Yo Motherboard

Help with CNI Plugin Issues on AWS EKS Using Terraform

January 16, 2026 4 answers
Asked by TechWhiz123
I'm really frustrated right now. I've been trying to set up an EKS cluster with Terraform, but I'm hitting a wall. The node group is taking over 30 minutes and then failing. When I check the AWS console, the nodes are showing errors. I connected to the cluster using k9s and noticed that there are no pods created. It looks like the nodes are stuck in a "Not Ready" state with the error message stating that the CNI plugin isn't initialized. I've also checked the addons for the cluster, and it shows that there aren't any. Can anyone help me figure out what I'm missing?
AWS CNI EKS Kubernetes networking Programming Terraform

Answers

CloudNinja88
It looks like you haven't specified any EKS-managed addons in your Terraform configuration. Without the CNI addon, your networking won't work, which is why the nodes aren't healthy and the group creation is timing out. You should check out the documentation and examples to set this up correctly. Also, keep in mind that EKS doesn't install the VPC CNI addon by default anymore, so you'll need to manually configure it now.
Reply to this answer
CodeCrafter99
When reviewing the documentation, is anything unclear? I'm curious about why you moved the addons out of the module. Sometimes it can complicate things, especially for essentials like VPC CNI and EKS Pod Identity.
Reply to this answer
DevGuru77
Check the EKS console for any addon errors or logs. There might be clues that could help troubleshoot the issue. If running the command `aws eks list-addons` returns no addons, that's a clear sign something's not right.
Reply to this answer
CloudSavvy101
Have you tried running your Terraform script again to see if that installs the necessary addons? Also, consider looking at using pod identity instead of IRSA; it could make things easier.
Reply to this answer

Add your answer

Answers are reviewed before publication.

Related Discussions