# Deploying IPv6-first EKS on AWS: What Still Doesn't Work, and What It Saves

DevFeed: [Deploying IPv6-first EKS on AWS: What Still Doesn't Work, and What It Saves](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/deploying-ipv6-first-eks-on-aws-what-still-doesn-t-work-and-what-it-saves-11454.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://labs.ripe.net/author/spidee/deploying-ipv6-first-eks-on-aws-what-still-doesnt-work-and-what-it-saves/>)

Author: Spiro Stathakis

Published: 2026-08-14T08:57:28Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [RIPE Labs](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/ripe-labs.md>)

Topics: [Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/amazon-elastic-kubernetes-service.md>), [Amazon Web Services](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/aws.md>), [VPC](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/vpc.md>), [networking](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/networking.md>), [cloud-infrastructure](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cloud-infrastructure.md>), [Kubernetes](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/kubernetes.md>)

Tags: [2026](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/2026.md>), [amazon](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/amazon.md>), [amazon-elastic-kubernetes-service](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/amazon-elastic-kubernetes-service.md>), [aws](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/aws.md>), [cni](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cni.md>), [competition](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/competition.md>), [cost](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cost.md>), [ip](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ip.md>), [ipv4](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ipv4.md>), [ipv6](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ipv6.md>), [kubernetes](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kubernetes.md>), [nat](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/nat.md>), [networking](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/networking.md>), [networks](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/networks.md>), [vpc](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/vpc.md>)

## AI overview

A field report on deploying an IPv6-first Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service platform on AWS. It explains how IPv6 pods, VPC networking, and an egress-only Internet gateway reduce dependence on NAT gateways and public IPv4 addresses, while legacy IPv4-only dependencies such as databases, payment APIs, and container registries still impose compatibility requirements and costs.

## Source excerpt

In this field report on IPv6-first Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), the isp6 team shares which dependencies still drag IPv4 back in, what they learnt from /28s, and why the saving is large but not automatic.