Sold by: IBM Software
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.
4.4
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
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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
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.
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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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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:
-
On the home page of the Instana UI, click "Deploy Agent".
-
On the agent deployment catalog page, click the tile "Kubernetes - Operator".
-
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.
-
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
Resources
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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Customer reviews
Thiago C.
Robust, but Challenging Setup
Reviewed on Mar 07, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
I like that IBM Instana helps with performance and observability with the ease of agent installation and the auto-instrumentation that the agent provides, avoiding the need to modify much code.
What do you dislike about the product?
IBM Instana could have more dynamism and ease in instrumenting the necessary code both in applications running on servers and in containers, like Fargate. Instrumentation in these environments is very complex and requires parameterization, which is not easy to apply in production environments. It would be easier with some graphical interface to handle this. Additionally, the initial configuration of IBM Instana was quite challenging, especially on a large scale, as it requires a lot of manual configuration, demanding a lot of time and effort.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I use IBM Instana to solve performance issues, observability, infrastructure monitoring, and applications. It facilitates the installation of agents and has auto-instrumentation that avoids many changes in the code.
Farming
Effortless Monitoring with Real-Time Visibility and Fast Root-Cause Analysis
Reviewed on Feb 19, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
What I like most about IBM Instana is how easy it makes monitoring complex environments. It automatically discovers services and maps dependencies, which saves a lot of time compared to doing everything through manual setup. The real-time visibility and clear dashboards make it straightforward to understand what’s happening across applications, containers, and the underlying infrastructure. I also appreciate the root-cause analysis features, which help me identify issues quickly and reduce downtime. Overall, it makes managing modern cloud-native, microservices-based systems much more efficient and a lot less stressful.
What do you dislike about the product?
One downside of IBM Instana is that the pricing can feel expensive, especially for smaller teams or growing environments where monitoring costs can scale up quickly. The initial setup and configuration are fairly automated, but they can still take some learning time for teams that aren’t yet familiar with observability tools, particularly when it comes to getting everything tuned the way you want.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
IBM Instana is helping us address visibility and performance challenges across our AWS infrastructure. Because we run applications on AWS servers, it gives us real-time monitoring of EC2 instances, containers, and other cloud services in a single, unified view. This makes it easier to spot performance bottlenecks, application slowdowns, and infrastructure issues early, before they affect users.
The automated service discovery and dependency mapping also help us understand how different AWS components interact. Overall, it reduces troubleshooting time, supports better uptime, and helps us maintain stronger application performance for our customers.
The automated service discovery and dependency mapping also help us understand how different AWS components interact. Overall, it reduces troubleshooting time, supports better uptime, and helps us maintain stronger application performance for our customers.
Abhishek R.
Exceptional Monitoring with Automated Ease
Reviewed on Feb 18, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
I use IBM Instana to monitor our application and make sure everything is running smoothly. I like how I can easily identify performance issues and get the exact issue. The real-time monitoring and automatic discovery of services are really beneficial, allowing us to see problems as they happen and make the setup fast and easy. The alert system is another feature I appreciate, as it notifies us immediately if something goes wrong, so we can fix issues before they critically affect us. It's simple and straightforward to set up, which is great.
What do you dislike about the product?
It's costly for smaller teams.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
IBM Instana helps us by easily identifying performance issues, monitoring our application in real-time, and automatically discovering services for a quick setup. The alerting system notifies us instantly of any problems, allowing us to fix them before they become critical.
Internet
Automatic Discovery and Actionable Insights with IBM Instana
Reviewed on Feb 17, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
What I like most about IBM Instana is how automatic and low-maintenance it feels once it’s set up. I don’t have to manually configure endless dashboards or chase down individual metrics—it automatically discovers services, traces requests end to end, and maps dependencies in real time.
The live service map is particularly useful. Rather than guessing where an issue might be, I can clearly see how services connect and quickly follow performance bottlenecks all the way down to the exact component.
I also appreciate that it prioritizes actionable insights instead of just dumping data. It surfaces what changed, what’s impacted, and where the root cause most likely is, which saves a lot of debugging time compare
d with more traditional monitoring tools.
Overall, it feels designed for real-world engineering teams that need fast clarity, not simply more metrics.
The live service map is particularly useful. Rather than guessing where an issue might be, I can clearly see how services connect and quickly follow performance bottlenecks all the way down to the exact component.
I also appreciate that it prioritizes actionable insights instead of just dumping data. It surfaces what changed, what’s impacted, and where the root cause most likely is, which saves a lot of debugging time compare
d with more traditional monitoring tools.
Overall, it feels designed for real-world engineering teams that need fast clarity, not simply more metrics.
What do you dislike about the product?
What I dislike is mainly the pricing — it can get expensive as your infrastructure scales.
There’s also a bit of a learning curve, and sometimes customization feels limited compared to more open monitoring tools.
There’s also a bit of a learning curve, and sometimes customization feels limited compared to more open monitoring tools.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
IBM Instana solves the problem of lack of real-time visibility in complex microservices environments.
Instead of manually tracking logs, metrics, and traces across different services, it automatically discovers services, maps dependencies, and provides end-to-end tracing.
For me, the biggest benefit is faster root cause analysis. When something breaks or slows down, I can quickly see where the issue originates instead of spending hours digging through logs. It reduces downtime, improves response time, and makes debugging much more efficient.
Instead of manually tracking logs, metrics, and traces across different services, it automatically discovers services, maps dependencies, and provides end-to-end tracing.
For me, the biggest benefit is faster root cause analysis. When something breaks or slows down, I can quickly see where the issue originates instead of spending hours digging through logs. It reduces downtime, improves response time, and makes debugging much more efficient.
Rinku G.
Powerful Monitoring with Some Complexity
Reviewed on Feb 17, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
I use IBM Instana for real-time application performance monitoring and error tracking. I love its real-time monitoring and automatic service discovery. The clear distributed tracing and fast root cause analysis really stand out and save debugging time. It helps us to detect issues instantly without manual setup. Automatic discovery saves configuration time, and distributed tracing shows exactly where the problem is. The initial setup was quite easy for our team, requiring minimal manual configuration, and automatic service discovery made onboarding fast and smooth.
What do you dislike about the product?
Some areas where IBM Instana could improve are pricing and UI complexity for new users. Sometimes advanced configurations and detailed dashboards can feel overwhelming, especially for small teams.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I use IBM Instana for real-time application performance monitoring and error tracking. It helps us quickly identify performance issues, providing real-time monitoring and clear root cause analysis, reducing troubleshooting time and maintaining system stability.