Enterprise Architecture
This guide covers architectural patterns and best practices for designing and managing large-scale Kubernetes deployments across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
Multi-Cluster Architecture Models
Hub and Spoke Model
The hub cluster centrally manages configuration, security policies, and observability for multiple spoke clusters.
┌──────────────┐
│ Hub Cluster │
│ (Admin/Mgmt)│
└───────┬──────┘
│
┌─────────────────┼─────────────────┐
│ │ │
┌──────▼──────┐ ┌──────▼──────┐ ┌──────▼──────┐
│ Spoke │ │ Spoke │ │ Spoke │
│ (Workload) │ │ (Workload) │ │ (Workload) │
└─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘Real-life example: Financial services organization with regulated workloads in separate clusters but unified governance.
Multi-Regional Architecture
Independent cluster instances deployed across regions for data sovereignty and resilience.
┌──────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────┐
│ US-East Region │ │ Europe Region │ │ APAC Region │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐│ │ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐│ │ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐│
│ │Prod │ │Staging ││ │ │Prod │ │Staging ││ │ │Prod │ │Staging ││
│ │Cluster │ │Cluster ││ │ │Cluster │ │Cluster ││ │ │Cluster │ │Cluster ││
│ └────────┘ └────────┘│ │ └────────┘ └────────┘│ │ └────────┘ └────────┘│
└──────────────────────┘ └──────────────────────┘ └──────────────────────┘Real-life example: Global SaaS provider maintaining regional data residency while providing uniform service.
Cloud-Specific Implementation Patterns
AWS EKS Architecture
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Region │
│ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │
│ │ AZ-1 │ │ AZ-2 │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │Worker Nodes │ │ │ │Worker Nodes │ │ │
│ │ └─────────────┘ │ │ └─────────────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ EKS Control Plane │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌───────────┐┌──────────┐┌─────────┐┌─────────────────┐ │
│ │ AWS ALB ││ AWS ECR ││Route 53 ││ CloudWatch Logs │ │
│ └───────────┘└──────────┘└─────────┘└─────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Best Practices:
Use EKS add-ons for CNI, CoreDNS, and kube-proxy
Leverage AWS Load Balancer Controller for ALB/NLB integration
Use Node Groups with Auto Scaling Groups
Implement dedicated VPC endpoints for ECR, S3, and other AWS services
Configure AWS IAM for Kubernetes RBAC integration
Real-life considerations:
ALB for ingress offers native integrations with AWS WAF and Shield
Use Cluster Autoscaler with multiple node groups for cost optimization
Auto-scaling with Karpenter provides faster node provisioning
Azure AKS Architecture
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Region │
│ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │
│ │ AZ-1 │ │ AZ-2 │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ Node Pools │ │ │ │ Node Pools │ │ │
│ │ └─────────────┘ │ │ └─────────────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ AKS Control Plane │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌───────────────┐┌─────────────┐┌──────────────────────┐│
│ │Azure App Gtwy ││ Azure Cont. ││ Azure Monitor ││
│ │ ││ Registry ││ Container Insights ││
│ └───────────────┘└─────────────┘└──────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Best Practices:
Enable managed identity and RBAC integration
Implement Azure CNI networking for enterprise-scale deployments
Use separate node pools for system and application workloads
Configure CSI drivers for Azure Disk and File storage
Leverage Azure Policy for AKS
Real-life considerations:
Application Gateway Ingress Controller for WAF capabilities
Azure Container Registry with geo-replication for multi-region deployments
Use Virtual Node (with Azure Container Instances) for burst workloads
GCP GKE Architecture
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Region │
│ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │
│ │ Zone A │ │ Zone B │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ Node Pools │ │ │ │ Node Pools │ │ │
│ │ └─────────────┘ │ │ └─────────────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ GKE Control Plane │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────┐┌─────────────┐┌───────────────────────┐ │
│ │Cloud Load ││ Container ││ Cloud Monitoring │ │
│ │Balancing ││ Registry ││ & Logging │ │
│ └─────────────┘└─────────────┘└───────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Best Practices:
Use GKE Autopilot for simplified operations
Enable GKE Standard clusters with node auto-provisioning
Implement Workload Identity for secure GCP API access
Configure Cloud NAT for private GKE clusters
Use Binary Authorization for supply chain security
Real-life considerations:
Multi-cluster ingress and service mesh with Cloud Service Mesh
GKE Enterprise for enhanced multi-cluster management
Container-Optimized OS for improved security posture
Multi-Cloud Kubernetes Architecture
For organizations operating across multiple clouds, these patterns enable consistent management:
Fleet Management Approach
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Central Management Plane │
│ │
│ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌────────────────┐ │
│ │GitOps System │ │Fleet Manager │ │Centralized │ │
│ │(Flux/ArgoCD) │ │(e.g., Rancher)│ │Observability │ │
│ └───────┬───────┘ └───────┬───────┘ └────────┬───────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ AWS EKS │ │ Azure AKS │ │ Google GKE │
│ Clusters │ │ Clusters │ │ Clusters │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘Implementation strategies:
Unified configuration repository with environment-specific overlays
Federation layer for cross-cluster service discovery
Standardized CRDs across all clusters
Central identity management with federation to cloud IAM systems
Common observability and alerting platform
Network Architecture Models
Multi-Tier Network Security Model
┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Ingress Tier │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │WAF & DDoS Protection │ │
