Step 1: AWS EKS setup

Create a standard EC2 instance (t2.micro is also acceptable) to establish the entry point for the EKS cluster.
Install AWS CLI v2

curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip" -o "awscliv2.zip"
sudo apt install unzip
unzip awscliv2.zip
sudo ./aws/install -i /usr/local/aws-cli -b /usr/local/bin --update

IAM Roles

Create a user “eks-admin” with AdministratorAccess

Create Security Credentials Access Key and Secret access key

AWS configurations

 aws configure
 #Output
 AWS Access Key ID [None]: AKIARTCYZNBOXFDCB3BQ # copy access key from IAM Security Credentials and peste it here
 AWS Secret access key [None]: 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 # copy access key from IAM Secret access key and peste it here
 Default region name [None]: us-east-1 # You take anyone region where your eks cluster will create.
 Default output format [None]: # keep it blank as like defualt.
 # To check configuration you can run 
 aws s3 ls

Kubernetes tools se-tup

Install kubectl

 curl -o kubectl https://amazon-eks.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/1.19.6/2021-01-05/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
 chmod +x ./kubectl
 sudo mv ./kubectl /usr/local/bin
 kubectl version --short --client

Install eksctl

 curl --silent --location "https://github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_$(uname -s)_amd64.tar.gz" | tar xz -C /tmp
 sudo mv /tmp/eksctl /usr/local/bin
 eksctl version

EKS cluster Set-up

 # You can change cluster name region type and node number according to your needs.
 eksctl create cluster --name three-tier-cluster --region us-west-2 --node-type t2.medium --nodes-min 2 --nodes-max 2
 #To update cluster run the below command
 aws eks update-kubeconfig --region us-west-2 --name three-tier-cluster
 kubectl get nodes

It will take 10-15 minutes

Once the cluster is ready, you will have access to the cluster.

Get and run the OTel demo

Clone the Demo repository:

 git clone https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-demo.git

Change to the demo folder:
```
 cd opentelemetry-demo/
```

Install helm

 curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash
 helm version

Install using Helm (recommended)

Add the OpenTelemetry Helm repository:

 helm repo add open-telemetry https://open-telemetry.github.io/opentelemetry-helm-charts

To install the chart with the release name my-otel-demo, run the following command:

 helm install my-otel-demo open-telemetry/opentelemetry-demo

Install using kubectl

The following command will install the demo application to your Kubernetes cluster.

kubectl create --namespace otel-demo -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-demo/main/kubernetes/opentelemetry-demo.yaml

