IT
EKS Performance Optimization: 40% Less Cost, 95% Faster Response
Global Technology Company
40% Cost Reduction
95% Performance Improvement
Zero Downtime
Summary
A global technology services company faced critical challenges with its Amazon EKS cluster, which supported a business-critical application for a major real estate client. Performance issues and resource inefficiencies threatened application reliability and profitability. The company needed to ensure its Kubernetes environment could handle peak traffic volumes while maintaining cost efficiency. Aokumo developed a comprehensive load testing framework that uncovered hidden bottlenecks in database connections, DNS resolution, and logging systems. By implementing targeted optimizations and right-sizing resources, we transformed their infrastructure into a more efficient, reliable, and scalable platform.
The Challenge
The technology company's Kubernetes environment faced several critical limitations that standard monitoring failed to detect:
- Non-Traditional Performance Bottlenecks: The system experienced slowdowns unrelated to standard CPU or memory constraints. Hidden issues in RDS active connections and CoreDNS resolution were degrading performance in ways that typical monitoring missed.
- Resource Inefficiency and Cost Escalation: Kubernetes resources were significantly overprovisioned as a precautionary measure, creating unnecessary cloud infrastructure expenses without clear performance benefits.
- Inadequate Testing Environment: Their staging environment couldn't effectively replicate production-level loads, making meaningful performance testing impossible and risking production failures after deployments.
- Observability and Baseline Gaps: Without established Service Level Agreements (SLAs) or comprehensive monitoring, the team lacked clarity on what constituted normal system behavior versus problematic performance.
The Aokumo Solution
Aokumo engineered a comprehensive approach to expose and remediate hidden Kubernetes performance issues:
- Production-Caliber Load Testing Environment: Implemented a testing architecture in staging that precisely replicated production workloads, utilizing Amazon EKS and Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) to generate realistic traffic patterns and volumes.
- Advanced Log Processing and Analysis: Configured Fluent-bit to process system logs into structured, actionable metrics that revealed non-resource bottlenecks and performance constraints.
- Multi-Layered Monitoring Integration: Deployed Datadog for SLA establishment and tracking, complemented by Kiali for service mesh visualization and Jaeger for distributed tracing—creating complete system observability.
- Targeted Bottleneck Remediation: Implemented specific optimizations for identified constraints, including RDS connection pooling improvements, CoreDNS performance tuning, and Fluent-bit configuration refinement to reduce logging overhead.
- Precision Resource Allocation: Configured Horizontal Pod Autoscaling (HPA) with tailored metrics that accurately balanced capacity needs and cost efficiency, eliminating waste while maintaining performance.
The Results
The implementation of Aokumo's load testing framework and subsequent optimizations delivered transformative business outcomes:
- 40% Infrastructure Cost Reduction: Right-sized resources based on actual performance requirements rather than estimations, significantly reducing cloud infrastructure expenses.
- 95% Throughput Improvement: Resolved previously hidden bottlenecks in RDS connections, CoreDNS resolution, and logging services, significantly boosting overall system capacity and response times.
- Zero Unplanned Downtime: A production-calibrated testing methodology ensured that all deployments performed as expected under real-world conditions, eliminating unexpected failures.
- Data-Driven Optimization Roadmap: The combination of Datadog, Kiali, and Jaeger provided clear metrics and visualization for ongoing improvement initiatives.
Conclusion
Aokumo transformed the client's Amazon EKS infrastructure into a high-performance, cost-efficient platform through specialized load testing and deep Kubernetes expertise. Identifying and resolving non-traditional bottlenecks in database connections, DNS resolution, and logging systems enabled the technology company to support their client's business needs better while significantly reducing operational costs.
This case demonstrates the importance of comprehensive performance testing beyond standard monitoring to uncover hidden optimization opportunities in Kubernetes environments. The results—40% cost reduction combined with 95% performance improvement—highlight how technical excellence can directly translate to business value through enhanced application reliability and improved cost efficiency.
"Performance optimization in cloud-native environments requires looking beyond conventional metrics. By creating a specialized testing framework that reveals the true bottlenecks in your Kubernetes environment, we can help you achieve the responsiveness your applications demand and the cost efficiency your business requires."
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