kube-vip manifest

[pawcykca]

Can you tell me where the manifest definition for kube-vip is stored and how to change it for newly created EKSA clusters?

[uldyssian-sh]

In EKS Anywhere, kube-vip is deployed as a static Pod on each control-plane node.
That means the manifest that actually runs kube-vip is stored directly on the node filesystem, not in Kubernetes objects.

Where the kube-vip manifest lives at runtime:

/etc/kubernetes/manifests/kube-vip.yaml

The kubelet watches this directory and automatically starts any static Pod defined there. kube-vip is launched this way on every control-plane node.

How EKS Anywhere generates it:

During cluster creation, EKS Anywhere renders the kube-vip static-pod manifest based on values from your Cluster specification. The most important input is the control plane endpoint:

spec:
controlPlaneConfiguration:
endpoint:
host: "X.X.X.X"

This endpoint host becomes the virtual IP (or hostname) that kube-vip advertises and that kubeadm uses for the API server.

How to change it for newly created EKS Anywhere clusters:

Supported and recommended:

• Modify the cluster configuration YAML before cluster creation.
• Change spec.controlPlaneConfiguration.endpoint.host.
• Create the cluster using that updated configuration.
  This is the intended and supported way to influence kube-vip behavior for new clusters.

Not officially supported / fragile:

• Manually editing /etc/kubernetes/manifests/kube-vip.yaml on control-plane nodes after cluster creation.
• While this works immediately (kubelet will reload the static pod), it is not durable:
  • upgrades or reconciliation can overwrite the file
  • it must be repeated on every control-plane node
  • it does not automatically apply to future clusters

If you need persistent customization of kube-vip flags (interface selection, ARP/BGP settings, etc.) across all newly created clusters, the practical options are:

• automate post-create node changes in your provisioning pipeline, or
• maintain a customized EKS Anywhere build/template (advanced and maintenance-heavy)

Summary:

kube-vip runs as a static Pod.
The manifest is stored at /etc/kubernetes/manifests/kube-vip.yaml.
For new clusters, the supported control point is the cluster spec’s controlPlaneConfiguration.endpoint.host.
Direct manifest edits are possible but not stable long-term.

[uldyssian-sh]

Thanks! If this helps, please consider marking it as “Helpful” or “Accepted” 😊