Expose services using kubectl port-forward

To expose the frontend-proxy service, use the following command (replace default with your Helm chart release namespace accordingly):
1. ```
  kubectl --namespace otel-demo port-forward svc/frontend-proxy 8080:8080
```

Access App from Local Browser Using SSH Port Forwarding

Go to your local command line and connect SSH client

Note: Keep port forwarding into your EC2 instance (entry point of EKS)

ssh -i "otel-k8s.pem" -L 8080:localhost:8080 ubuntu@ec2-107-22-112-101.compute-1.amazonaws.com

Now, go to your local browser and run the following command to get application access

#With the frontend-proxy port-forward set up, you can access:

#Web store: 
http://localhost:8080/
#Grafana: 
http://localhost:8080/grafana/
#Load Generator UI: 
http://localhost:8080/loadgen/
#Jaeger UI: 
http://localhost:8080/jaeger/ui/
#Flagd configurator UI:
http://localhost:8080/feature

Summary of What’s Happening:

Local Browser (localhost:8080)
       ↓
Local SSH Client Tunnel
       ↓
EC2 Instance (localhost:8080)
       ↓
Kubernetes Port-Forward
       ↓
Service: frontend-proxy (ClusterIP)
       ↓
Pod running frontend app

Want to Clean Up?

To avoid extra cost, you can:
1. Delete the Helm release:
```
 helm uninstall opentelemetry-demo -n otel-demo
```

Delete EKS Cluster Using AWS CLI

Step 1: List your EKS clusters

aws eks list-clusters --region <your-region>

My output:

Find Your Node Group Name

If you're unsure of your node group name, run:

aws eks list-nodegroups \
  --cluster-name otel-obsarvability \
  --region us-east-1

Step 2: Delete the Node Group(s) First

aws eks delete-nodegroup \
  --cluster-name <your-cluster-name> \
  --nodegroup-name <your-node-group-name> \
  --region <your-region>

(Repeat if you have multiple node groups.)

Output will show likes:

ubuntu@ip-172-31-2-215:~/opentelemetry-demo/kubernetes$ aws eks delete-nodegroup \
  --cluster-name otel-obsarvability \
  --nodegroup-name ng-e748e373 \
  --region us-east-1
{
    "nodegroup": {
        "nodegroupName": "ng-e748e373",
        "nodegroupArn": "arn:aws:eks:us-east-1:109707880541:nodegroup/otel-obsarvability/ng-e748e373/06cb9d1e-433e-14a5-22d6-40393eaf6eec",
        "clusterName": "otel-obsarvability",
        "version": "1.32",
        "releaseVersion": "1.32.3-20250519",
        "createdAt": "2025-06-04T09:18:56.085000+00:00",
        "modifiedAt": "2025-06-04T10:48:15.666000+00:00",
        "status": "DELETING",
        "capacityType": "ON_DEMAND",
        "scalingConfig": {
            "minSize": 2,
            "maxSize": 2,
            "desiredSize": 2
        },
        "instanceTypes": [
            "t2.large"
        ],
        "subnets": [
            "subnet-0067ad16a30aefd88",
            "subnet-0ae45dd458f109e06"
        ],
        "amiType": "AL2_x86_64",
        "nodeRole": "arn:aws:iam::109707880541:role/eksctl-otel-obsarvability-nodegrou-NodeInstanceRole-zo39hK3bhwij",
        "labels": {
            "alpha.eksctl.io/cluster-name": "otel-obsarvability",
            "alpha.eksctl.io/nodegroup-name": "ng-e748e373"
        },
        "resources": {
            "autoScalingGroups": [
                {
                    "name": "eks-ng-e748e373-06cb9d1e-433e-14a5-22d6-40393eaf6eec"
                }
            ]
        },
        "health": {
            "issues": []
        },
        "updateConfig": {
            "maxUnavailable": 1
        },
        "launchTemplate": {
