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    IBM Instana Observability Operator

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    Deployed on AWS
    Instana Operator is a free, Kubernetes-native observability solution designed to run on Amazon EKS. Available as an Amazon EKS add-on, it provides real-time metrics, distributed traces, and AI-powered alerts - deployable in just a few clicks.

    Overview

    The Instana Operator delivers full-stack, high-fidelity observability for workloads running on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS). Available as a native Amazon EKS add-on, it simplifies monitoring by automatically discovering Kubernetes services, containers, and infrastructure components - without requiring code changes.

    To use the Instana Operator, you must have an active Instana subscription. You can buy or start a free trial at https://ibm.biz/aws_marketplace-instana_paygo 

    With Instana on Amazon EKS, you gain:

    • 1-second resolution metrics and full-fidelity distributed traces for every request
    • Dynamic service and dependency mapping across your Kubernetes workloads
    • SmartAlerts that detect anomalies and reduce alert fatigue through AI-powered root cause analysis
    • Fast deployment and upgrade cycles using the Amazon EKS add-on interface, managed directly through the AWS Management Console -Integration with over 300 technologies, including AWS services such as AWS Lambda, Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB, and AWS Fargate

    Whether you are building microservices, operating a service mesh, or running hybrid cloud workloads, Instana provides DevOps, SRE, and platform teams with the visibility and context needed to optimize performance, maintain reliability, and accelerate remediation across the entire application stack.

    Please find a detailed guide on how to deploy Instana agents to Amazon EKS clusters at https://ibm.biz/instana-eks_add-on-blog_post 

    Highlights

    • Delivered as a native Amazon EKS add-on and accessible directly through the Amazon EKS console. Supports both managed and self-managed node groups. Provides auto-updates and lifecycle management aligned with your Amazon EKS cluster operations.
    • Gain 1-second metrics, full-fidelity distributed traces, and real-time dependency maps. Achieve complete visibility into Kubernetes components, containers, services, workloads, and infrastructure. Includes out-of-the-box support for popular technologies such as Envoy, Istio, Apache Kafka, PostgreSQL, Redis, and AWS services including AWS Lambda, Amazon RDS, and Amazon DynamoDB.
    • Automatically discovers containers, services, and dependencies - no manual instrumentation or configuration required.

    Details

    Delivery method

    Supported services

    Delivery option
    IBM Instana Observability Operator - Helm chart

    Latest version

    Operating system
    Linux

    Deployed on AWS

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    Pricing

    IBM Instana Observability Operator

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    This product is available free of charge. Free subscriptions have no end date and may be canceled any time.
    Additional AWS infrastructure costs may apply. Use the AWS Pricing Calculator  to estimate your infrastructure costs.

    Vendor refund policy

    All fees are non-cancelable and non-refundable, and Client shall not be entitled to a refund for any amounts already paid except as otherwise provided in the End User License Agreement (EULA).

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    Legal

    Vendor terms and conditions

    Upon subscribing to this product, you must acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the vendor's End User License Agreement (EULA) .

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    Usage information

     Info

    Delivery details

    IBM Instana Observability Operator - Helm chart

    Supported services: Learn more 
    • Amazon EKS
    EKS add-on

    An add-on is software that provides supporting operational capabilities to Kubernetes applications but isn't specific to the application. This includes software like observability agents or Kubernetes drivers that allow the cluster to interact with underlying AWS resources for networking, compute, and storage. Add-on software is typically built and maintained by the Kubernetes community, cloud providers like AWS, or third-party vendors. Amazon EKS add-ons provide installation and management of a curated set of add-ons for Amazon EKS clusters. All Amazon EKS add-ons include the latest security patches and bug fixes, and are validated by AWS to work with Amazon EKS. Amazon EKS add-ons allow you to consistently ensure that your Amazon EKS clusters are secure and stable and reduce the amount of work that you need to do to install, configure, and update add-ons.

    Version release notes

    Initial release of the EKS add-on for the IBM Instana Observability Operator

    Additional details

    Usage instructions

    Once the add-on is installed into your cluster, it requires final steps to configure IBM Instana Observability for your environment:

    Steps to complete the IBM Instana Observability configuration:

    1. On the home page of the Instana UI, click "Deploy Agent".

    2. On the agent deployment catalog page, click the tile "Kubernetes - Operator".

    3. Enter the cluster name and the agent zone (optionally) that you want the cluster to be part of. The cluster name (<your_cluster_name>) is the customized name of the cluster that is monitored by this daemonset. The agent zone (<your_zone_name>) is used to customize the zone grouping, which is displayed on the infrastructure map.

