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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Supported services
Delivery option
IBM Instana Observability Operator - Helm chart
Latest version
Operating system
Linux
Deployed on AWS
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This product is available free of charge. Free subscriptions have no end date and may be canceled any time.
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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".
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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.
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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
Erma M.
Seamless Transaction Monitoring & Real-Time Error Insights
Reviewed on Mar 25, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
I find the most valuable aspect of IBM Instana to be its end-user experience monitoring and transaction tracing. It provides incredible clarity by allowing us to trace a single declined transaction from the front-end UI through our cloud APIs and databases. I also find the automatic anomaly detection promising, as it helps us spot spikes and decline rates before they become widespread issues. The tool's insights, clear visualizations, and its ability to communicate technical debt in terms of lost revenue to stakeholders are great for a team focused on both business outcomes and UX. The initial setup was notably smooth, and the auto-discovery began mapping our transaction flows almost immediately, providing actionable error patterns quickly.
What do you dislike about the product?
I haven't identified any major deal breakers or specific dislikes here. The platform is quite deep, so there is naturally a lot to take in during the initial pilot phase. We are still evaluating how well it integrates with some of our more niche business intelligence tools.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I use IBM Instana to gain high fidelity visibility into transaction declines, allowing us to see if failures are due to back end issues, API rejections, or user errors. It helps refine customer messages and provides actionable insights to address errors.
Orville S.
Transforms Monitoring with Real-Time Insights
Reviewed on Mar 24, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
The standout feature for me is the smart alert system combined with real-time data insights. I am particularly impressed by how the alerts are context-aware. They don't just tell me something is wrong; they give me the immediate visibility needed to take swift corrective action. Another huge win is the faster deployment capabilities. Because the platform uses an automated discovery model, we can roll out new services and have them fully monitored within minutes. This efficiency is a massive boost for our operations, especially during high-pressure release cycles where we don't have time for manual configuration.
What do you dislike about the product?
To be honest, I don't have any major complaints as of now. If I had to pick something for the product team to look at, I'd suggest making the initial landing page a bit more customizable so I can pin my most frequent service maps right to the front. While the documentation is great, some of the more advanced features like custom trace filtering can take a little bit of trial and error to master. However, these are minor nice to haves rather than actual deal breakers. As the core functionality is incredibly solid. And has lived up to our expectations.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
IBM Instana eliminates manual resource checks, transforms us from reactive to proactive, and provides real-time insights to address system degradation immediately.
Carol O.
Transforms APM Efficiency, Needs More Dashboard Flexibility
Reviewed on Mar 22, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
I find IBM Instana's automatic service discovery and topology map to be the most valuable capabilities for my team. In our environment, where services are constantly being updated or scaled, manual monitoring configuration is simply not an option. Instana's ability to automatically detect every new component, from containers to individual language runtimes, and instantly map their dependencies is a massive time saver. This zero-configuration visibility ensures that our monitoring is always as current as our code. Being able to see a high fidelity, end-to-end trace of a transaction across five different services without having to write a single line of instrumentation code is frankly a game changer for our productivity. The setup was remarkable, especially considering the scale of our deployment. We used the standard Kubernetes Helm Chart to push the agents across our clusters, and the discovery phase kicked in almost immediately. Within about fifteen to twenty minutes, we had a fully populated map of our infrastructure, and the platform essentially configured itself.
What do you dislike about the product?
While the automation is excellent, I do feel that the dashboard flexibility could be improved. When you're dealing with a large organization, different stakeholders need different views. And sometimes the standard widgets feel a bit too rigid for our specific reporting requirements. I've also noticed that the initial setup, while automated, still requires a fair amount of policy tuning to get the alerting just right for a large-scale environment. Otherwise, you can end up with a bit of noise during routine maintenance.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
IBM Instana solves the blindness in managing our dynamic infrastructure by providing real-time root cause analysis. It bridges the gap from detecting latency spikes to identifying the exact source, improving our operational efficiency and shifting us from reactive firefighting to a proactive approach.
ty h.
Vital Real-Time Observability with Minor UI Lag
Reviewed on Mar 21, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
I love using IBM Instana as it is our primary telemetry engine to oversee our production Kubernetes clusters, especially since we're pushing code multiple times a day across several different clusters. It's my go-to tool for distributed tracing, allowing me to follow individual user requests as they move from our front end through various middleware services into our databases. Instana provides a vital high fidelity map of how data is moving through the system in real-time. One aspect I appreciate is its ability to solve the needle in the haystack problem during production outages by using an automated dependency map, which transforms our debugging process into a more accurate and efficient approach. The most impressive part of the platform is the combination of automatic discovery and immediate tracing. I find the zero-effort visibility to be a lifesaver, especially when managing a dynamic environment where things are constantly scaling up and down. Being able to see a full end-to-end trace across a complex call path within seconds of a deployment is invaluable. The setup was probably the easiest part of the migration. We simply added the Instana agent to our Kubernetes demand sets, and within about fifteen minutes, it self-discovered our entire topology without any need for adding custom libraries or configurations.
What do you dislike about the product?
While the data is real-time, the UI sometimes feels like it's struggling to keep up. I'm trying to load a massive global service map with hundreds of nodes, the interface can feel heavy and slow to respond, which is frustrating when you're in the middle of a high priority incident. I also think the alerting engine needs a bit more intelligence out of the box. It can be quite noisy if a service has a tiny three-second CPU spike that resolves itself. Fine-tuning the smart alerts to ignore these transient jitters takes more manual effort than I'd like. And as others have noted, the pricing model is definitely on the premium side, making it a tough pill to swallow as we continue to scale our node count.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
IBM Instana eliminates observability lag with real-time data flow and solves the needle in the haystack problem during outages. It's essential for distributed tracing and provides a vital real-time data map, transforming our debugging from guessing to precision.
Cecil M.
Excellent Observability, Pricey at Scale
Reviewed on Mar 20, 2026
Review provided by G2
What do you like best about the product?
I really value the auto discovery and zero touch instrumentation features of IBM Instana; they are easily the most valuable parts for me. With its single agent architecture, Instana captures everything the moment it's deployed, eliminating the need for manual wrapping of code or restarting services to obtain traces. The dynamic graph that updates in real time maps out service dependencies, containers, and hosts, which is great for a developer-focused workflow. I appreciate being able to view a full stack trace without spending days on configuration, which significantly boosts productivity. The setup experience was probably the smoothest I've had with an enterprise monitoring tool, virtually requiring no customization on the Kubernetes side to get the basic traces running, making the setup essentially plug and play.
What do you dislike about the product?
My biggest grievance is the pricing structure. It's based on a per host, per agent model, which becomes incredibly expensive very quickly as you scale up large Kubernetes clusters with high node counts. For a company running a lot of smaller, ephemeral instances, the costs can start to feel prohibitive compared to the value of the tool. Additionally, I find the initial UI layout to be a bit overwhelming for new users. There is a lot of data being thrown at you at once, and it takes a significant amount of click around time to figure out how to filter out the noise and get to the specific metrics that matter for a quick health check.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I use IBM Instana to fill the observability gap from moving to microservices, providing automated root cause analysis and eliminating manual log digging. Its auto discovery and zero touch instrumentation boost my productivity by mapping dependencies without configuration.