            "name": "eksctl-otel-obsarvability-nodegroup-ng-e748e373",
            "version": "1",
            "id": "lt-0e6b756279938aefe"
        },
        "tags": {
            "aws:cloudformation:stack-name": "eksctl-otel-obsarvability-nodegroup-ng-e748e373",
            "alpha.eksctl.io/cluster-name": "otel-obsarvability",
            "alpha.eksctl.io/nodegroup-name": "ng-e748e373",
            "aws:cloudformation:stack-id": "arn:aws:cloudformation:us-east-1:109707880541:stack/eksctl-otel-obsarvability-nodegroup-ng-e748e373/e34148e0-4124-11f0-aaf0-12d2e14b57f3",
            "eksctl.cluster.k8s.io/v1alpha1/cluster-name": "otel-obsarvability",
            "aws:cloudformation:logical-id": "ManagedNodeGroup",
            "alpha.eksctl.io/nodegroup-type": "managed",
            "alpha.eksctl.io/eksctl-version": "0.208.0"
        }
    }
}
(END)

You’ve now triggered the deletion of the EKS managed node group:

"status": "DELETING"

This will:

Terminate the associated EC2 instances (2 t2.large nodes in your case)
Clean up the Auto Scaling Group
Remove the node group from your cluster

Wait for Node Group Deletion to Finish

It typically takes 2–5 minutes. You can monitor:

    aws eks describe-nodegroup \
      --cluster-name otel-obsarvability \
      --nodegroup-name ng-e748e373 \
      --region us-east-1

You will see two (node) EC2 instances deleted.

Step 3: Delete the Cluster

    aws eks delete-cluster \
      --name <your-cluster-name> \
      --region <your-region>

The output will look like:

    ubuntu@ip-172-31-2-215:~$ aws eks delete-cluster \
      --name otel-obsarvability \
      --region us-east-1
    {
        "cluster": {
            "name": "otel-obsarvability",
            "arn": "arn:aws:eks:us-east-1:109707880541:cluster/otel-obsarvability",
            "createdAt": "2025-06-04T09:08:54.301000+00:00",
            "version": "1.32",
            "endpoint": "https://6011B26C6A5FD5284F0FC61B09C7E2EF.gr7.us-east-1.eks.amazonaws.com",
            "roleArn": "arn:aws:iam::109707880541:role/eksctl-otel-obsarvability-cluster-ServiceRole-xAovhMoAvLmE",
            "resourcesVpcConfig": {
                "subnetIds": [
                    "subnet-0067ad16a30aefd88",
                    "subnet-0ae45dd458f109e06",
                    "subnet-04388047aedd4a2fc",
                    "subnet-01414f6dbb7ac075f"
                ],
                "securityGroupIds": [
                    "sg-0be7fea6c256ba399"
                ],
                "clusterSecurityGroupId": "sg-0a3c0ab1b7b8f9dc6",
                "vpcId": "vpc-012786c5ae4c5407a",
                "endpointPublicAccess": true,
                "endpointPrivateAccess": false,
                "publicAccessCidrs": [
                    "0.0.0.0/0"
                ]
            },
            "kubernetesNetworkConfig": {
                "serviceIpv4Cidr": "10.100.0.0/16",
                "ipFamily": "ipv4",
                "elasticLoadBalancing": {
                    "enabled": false
                }
            },
            "logging": {
                "clusterLogging": [
                    {
                        "types": [
                            "api",
                            "audit",
                            "authenticator",
                            "controllerManager",
                            "scheduler"
                        ],
                        "enabled": false
                    }
                ]
            },
            "identity": {