    4. Create a custom resource YAML file by copying the YAML template provided in the Instana UI. The YAML template is pre-filled with your agent key, host agent endpoint, cluster name, and agent zone.

    Final step

    Apply the custom resource YAML file you created in step 4:

    "kubectl apply -f instana-agent.customresource.yaml"

    Optional

    Edit the custom resource YAML file:

    The Instana agent custom resource supports the exact same configuration as the Instana Helm chart. For a detailed list of all the configuration parameters and examples, see Instana Helm chart documentation at https://ibm.biz/BdGUdn 

    Extended information

    This product requires an ongoing internet connection. The following ongoing external services are required to properly function:

    • Instana SaaS backend and valid Agent key

    With default settings, the EKS cluster needs access to the IBM Container registry at icr.io and to the IBM Instana Maven repository at artifact-public.instana.io.

    Required configuration options in the Instana Agent CustomResource:

    • Instana SaaS endpoint URL and port: You can get your Instana SaaS endpint URL and port from the "Install Agents" page in the Instana UI.
    • Cluster name: The cluster name is required to identify your EKS cluster in the Instana Kubernetes view.
    • Agent key: The Agent key authorizes IBM Instana Observability to send data to the Instana SaaS platform. You can get your Agent key from the "Install Agents" page in the Instana UI.

    The following container images will be deployed during installation:

    • ibm-software/instana/agent
    • ibm-software/instana/operator
    • ibm-software/instana/k8s-sensor

    For manual installation of IBM Instana Observability into EKS or Kubernetes, follow the steps as layed out in the official Instana documentation here: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/instana-observability/current?topic=agents-installing-amazon-elastic-kubernetes-service-eks 

    Support

    Vendor support

    Support contact at https://ibm.biz/instana-support 

    Pricing FAQ: https://ibm.biz/instana-pricing-faq 

    We also offer shared Slack Channels during trial and subscription.

    AWS infrastructure support

    AWS Support is a one-on-one, fast-response support channel that is staffed 24x7x365 with experienced and technical support engineers. The service helps customers of all sizes and technical abilities to successfully utilize the products and features provided by Amazon Web Services.

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    411 external reviews
    Star ratings include only reviews from verified AWS customers. External reviews can also include a star rating, but star ratings from external reviews are not averaged in with the AWS customer star ratings.
    Osvaldo P.

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    Reviewed on Oct 09, 2025
    Review provided by G2
    What do you like best about the product?
    Automated monitoring without manual configuration. Dynamic mapping of dependencies between services. Ready-to-use dashboards.
    What do you dislike about the product?
    Accurate alerts powered by machine learning. Support for on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments
    What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
    Automated Full Stack Observability: Instana offers real-time monitoring with data updated every second, covering more than 300 technologies and platforms.Agentic and Generative AI: The platform incorporates artificial intelligence to accelerate incident detection, reduce false positives, and optimize application performance before it impacts the end user.Integration with IBM Middleware: It has been expanded to monitor products such as IBM MQ, WebSphere Liberty, IBM DB2, IBM App Connect Enterprise, among others. []Recognitions: In 2025, Instana was awarded the best IT infrastructure product by G2 and received the product of the year award from CRN.
    satya d.

    One product to provide needed visibility on AI tools

    Reviewed on Oct 09, 2025
    Review provided by G2
    What do you like best about the product?
    Its easy to use and covers needed infrastructure observability for modern day AI components.
    What do you dislike about the product?
    I am not sure if it can monitor non-IBM infrastructure.
    What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
    Monitor AI related infrastructure
    Hospital & Health Care

    See every bottleneck in an app in minutes

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    What do you like best about the product?
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    What do you dislike about the product?
    limited deployment options for the core reporting server
    What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
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    Christian K.

    Best observability tool

    Reviewed on Oct 08, 2025
    Review provided by G2
    What do you like best about the product?
    Instana is Easy to use, ease of implementation
    What do you dislike about the product?
    Can improve de offline desployment on IBM i
    What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
    WE gain visibility in complex environments and we can find the root cause fast
    chandu R.

    Middleware Engineer

    Reviewed on Oct 08, 2025
    Review provided by G2
    What do you like best about the product?
    I use instana to monitor openshift containers. I like Monitoring and alerting
    What do you dislike about the product?
    I am trying to do POC to integrate Instana with end to end call. at present it is not supporting all technologies
    What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
    latency issues
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