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Part-78: 🚀How to Create a Google Kubernetes Engine Regional Standard Cluster


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Latchu@DevOps

In this guide, we’ll walk through the step-by-step process of creating a GKE Regional Standard Cluster, connecting to it using Cloud Shell and kubectl, and exploring its features.

✅ Step-01: Introduction

We will:

  • Create a GKE Regional Standard Cluster
  • Configure Google CloudShell to access the GKE Cluster

✅ Step-02: Create Standard GKE Public Cluster

🔹 Cluster Basics

  • Name: standard-public-cluster-1
  • Location type: Regional
  • Region: us-central1
  • Node locations: us-central1-a, us-central1-b, us-central1-c (if you need enable, else default)
  • Leave the rest as default.

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🔹 Fleet Registration

  • Review and leave to defaults.

🔹 Node Pools – default-pool

Node pool details:

  • Name: default-pool
  • Number of Nodes (per zone): 1

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Optional settings for cost savings:

  • Enable Cluster Autoscaler ✅
  • Location policy: Balanced
  • Size limits (per zone): Minimum nodes: 0 and Maximum nodes: 1

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Nodes – Configure Node Settings:

  • Machine Type: e2-small (General Purpose Series: E2)
  • Boot disk type: Balanced persistent disk
  • Boot disk size: 20 GB
  • Enable Spot VMs: ✅
  • Rest → Leave defaults

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Node Networking, Node Security, Node Metadata:

  • Review → Leave defaults

Cluster Settings:

Automation: Defaults

Networking:

  • Network: default
  • Node Subnet: default
  • IPv4 Network Access: Public cluster

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Security, Metadata, Features: Review → Leave defaults

👉 Finally, click CREATE.

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✅ Step-03: Verify Cluster Details

  1. Go to Kubernetes Engine → Clusters → standard-public-cluster-1.
  2. Review the following tabs:
  • Details Tab
  • Nodes Tab → Check Compute Engine instances
  • Storage Tab → Storage Classes
  • Observability Tab
  • Logs Tab → Review cluster logs (filter by severity)
  • App Errors Tab

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✅ Step-04: Install GKE gcloud Auth Plugin & kubectl

Verify GKE Auth Plugin

gke-gcloud-auth-plugin --version

Install GKE Auth Plugin

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install google-cloud-sdk-gke-gcloud-auth-plugin

Windows & macOS:

gcloud components install gke-gcloud-auth-plugin

RHEL/CentOS (YUM):

sudo yum install google-cloud-sdk-gke-gcloud-auth-plugin

Verify Installation

# Linux/Mac
gke-gcloud-auth-plugin --version

# Windows
gke-gcloud-auth-plugin.exe --version

Install kubectl (if missing)

gcloud components list --filter=kubectl
gcloud components install kubectl

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📌 Note: At this point, the Server Version won’t show yet because kubeconfig is not configured.

✅ Step-05: Connect to GKE Cluster using CloudShell 

# Configure kubeconfig for kubectl
gcloud container clusters get-credentials <CLUSTER-NAME> --region <REGION> --project <PROJECT-NAME>

# Example
gcloud container clusters get-credentials standard-public-cluster-1 --region us-central1 --project gcp-zero-to-hero-468909

Verify Versions

kubectl version --output=yaml

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List Nodes

kubectl get nodes
kubectl get nodes -o wide

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✅ Step-06: Verify GKE Features

🔹 Workloads Tab

  • Go to Workloads → Show System Workloads

🔹 Services & Ingress

  • Go to Services & Ingress → Show System Objects

🔹 Applications, Secrets & ConfigMaps

Navigate to:

  • Applications
  • Secrets & ConfigMaps

🔹 Storage

Check Storage Classes:

  • premium-rwo
  • standard
  • standard-rwo

🔹 Resource Management

  • Object Browser
  • Backup for GKE

🔹 Features

  • Feature Manager
  • Service Mesh
  • Security Posture
  • Config
  • Policy

🔹 Migrate

  • Migrate to Containers

✅ That’s it! You now have a GKE Regional Standard Public Cluster up and running, verified, and connected with CloudShell + kubectl.


This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Latchu@DevOps