Demo Create a VPC native cluster and configure max allowed pods

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to provision a VPC-native Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cluster with IP aliasing and manage its secondary IP ranges. We’ll walk through:

Step	Description
1	Set your Compute Zone
2	Create a custom VPC
3	Add a regional subnet
4	Launch an IP-alias (VPC-native) GKE cluster
5	Verify the secondary IP ranges
6	Clean up all resources

1. Set the Compute Zone

Configure your default compute zone to us-west1-a (or your preferred region).

gcloud config set compute/zone us-west1-a

2. Create a Custom VPC

Create a VPC in custom subnet mode so you can define your own IP ranges.

gcloud compute networks create gke-deep-dive-vpc \
  --subnet-mode=custom

In the Google Cloud Console, navigate to VPC network → VPC networks. You should see gke-deep-dive-vpc listed, but no subnets yet.

3. Add a Regional Subnet

Define a subnet in us-west1 with a /24 CIDR block.

gcloud compute networks subnets create gke-deep-dive-subnet \
  --network=gke-deep-dive-vpc \
  --range=10.10.0.0/24 \
  --region=us-west1

VPC networks are global, whereas subnets are regional. Choose the region that best suits your workload.

Refresh VPC networks → Subnets in the Console to confirm the gke-deep-dive-subnet (10.10.0.0/24) appears under your VPC.

4. Launch an IP-Alias (VPC-native) GKE Cluster

Use IP aliasing to allocate two secondary IP ranges—one for Pods and one for Services.

gcloud container clusters create gke-dive-vpc-native \
  --zone=us-west1-a \
  --num-nodes=1 \
  --disk-type=pd-standard \
  --disk-size=10 \
  --enable-ip-alias \
  --network=gke-deep-dive-vpc \
  --subnetwork=gke-deep-dive-subnet \
  --cluster-secondary-range-name=pods-range \
  --services-secondary-range-name=services-range \
  --cluster-ipv4-cidr=/21 \
  --services-ipv4-cidr=/21

Flag	Purpose
`--enable-ip-alias`	Enable VPC-native IP aliasing
`--cluster-secondary-range-name`	Name for the Pods’ secondary IP range
`--services-secondary-range-name`	Name for the Services’ secondary IP range
`/21` CIDR	Allocates a block with ~2048 IPs for each range

Cluster provisioning can take several minutes.

5. Verify Secondary Ranges

Console View

In the Cloud Console, open VPC networks → Subnets and select gke-deep-dive-subnet. You should see two new secondary IP ranges:

The image shows a Google Cloud Platform interface displaying details of a VPC subnet named "gke-deep-dive-subnet," including its IP ranges, region, and other network settings.

CLI Verification

Describe the cluster’s IP allocation policy:

gcloud container clusters describe gke-dive-vpc-native \
  --zone=us-west1-a \
  --format="yaml(ipAllocationPolicy)"

Look for these fields in the output:

clusterIpv4Cidr
servicesIpv4Cidr
clusterSecondaryRangeName
servicesSecondaryRangeName

6. Clean Up Resources

Delete the GKE Cluster

gcloud container clusters delete gke-dive-vpc-native \
  --zone=us-west1-a --quiet

Secondary ranges are automatically detached from gke-deep-dive-subnet upon cluster deletion.

Remove Subnet and VPC

gcloud compute networks subnets delete gke-deep-dive-subnet \
  --region=us-west1 --quiet

gcloud compute networks delete gke-deep-dive-vpc --quiet

Back in the Console, verify that only the default VPC remains:

The image shows a Google Cloud Platform interface for managing VPC networks, displaying options for network analytics and a list of existing VPC networks with details like subnets and firewall rules.

Resource deletion is irreversible. Ensure no critical workloads are running before you clean up.

Introduction

High Level Overview

Playground Instructions

GKE Deployment and Administration

Networking for GKE clusters

Managing Security Aspects

Plan, Deploy And Manage Workloads On GKE

GKE Design Considerations

It’s a wrap

Demo Create a VPC native cluster and configure max allowed pods

1. Set the Compute Zone

2. Create a Custom VPC

3. Add a Regional Subnet

4. Launch an IP-Alias (VPC-native) GKE Cluster

5. Verify Secondary Ranges

Console View

CLI Verification

6. Clean Up Resources

Delete the GKE Cluster

Remove Subnet and VPC

Links and References

Watch Video

​1. Set the Compute Zone

​2. Create a Custom VPC

​3. Add a Regional Subnet

​4. Launch an IP-Alias (VPC-native) GKE Cluster

​5. Verify Secondary Ranges

​Console View

​CLI Verification

​6. Clean Up Resources

​Delete the GKE Cluster

​Remove Subnet and VPC

​Links and References

Watch Video

1. Set the Compute Zone

2. Create a Custom VPC

3. Add a Regional Subnet

4. Launch an IP-Alias (VPC-native) GKE Cluster

5. Verify Secondary Ranges

Console View

CLI Verification

6. Clean Up Resources

Delete the GKE Cluster

Remove Subnet and VPC

Links and References