EC2-Based Kubernetes Clusters for ML Workloads

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To create an EC2-based Kubernetes cluster suitable for machine learning (ML) workloads, you have to consider not only the compute capabilities but also the associated resources for storage, networking, and Kubernetes components. In this case, we can utilize Amazon Web Services (AWS) to achieve the desired outcome by deploying an Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) cluster along with the necessary EC2 instances.

Amazon EKS provides a managed Kubernetes service where AWS handles much of the necessary infrastructure to run a Kubernetes cluster, such as the control plane. You'll use EC2 instances as worker nodes, which can be tailored for compute-intensive workloads, commonly needed in ML scenarios. For instance, you can choose instances optimized for machine learning, such as the AWS EC2 P3 instance type, which is equipped with powerful GPUs.

Below is a Pulumi program written in Python that sets up an EKS cluster with a node group of EC2 instances selected for ML workloads. Comments are included in the code to help you understand each part of the setup.

First, you need to initialize a new EKS cluster, and then, you will create a managed node group within that cluster consisting of EC2 instances that will serve as the Kubernetes worker nodes. The instance type you choose should reflect your ML workload requirements—if your applications will leverage GPUs for computations, select an appropriate EC2 instance type, such as 'p3.2xlarge'.

Let's go through setting up the EKS cluster and adding a node group:

```python
import pulumi
import pulumi_aws as aws
import pulumi_eks as eks

# Initialize an EKS cluster.
ml_cluster = eks.Cluster('ml-cluster', 
    # Specifying the desired Kubernetes version.
    version='1.18',
    # Define the instance type suitable for ML workloads. P3 instances provide GPU capabilities.
    instance_type='p3.2xlarge',
    # The desired number of worker nodes. Adjust this according to your needs.
    desired_capacity=3,
    min_size=1,
    max_size=5,
    # Assign tags as necessary to organize and manage billing.
    tags={
        'Name': 'ml-eks-cluster',
        'Project': 'ML Workloads'
    }
)

# Export the cluster's kubeconfig.
pulumi.export('kubeconfig', ml_cluster.kubeconfig)
```

The provided program configures an EKS cluster named `ml-cluster`, specifies the Kubernetes version (in this case, version 1.18), and sets the instance type for the worker nodes (`p3.2xlarge`), which are suitable for ML workloads due to their GPU hardware acceleration. The `desired_capacity`, `min_size`, and `max_size` parameters control the scaling of the worker nodes, determining the minimum, desired, and maximum number of instances.

Please note that AWS might have newer EC2 instance types and Kubernetes versions available that could be more beneficial for your ML workloads, so always check the latest documentation to make informed decisions.

Finally, the kubeconfig needed to interact with your cluster is exported as a stack output, which you can use with `kubectl` or other Kubernetes ecosystem tools.

To run this program:

1. Install [Pulumi](https://www.pulumi.com/docs/get-started/install/).
2. Set up AWS access, which typically involves setting environment variables (`AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` and `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`) or configuring the AWS CLI with `aws configure`.
3. Save the above code to a file with a `.py` extension (e.g., `eks_ml_cluster.py`).
4. Run `pulumi up` from the command line in the same directory as your code file to create the resources. Pulumi will show you a preview of the actions and ask for confirmation before applying the changes.

The process will provision your EKS cluster with the desired configuration, and upon completion, Pulumi will output the kubeconfig needed to manage the Kubernetes cluster.

Remember that managing Kubernetes clusters requires an understanding of both Kubernetes and the cloud environment it's running on—in this case, AWS. Iterate on your configuration as you learn more about your specific ML workloads and requirements.