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# Enable or Disable Built-in NodePools
<a name="set-builtin-node-pools"></a>

EKS Auto Mode has two built-in NodePools. You can enable or disable these NodePools using the AWS console, CLI, or API.

## Built-in NodePool Reference
<a name="_built_in_nodepool_reference"></a>
+  `system` 
  + This NodePool has a `CriticalAddonsOnly` taint. Many EKS add-ons, such as CoreDNS, tolerate this taint. Use this system node pool to separate cluster-critical applications.
  + Supports both `amd64` and `arm64` architectures.
+  `general-purpose` 
  + This NodePool provides support for launching nodes for general purpose workloads in your cluster.
  + Uses only `amd64` architecture.

Both built-in NodePools:
+ Use the default EKS NodeClass
+ Use only on-demand EC2 capacity
+ Use the C, M, and R EC2 instance families
+ Require generation 5 or newer EC2 instances

**Note**  
Enabling at least one built-in NodePool is required for EKS to provision the "default" NodeClass. If you disable all built-in NodePools, you’ll need to create a custom NodeClass and configure a NodePool to use it. For more information about NodeClasses, see [Create a Node Class for Amazon EKS](create-node-class.md).

## Procedure
<a name="_procedure"></a>

### Prerequisites
<a name="_prerequisites"></a>
+ The latest version of the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) installed and configured on your device. To check your current version, use `aws --version`. To install the latest version, see [Installing](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/getting-started-install.html) and [Quick configuration](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-chap-configure.html#cli-configure-quickstart-config) with aws configure in the AWS Command Line Interface User Guide.
  + Login to the CLI with sufficient IAM permissions to create AWS resources including IAM Policies, IAM Roles, and EKS Clusters.

### Enable with AWS CLI
<a name="enable_with_shared_aws_cli"></a>

Use the following command to enable both built-in NodePools:

```
aws eks update-cluster-config \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --compute-config '{
    "nodeRoleArn": "<node-role-arn>",
    "nodePools": ["general-purpose", "system"],
    "enabled": true
  }' \
  --kubernetes-network-config '{
  "elasticLoadBalancing":{"enabled": true}
  }' \
  --storage-config '{
  "blockStorage":{"enabled": true}
  }'
```

You can modify the command to selectively enable the NodePools.

### Disable with AWS CLI
<a name="disable_with_shared_aws_cli"></a>

Use the following command to disable both built-in NodePools:

```
aws eks update-cluster-config \
  --name <cluster-name> \
  --compute-config '{
  "enabled": true,
  "nodePools": []
  }' \
  --kubernetes-network-config '{
  "elasticLoadBalancing":{"enabled": true}}' \
  --storage-config '{
  "blockStorage":{"enabled": true}
  }'
```