations/
  5. AzureDP900 👍 1
    Option B is actually a very good choice. Creating an Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) cluster that has managed node groups allows for a seamless migration of the existing Kubernetes deployment to AWS, while maintaining the flexibility and scalability of EKS.
Show 5 more comments
  1. AloraCloud 👍 1
    B is an AWS Solutions/Sales team to a customer answer
  2. alexis123456 👍 3
    Correct answer is B
  3. TheCloudGuruu 👍 1 Answered B
    B is the best option
  4. career360guru 👍 1 Answered B
    Option B
  5. arberod 👍 1 Answered B
    It is B

Reader comments & corrections

No reader corrections yet — spotted an error or have a note? Share it below.

Log in to comment, report an error, or add a note about this question.

Submitted for moderation before publishing. Keep it helpful and respectful.

Modernize centralized firewall appliances with a Gateway Load Balancer and Auto Scaling

S-grade

Use Lambda over a CloudWatch Logs stream to count unique users per client

S-grade

Serve global game assets with Route 53 latency records and health checks

S-grade

Reach a cross-account S3 data lake through a gateway endpoint and an access point bucket policy

S-grade

Practice All SAP-C02 Questions

Access 85 questions with complete answers and detailed explanations.

View Full SAP-C02 Practice Test →

← Back to SAP-C02 Study Guide