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Create PlatformCluster abstraction using KRO + ACK #600

@punkwalker

Description

@punkwalker

Parent: #584
Priority: Medium

Create an alternative PlatformCluster implementation using KRO ResourceGroups and ACK controllers instead of Crossplane. The existing kro/resource-groups/manifests/eks/ has rg-eks.yaml and rg-eks-vpc.yaml as a starting point.

Scope:

  • VPC + subnets + NAT + IGW + route tables (ACK EC2 controller)
  • EKS cluster with Auto Mode (ACK EKS controller)
  • IAM roles for cluster and nodes (ACK IAM controller)
  • Conditional managed node group support
  • ArgoCD Capability creation (if ACK EKS supports it, otherwise keep Job)
  • Pod identity associations for providers

Advantages over Crossplane:

  • AWS-native controllers (first-party, no Upbound dependency)
  • Simpler orchestration (KRO ResourceGroups vs Crossplane Compositions + pipeline functions)
  • No provider DRC/CRD ownership issues
  • ACK uses Pod Identity natively

Challenges to investigate:

  • ACK EKS controller support for Auto Mode and ArgoCD Capability
  • KRO maturity for complex multi-resource orchestration
  • VPC networking dependency ordering in KRO
  • Migration path for existing Crossplane-provisioned clusters

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