Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is Google Cloud’s managed Kubernetes service. Google runs the control plane; Ankra provisions the cluster, then manages everything on top - node pools, Kubernetes upgrades, addons, stacks, GitOps, and AI-assisted operations.
This page covers GKE specifically. For the shared concepts across all managed providers - live options, discovery/import, and day-2 API patterns - see Managed Kubernetes.
Why GKE with Ankra
- Standard or Autopilot - run node pools you size yourself, or let Google manage nodes with Autopilot.
- Release channels - pin the cluster to the
RAPID, REGULAR, or STABLE channel.
- Live pricing and options - locations, Kubernetes versions, and machine types are fetched live with your service account, including GPU and spot capacity where available.
Prerequisites
A GCP service account key stored in Ankra, with the Kubernetes Engine Admin (roles/container.admin) and Service Account User (roles/iam.serviceAccountUser) roles, and the Kubernetes Engine API enabled on the project. See Google Cloud (GCP) Credentials.
GitOps is optional: connect a repository at creation and Ankra commits the cluster’s stack definitions to Git.
Creating a GKE cluster
Create Cluster
Go to Clusters → Create Cluster and pick Google Cloud’s Cloud Managed action.
Credential & Location
Select the GCP credential and a location - a zone (europe-west1-b) or a region (europe-west1). Locations load live from Google Cloud.
Mode & Node Pools
Choose Standard and define worker pools (name, machine type with live pricing, count, labels, autoscaling), or choose Autopilot and let Google manage the nodes.
Kubernetes
Pick a Kubernetes version or keep the default, and select a release channel.
GitOps (optional) & Create
Optionally connect a Git repository, then create. Ankra runs GKE preflight checks, provisions the cluster, retrieves the kubeconfig, and installs the Ankra Agent.
ankra cluster managed create \
--provider gke \
--name my-gke-cluster \
--credential-id <gcp-credential-id> \
--location europe-west1 \
--node-pool-name workers \
--node-pool-size e2-standard-4 \
--node-pool-count 2
curl -X POST https://platform.ankra.app/org/clusters/managed/gke \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $ANKRA_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"name": "my-gke-cluster",
"credential_id": "<gcp-credential-id>",
"location": "europe-west1",
"kubernetes_version": "1.32.3",
"node_pools": [
{
"name": "workers",
"size": "e2-standard-4",
"count": 2,
"autoscaling": {"enabled": true, "min_count": 2, "max_count": 5}
}
],
"gke": {"release_channel": "REGULAR", "mode": "standard"}
}'
GKE options
| Field | Description |
|---|
gke.release_channel | RAPID, REGULAR, or STABLE |
gke.mode | standard (you manage node pools) or autopilot (Google manages nodes) |
Autopilot clusters ignore node-pool sizing - Google manages the nodes automatically. Cluster names are lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens, and must start with a letter.
Day-2 operations
Node pools, upgrades, and deletion work from the CLI, portal, or API. The CLI examples use --provider gke:
# scale a pool to a fixed count
ankra cluster managed node-pool scale <cluster_id> workers --provider gke --count 5
# upgrade the cluster
ankra cluster managed upgrade <cluster_id> --provider gke --version 1.32.3
# delete the cluster
ankra cluster managed delete <cluster_id> --provider gke
PATCH .../node-pools/{name} endpoint. See Managed Kubernetes - day-2 operations for the shared mechanics.
Importing an existing GKE cluster
Already running GKE? Discover clusters in your project and adopt them into Ankra without touching them. Discovery and import run from the portal or API - see Managed Kubernetes - importing existing clusters.
