# Build an EKS Environment Factory with Pulumi and vCluster

DevFeed: [Build an EKS Environment Factory with Pulumi and vCluster](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/build-an-eks-environment-factory-with-pulumi-and-vcluster-18998.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.pulumi.com/blog/eks-vcluster-ephemeral-environments-with-pulumi/>)

Author: Pablo Seibelt

Published: 2026-06-04T00:00:00Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Pulumi](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/pulumi.md>)

Topics: [Amazon EKS](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/amazon-eks.md>), [Multitenancy](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/multitenancy.md>), [Kubernetes](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/kubernetes.md>), [Provisioning](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/provisioning.md>), [Architecture & Design](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/architecture-design.md>), [Amazon Web Services](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/aws.md>), [CI/CD](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cicd.md>)

Tags: [amazon-eks](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/amazon-eks.md>), [architecture](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/architecture.md>), [aws](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/aws.md>), [ci-cd](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ci-cd.md>), [infrastructure](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/infrastructure.md>), [kubernetes](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kubernetes.md>), [multi-tenancy](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/multi-tenancy.md>), [platform-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/platform-engineering.md>), [provisioning](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/provisioning.md>), [pulumi](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/pulumi.md>), [tutorials](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/tutorials.md>)

## AI overview

A tutorial shows how to build an ephemeral Kubernetes environment factory with Pulumi, Amazon EKS Auto Mode, and vCluster. It uses a shared host cluster with virtual tenant clusters to reduce environment sprawl, provisioning delays, and operational overhead while preserving tenant isolation controls.

## Source excerpt

AWS reports in an AWS Architecture Blog case study that Deloitte's move to a virtual cluster model on Amazon EKS resulted in 89% faster testing environment provisioning. By consolidating dozens of disparate clusters into a single host cluster with over 50 vCluster instances, the case study says Deloitte saved about 500 QA hours per year. This "Environment Factory" pattern allows platform teams to provide isolated, ephemeral Kubernetes environments on demand without the cost or lag of full cluster provisioning. This post adapts that general architecture with Pulumi to orchestrate Amazon EKS Auto Mode and vCluster. The problem: environment sprawl and provisioning lag Traditional development workflows often rely on one full EKS cluster per developer or feature branch. While this provides strong isolation, it introduces major pain points. Provisioning a full cluster can take 15 minutes or more, which slows down CI/CD pipelines. Managing dozens of clusters also leads to high costs and significant operational overhead. Platform teams need a "soft multi-tenancy" model. This model should feel like a dedicated cluster to the developer but run on shared infrastructure to keep costs low and startup times fast. Architecture overview: the host and the tenants The environment factory architecture consists of two main layers. Host cluster: A single, reliable EKS cluster managed with EKS Auto Mode. This cluster provides the underlying compute, networking, and storage. Tenant environments: Virtual clusters (vCluster) running as pods within host namespaces. According to the vCluster architecture, the virtual control plane handles API requests while a syncer maps virtual resources to the host cluster. This separation allows tenants to manage their own CRDs, namespaces, and RBAC while platform teams use quotas, NetworkPolicies, pod security, IAM boundaries, and node isolation controls to protect the host and other tenants. Implementation: the EKS Auto Mode host EKS Auto Mode simplifies