                "oidc": {
                    "issuer": "https://oidc.eks.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/id/6011B26C6A5FD5284F0FC61B09C7E2EF"
                }
            },
            "status": "DELETING",
            "certificateAuthority": {
                "data": "LS0tLS1CRUdJTiBDRVJUSUZJQ0FURS0tLS0tCk1JSURCVENDQWUyZ0F3SUJBZ0lJQm95RXV6UUFPU1F3RFFZSktvWklodmNOQVFFTEJRQXdGVEVUTUJFR0ExVUUKQXhNS2EzVmlaWEp1WlhSbGN6QWVGdzB5TlRBMk1EUX
    dPVEE0TlRWYUZ3MHpOVEEyTURJd09URXpOVFZhTUJVeApFekFSQmdOVkJBTVRDbXQxWW1WeWJtVjBaWE13Z2dFaU1BMEdDU3FHU0liM0RRRUJBUVVBQTRJQkR3QXdnZ0VLCkFvSUJBUUNyeG9oaWNyNnlZcFlacm9GSXJ2c284ODJvT21uVHU3Nmt5a
    TF2M3lwa1VFWG4wbUlQVzFaMlNiOFcKTWRSazZHSmdtWVdlT1Vtc0Q0aElXYzZaWnFvcXBpNFZ1OGt3cENSWS8yUTgvb3E3KzFDYTZUMXdJdHhmdlMwTAplcEZHaEJqYnRMTlFvQzJMYnFIaFN6TW1hRGlSMW1wU1g3b1JHV2k5b1EyWUxNSzd1VWg5
    L3ZyVExDWFNXUkp0CmZ2bkptYnk2WCtmY0wvRWlxTDA5NE9ENVB3bjc1Si91VFhDVUsxblZsZitSNDhhRnlpVTlZTWtYNmpFY092bTkKYk16Y01WTWFsUmNoYmluemZjSjJSVEEvSTY5OEFsQ2x0QWI5TURrNjhPM0VvUjhLTnk1ZkhhbmlSK2tYWjR
    mawpobG9vZ2g3c0ROYjFzcUN3Tkd3OUh2NHEzWjVCQWdNQkFBR2pXVEJYTUE0R0ExVWREd0VCL3dRRUF3SUNwREFQCkJnTlZIUk1CQWY4RUJUQURBUUgvTUIwR0ExVWREZ1FXQkJRSG10c0s0QmhoOFFmOWpCakJKeDZ2cVhzZ1VqQVYKQmdOVkhSRU
    VEakFNZ2dwcmRXSmxjbTVsZEdWek1BMEdDU3FHU0liM0RRRUJDd1VBQTRJQkFRQkhvNlVrQnRLNApDVktyNUZXTFdTbExrMktQOXJZeVE5SEJsUkdJdFg4YkZiUHp0eDJROXV6WlA1Zjh4dWpFRTFtalRhTG1MV1h0CkdKd1p3WWNnd3NVd1loUjQ5d
    3VNOGpMV2k1dzZaUjZpaG96NUJoQ3pkRDlUMyt0K1dwdy9MQzN1Vm52L09jZ1kKeExwRjlJWTI1dzdRY0o3TEZ6SGRWL0RFa1VRQXR1Znk2VDQvUFlwZHlKWDJxYit4OW4wYWpFTFJBcWpJYlVGUAp2VnJRTElsV0RFVzhVZFJuelE3djNkUktDZjB4
    UUtSRktCRTdyUnZqUDZBUHdFWGtGalVFUUFCRzd3RW5pQkh6ClhYa3VwRi9temdKUVM2OHdlSENvSUFxcnJvNFYwd3F0amdvYUNac3ZVcGhHbUhHM0xEd2NlQnRsTzRNWXdKcmgKTnV2S3Q1SEdtQnloCi0tLS0tRU5EIENFUlRJRklDQVRFLS0tLS0
    K"
            },
            "platformVersion": "eks.11",
            "tags": {
                "aws:cloudformation:stack-name": "eksctl-otel-obsarvability-cluster",
                "alpha.eksctl.io/cluster-name": "otel-obsarvability",
                "aws:cloudformation:stack-id": "arn:aws:cloudformation:us-east-1:109707880541:stack/eksctl-otel-obsarvability-cluster/7b4537c0-4123-11f0-8b64-123c9d6d2225",
                "eksctl.cluster.k8s.io/v1alpha1/cluster-name": "otel-obsarvability",
                "alpha.eksctl.io/cluster-oidc-enabled": "false",
                "aws:cloudformation:logical-id": "ControlPlane",
                "alpha.eksctl.io/eksctl-version": "0.208.0",
                "Name": "eksctl-otel-obsarvability-cluster/ControlPlane"
            },
            "accessConfig": {
                "authenticationMode": "API_AND_CONFIG_MAP"
            },
            "upgradePolicy": {
                "supportType": "EXTENDED"
            }
        }
    }
    (END)

If you go to your EKS cluster on the AWS console, then you will see that the Cluster is being deleted.

Wait Until Deletion Completes

Cluster deletion usually takes 3–5 minutes
You can verify it's deleted with:

    aws eks describe-cluster \
      --name otel-obsarvability \
      --region us-east-1

The output will look like this.

Delete Using AWS Console
1. Go to EKS Dashboard → Select your cluster
2. First delete the Managed Node Groups
3. Then delete the EKS Cluster
4. Go to EC2 Dashboard → terminate any remaining instances
5. Optional: Delete the VPC used for the cluster (from VPC Console)

Observability by using OpenTelemetry in AWS EKS Cluster.

Table of contents