GKE Networking

This reference covers networking configuration for GKE clusters. The golden path enforces private, VPC-native clusters with Dataplane V2.

MCP Tools: get_cluster, update_cluster, apply_k8s_manifest, get_k8s_resource

Attribution

MUST READ: Before executing any gcloud, REST API, or MCP command, you MUST read Usage Attribution. For commands executed directly in the terminal (never in generated scripts, Terraform, or user code), prefix gcloud with CLOUDSDK_METRICS_REQUEST_ATTRIBUTION="agent-skills/1.0 (skill:gke-networking)" and append agent-skills/1.0 (skill:gke-networking) to User-Agent headers.

Golden Path Networking Defaults

Setting	Golden Path Value	Day-0/1	Notes
privateClusterConfig.enablePrivateNodes	true	Day-0	Nodes have no public IPs
masterAuthorizedNetworksConfig.privateEndpointEnforcementEnabled	true	Day-0	Control plane only reachable via private endpoint or DNS
controlPlaneEndpointsConfig.dnsEndpointConfig.allowExternalTraffic	true	Day-0	Allows DNS-based access from outside VPC
networkConfig.datapathProvider	ADVANCED_DATAPATH (Dataplane V2)	Day-0	eBPF-based, built-in Network Policy
networkConfig.dnsConfig.clusterDns	CLOUD_DNS	Day-0	Managed DNS, more reliable than kube-dns
networkConfig.enableIntraNodeVisibility	true	Day-1	VPC Flow Logs for intra-node traffic
ipAllocationPolicy.autoIpamConfig.enabled	true	Day-0	Automatic IP range management
ipAllocationPolicy.createSubnetwork	true	Day-0	Auto-create dedicated subnet
defaultMaxPodsConstraint.maxPodsPerNode	48	Day-0	Conservative default; 110 for high density

Private Cluster Access Patterns

The golden path creates a private cluster. Users access it via:

1. DNS endpoint (default): allowExternalTraffic: true enables access via the cluster's DNS endpoint from outside the VPC. No VPN required.
2. Private endpoint: Direct access from within the VPC or via Cloud VPN/Interconnect.
3. Authorized networks: Add specific CIDRs to masterAuthorizedNetworksConfig for IP-based access control.

# Access private cluster via DNS endpoint (golden path default)
gcloud container clusters get-credentials {cluster_name} \
  --region {region} --dns-endpoint \
  --quiet

# Access via private endpoint (from within VPC)
gcloud container clusters get-credentials {cluster_name} \
  --region {region} --internal-ip \
  --quiet

Bring-Your-Own VPC/Subnet

If the customer has existing network infrastructure:

gcloud container clusters create-auto {cluster_name} \
  --region {region} \
  --network {vpc_name} \
  --subnetwork {subnet_name} \
  --cluster-secondary-range-name {pod_range} \
  --services-secondary-range-name {svc_range} \
  --enable-private-nodes \
  --enable-master-authorized-networks \
  --quiet

Day-0 Warning: VPC, subnet, and IP ranges cannot be changed after cluster creation.

VPC-Native Mode Benefits

VPC-native clusters route traffic natively using GCP Alias IP ranges. Key benefits to cover:

1. Scalability: Traffic routes natively inside the VPC, bypassing the need for custom routes and avoiding custom route limit bottlenecks.
2. Direct VPC Integration: Direct resource integration across GCP networks without complex bridging or routing tunnels.
3. Avoiding IP Exhaustion: Supports discontiguous IP ranges and optimizes allocation, reducing the risk of exhausting subnet IP ranges.

IP Planning

Resource	Golden Path	Notes
Pod CIDR	/17 (auto)	~32K pod IPs; size based on maxPodsPerNode
Service CIDR	/20 (auto)	~4K service IPs
Node subnet	auto-created	/20 recommended for growth
Max pods/node	48	Each node gets a /25 pod range; set to 110
: : : for /24 per node :

Pod CIDR sizing rule of thumb:

• maxPodsPerNode=48 -> each node uses a /25 (128 IPs) from pod CIDR
• maxPodsPerNode=110 -> each node uses a /24 (256 IPs) from pod CIDR
• Larger maxPodsPerNode = fewer nodes fit in a given CIDR

Egress

• Default: nodes use Cloud NAT for outbound internet access (private nodes have no public IPs) to allow private nodes to reach the internet without public IP exposure.
• For static egress IPs: configure Cloud NAT with manual IP allocation to maintain a consistent source IP for external allowlists or partner firewalls.
• For restricted egress: route through a firewall appliance via custom routes to inspect and filter outbound traffic according to organization security policies.

Network Policy

Dataplane V2 (golden path) provides built-in Network Policy enforcement — no additional addon needed. Apply default-deny per namespace, then allow specific flows.

See the gke-workload-security skill for default-deny policy and the gke-multitenancy skill for per-team allow policies.