Container Services on AWS: ECS, EKS, and Fargate

As cloud computing evolves, containerization has become the preferred method for deploying and managing applications. AWS provides multiple container services to simplify this process, including Amazon ECS (Elastic Container Service), Amazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service), and AWS Fargate. Each of these services caters to different needs, ranging from managed Kubernetes environments to serverless container orchestration.

In this article, we will explore ECS, EKS, and Fargate, comparing their features, use cases, and best practices. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of which AWS container service best suits your workload.

Amazon ECS (Elastic Container Service)

Amazon ECS is a fully managed container orchestration service that enables you to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications using Docker. ECS integrates with AWS services like CloudWatch, IAM, ALB, and IAM roles to provide a seamless container experience.

Features of ECS:

• Deep AWS Integration – Works well with AWS IAM, CloudWatch, and Load Balancers.
• Supports Fargate and EC2 – Choose between running containers on EC2 instances or using AWS Fargate for a serverless approach.
• Auto Scaling – Automatically scales containers based on demand.
• Security – Leverages AWS IAM roles and VPC for secure container execution.

Example ECS Task Definition:

{
  "family": "sample-ecs-task",
  "containerDefinitions": [
    {
      "name": "my-container",
      "image": "nginx:latest",
      "cpu": 256,
      "memory": 512,
      "essential": true
    }
  ]
}

Use Cases:

• Running microservices architectures.
• Batch processing workloads.
• Hosting API-driven applications.

Amazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service)

Amazon EKS is a managed Kubernetes service that simplifies the deployment, management, and scaling of Kubernetes applications on AWS.

Features of EKS:

• Fully Managed Kubernetes – Automates cluster management and maintenance.
• High Availability – Runs Kubernetes control planes across multiple AWS AZs.
• Integration with AWS Services – Works with AWS Load Balancer Controller, IAM roles for service accounts, and CloudWatch monitoring.
• Supports Native Kubernetes Tooling – Helm, Kubectl, and Terraform.

Example: Deploying a Kubernetes Pod on EKS

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: my-nginx
spec:
  containers:
  - name: nginx
    image: nginx:latest
    ports:
    - containerPort: 80

Use Cases:

• Large-scale microservices architectures.
• Applications requiring Kubernetes-specific features.
• Multi-cloud or hybrid cloud deployments.

AWS Fargate

AWS Fargate is a serverless compute engine for containers that eliminates the need to manage the underlying infrastructure. It supports both ECS and EKS, allowing you to run containers without provisioning or managing EC2 instances.

Features of Fargate:

• No Server Management – AWS manages the infrastructure automatically.
• Pay-as-You-Go – You pay only for the resources used.
• Security – Each task runs in its own isolated compute environment.
• Auto Scaling – Automatically scales containerized applications based on demand.

Example: Running an ECS Task on Fargate

{
  "family": "my-fargate-task",
  "containerDefinitions": [
    {
      "name": "app",
      "image": "my-app:latest",
      "cpu": 256,
      "memory": 512,
      "networkMode": "awsvpc"
    }
  ],
  "requiresCompatibilities": [ "FARGATE" ]
}

Use Cases:

• Running short-lived, event-driven applications.
• Serverless applications needing quick scaling.
• Developers wanting to focus only on application code.

ECS vs. EKS vs. Fargate: A Comparison

Feature	ECS	EKS	Fargate
Managed Service	Yes	Yes	Yes
Orchestration	ECS-native	Kubernetes (K8s)	No orchestration (compute only)
Infra Management	User-managed EC2 or Fargate	User-managed EC2 or Fargate	Fully serverless
Best for	Simple Docker workloads	Kubernetes applications	Fully serverless containers

Conclusion

AWS offers multiple container services, each catering to different needs. ECS is great for AWS-native users, EKS is ideal for Kubernetes users, and Fargate is perfect for those who want a fully serverless experience.

Next, we will explore AWS Route 53: DNS Management in the Cloud, covering its capabilities, configurations, and best practices for domain management in AWS.