│ └────────────────┬─────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌────────────────▼─────────────────────┐ │
│ │API Gateway / Ingress Controller │ │
│ └────────────────┬─────────────────────┘ │
└──────────────────┼─────────────────────────┘
│
┌──────────────────▼─────────────────────────┐
│ Service Mesh │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │mTLS Encryption │ │
│ │Traffic Management │ │
│ │Service-to-Service Authorization │ │
│ └────────────────┬─────────────────────┘ │
└──────────────────┼─────────────────────────┘
│
┌──────────────────▼─────────────────────────┐
│ Pod Security │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │Pod Security Policies/Standards │ │
│ │Network Policies │ │
│ │Runtime Security │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘Implementation components:
AWS: ALB + AWS Shield + WAF + AppMesh/Istio + Calico
Azure: App Gateway + Azure Firewall + Istio/Linkerd + Azure CNI + Calico
GCP: Cloud Load Balancer + Cloud Armor + Anthos Service Mesh + Calico
Storage Architecture Best Practices
Data-Intensive Workload Architecture
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Stateful Application Deployment │
│ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ StatefulSet │ │ Operator-managed DB │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ ┌────────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │PVC Templates│ │ │ │Custom Resource Def.│ │ │
│ │ └─────┬──────┘ │ │ └──────────┬──────────┘ │ │
│ └───────┼─────────────────┘ └────────────┼────────────┘ │
│ │ │ │
│ ┌───────▼──────────────────────────────────▼──────────────┐│
│ │ Storage Class Abstraction ││
│ └─────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
│ │ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────▼────────────────────────────────┐
│ │ Cloud Provider Storage Integration │
│ │ │
│ │ AWS: EBS, EFS, FSx Azure: Disk, Files GCP: PD │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Cloud-specific recommendations:
AWS: Use gp3 volumes for general workloads, io2 for high-performance databases
Azure: Use Premium SSD v2 for dynamic scaling of performance
GCP: Use Regional Persistent Disks for high-availability storage
Multi-Tenancy Models
Hard Multi-tenancy
Separate clusters for each tenant ensure complete isolation.
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│Tenant A Cluster │ │Tenant B Cluster │ │Tenant C Cluster │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
│ │ │
┌───────▼───────────────────▼────────────────────▼───────┐
│ Central Management Plane │
│ (Configuration, Monitoring, Security Policy, Billing) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Soft Multi-tenancy
Namespace-based isolation within a shared cluster.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Shared Cluster │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │Namespace A │ │Namespace B │ │Namespace C │ │
│ │(Tenant A) │ │(Tenant B) │ │(Tenant C) │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ ┌─────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────┐ │ │
│ │ │Resource │ │ │ │Resource │ │ │ │Resource │ │ │
│ │ │Quotas │ │ │ │Quotas │ │ │ │Quotas │ │ │
│ │ └─────────┘ │ │ └─────────┘ │ │ └─────────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ ┌─────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────┐ │ │
│ │ │Network │ │ │ │Network │ │ │ │Network │ │ │
│ │ │Policies │ │ │ │Policies │ │ │ │Policies │ │ │
│ │ └─────────┘ │ │ └─────────┘ │ │ └─────────┘ │ │
│ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Implementation tools:
Hierarchical namespace controller
Network policies with advanced CNI implementations
OPA Gatekeeper or Kyverno for policy enforcement
ResourceQuotas and LimitRanges
Pod Security Standards
Control Plane Scaling Considerations
API Server Scaling
Maximum number of clusters:
AWS EKS: 100 clusters per region per account (soft limit)
Azure AKS: 1000 clusters per subscription (soft limit)
GCP GKE: 50 clusters per project (soft limit)
Maximum nodes per cluster:
AWS EKS: 5,000 nodes
Azure AKS: 5,000 nodes
GCP GKE: 15,000 nodes
API server recommendations:
Implement efficient watch caches
Use server-side filtering of list requests
Optimize etcd for large clusters
Consider specialized control plane scaling for >5000 nodes
Disaster Recovery Architecture
Multi-Region Active-Passive Pattern
┌─────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────┐
│ Primary Region │ │ Secondary Region │
│ │ │ │
│ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Active K8s Cluster │ │ │ │ Passive K8s Cluster │ │
│ └─────────┬───────────┘ │ │ └─────────┬───────────┘ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ ┌─────────▼───────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────▼───────────┐ │
│ │Database Primary │◄├─Sync/Async─┤Database Replica │ │
│ └─────────────────────┘ │ │ └─────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────┘
│ ▲
│ │
│ ┌───────────────┐ │
└────────►│ Global Load │◄────────┘
│ Balancer │
└───────────────┘Recovery strategies:
Regular etcd snapshots with cross-region backup
GitOps-driven configuration ensures consistent redeployment
Stateful data replication with appropriate consistency models
DNS or global load balancer for traffic redirection
Cost Optimization Architecture
Cost-Efficient Node Design
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Kubernetes Cluster │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────┐ │
│ │ System Node Pool │ │ General Workload │ │
│ │ (On-demand) │ │ (Spot/Preemptible)│ │
│ └────────────────────┘ └────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Memory-Optimized │ │ Compute-Optimized │ │
│ │ (Critical DBs) │ │ (Batch Processing)│ │
│ └────────────────────┘ └────────────────────┘ │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Cloud-specific recommendations:
AWS: Mix Spot Instances with On-Demand and Savings Plans
Azure: Use Spot VMs with AKS and Azure Reservations
GCP: Combine Spot VMs with Committed Use Discounts
Optimization techniques:
Cluster autoscaler with scale-down rules
Pod Priority and Preemption for critical workloads
Right-sizing deployments with VPA
Implement node auto-provisioning
Schedule non-critical batch jobs during off-peak hours
References
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