What is EKS Platform version?

EKS Platform version represents Amazon's specific packaging of Kubernetes for their Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS). It includes additional modifications and integrations to make Kubernetes work smoothly on AWS, such as the Amazon VPC CNI plugin for networking, integrations with AWS security and IAM, and other AWS-specific features and configurations.

The key differences between EKS Platform version and Kubernetes version are:

Scope: Kubernetes version refers to the actual Kubernetes software running on your cluster, while EKS Platform version is specific to Amazon's managed Kubernetes service.

Versioning: Kubernetes has its own versioning scheme independent of cloud providers, while EKS Platform versions are tied to AWS's specific features and capabilities.

Updates: Kubernetes versions are updated by the Kubernetes community, typically every four months, while EKS Platform versions are updated independently by Amazon.

You cannot directly choose the EKS Platform version when deploying an EKS cluster. When you create a new cluster, it automatically uses the latest available EKS Platform version for the specified Kubernetes version. Amazon EKS automatically upgrades existing clusters to the latest Platform version for their corresponding Kubernetes minor version.

The list of EKS Platform versions is not static and changes over time. Each Kubernetes minor version has one or more associated EKS Platform versions, starting with eks.1 and incrementing as updates are released (e.g., eks.2, eks.3).

Comparing EKS Platform versions:

Latest features: Newer Platform versions include the most recent control plane settings, security fixes, and enhancements.

Compatibility: All Platform versions for a given Kubernetes minor version are compatible with each other.

Automatic updates: Amazon EKS automatically updates clusters to the latest Platform version for their Kubernetes version.

Incremental improvements: Each new Platform version represents incremental updates to the previous version.

No breaking changes: New Platform versions do not introduce breaking changes or cause service interruptions.

As of February 2025, the latest available Kubernetes versions on Amazon EKS standard support are 1.32, 1.31, 1.30, and 1.29. Extended support is available for older versions, including 1.28, 1.27, 1.26, 1.25, and 1.24.