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.
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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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
Sushil K.
Effortless Monitoring, Though Pricey
Reviewed on May 05, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
I am using IBM Instana for infrastructure monitoring to ensure uptime and performance. I like that IBM Instana automates zero configuration monitoring and maps the entire infrastructure and application stack, which makes it an intelligent and effortless observability platform. The initial setup was quite easy.
What do you dislike about the product?
The pricing is high, and the dashboard and monitoring part is limited.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I use IBM Instana for infrastructure monitoring, ensuring uptime and performance. It automates zero configuration monitoring, maps the entire infrastructure and application stack, and makes an intelligent and effortless observability platform available.
ABHINAV A.
Zero-Effort Automation and Real-Time Microservices Visibility with Instana
Reviewed on Apr 29, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
What I like best is the 'zero-effort' automation. Unlike other APM tools where you spend weeks configuring thresholds, Instana’s AutoTrace and discovery mapped our entire microservices architecture in minutes. The 1-second granularity provides a level of real-time visibility that makes catching intermittent spikes much easier than the standard 10-second averages.
What do you dislike about the product?
The UI can feel a bit heavy and occasionally sluggish when loading very large, complex dependency maps. Because it collects so much data, the initial learning curve is steep for junior engineers. The dashboarding is powerful, but customizing specific views can be less intuitive than I’d like sometimes there are so many menus that it’s easy to get lost when trying to find a specific obscure metric.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It solves the complexity of monitoring microservices. It benefits me by providing a single source of truth for Dev and Ops, reducing our MTTR and saving hours of manual debugging every week.
Chinar P.
Credible, Data-Backed Stories—But Still Too Technical Out of the Box
Reviewed on Apr 29, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
How it turns highly technical system performance into clear, data-backed stories we can use, whether that’s for press releases, analyst briefings, or thought leadership. Instead of vague claims, it gives us real-time metrics and visualizations that make our messaging more credible, specific, and compelling.
What do you dislike about the product?
From a PR perspective, IBM Instana Observability can be a bit too technical out of the box, there’s still a heavy lift to translate raw telemetry into clear, media-ready narratives without relying on engineering.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It translates complex language into clearer, more credible messaging, we’re not guessing or relying on vague inputs from engineering. Instead, we can speak to performance, reliability, and impact with real data, respond faster during incidents, and build stronger narratives backed by measurable outcomes.
Telecommunications
Fast Real-Time Insights, but Setup and Pricing Can Be Challenging
Reviewed on Apr 13, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
Realtime moniitoring and it has good and fast insights
What do you dislike about the product?
Setup can be complex in some environment and pricing maybe be high for small teams
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
we use Instana to solve visibility issues in our environment, especially with multiple services and nodes running at the same time.
Before it was hard to quickly find where a problem was coming from. Now with real time monitoring, auto discovery, and tracing, we can easily see what’s happening and identify the root cause much faster.
Before it was hard to quickly find where a problem was coming from. Now with real time monitoring, auto discovery, and tracing, we can easily see what’s happening and identify the root cause much faster.
Mike G.
Boosted Uptime and Reliability with Ease
Reviewed on Apr 10, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
I like how easy it is to connect IBM Instana with our infrastructure. I also love the fact that they have a free trial, which was perfect for us. We used the 14-day free trial to decide if IBM Instana is the right fit for us, and then we switched to the pay-per-use plan, which we've been using for about 3 months. The free trial was invaluable, and it was great for figuring out if IBM Instana was suitable without actually making a monetary commitment. For the last 3-4 months, IBM Instana has worked perfectly for our use case. The initial setup was very straightforward.
What do you dislike about the product?
Nothing really. I enjoyed the entire experience so far (about 3-4 months).
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I use IBM Instana for monitoring, improving app uptime, and reliability. The free trial helped us decide if it was a fit without a financial commitment, and I appreciate how easily it connects with our infrastructure.