Amazon EKS endpoints now support connectivity over Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)

Amazon EKS introduces dual stack support for the EKS management API endpoint and the Kubernetes API server endpoint in IPv6 EKS clusters, enabling you to connect using Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4), or dual stack clients. Dual stack support is also available when the EKS management API endpoint is privately accessed from your Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) using AWS PrivateLink. Dual stack endpoints are made available on a new AWS DNS domain name. The existing EKS management API endpoints are maintained for backwards compatibility reasons.

The urgency to transition to Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is driven by the continued growth of internet, which is exhausting available Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses. With simultaneous support for both IPv4 and IPv6 clients on EKS endpoints, you are able to gradually transition from IPv4 to IPv6 based systems and applications, without needing to switch all over at once. This enables you to meet IPv6 compliance requirements and removes the need for expensive networking equipment to handle the address translation between IPv4 and IPv6. This launch only affects EKS managed endpoints and does not change the behavior of pod networking. To understand how EKS supports IPv6 connectivity in pods, refer to this blog.

There is no additional charge when you connect to EKS endpoints using Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) clients. To learn more, see EKS user guide.