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ScyllaDB Docs Scylla Operator Quickstarts Deploying ScyllaDB on GKE

Deploying ScyllaDB on GKE¶

This is a quickstart guide to help you set up a basic GKE cluster quickly with local NVMes and solid performance.

This is by no means a complete guide, and you should always consult your Kubernetes provider’s documentation.

Creating a GKE cluster¶

First, we need to create a kubelet config to configure static CPU policy:

cat > systemconfig.yaml <<EOF
kubeletConfig:
  cpuManagerPolicy: static
EOF

Then we’ll create a GKE cluster with the following:

gcloud container \
clusters create 'my-k8s-cluster' \
--zone='us-central1' \
--cluster-version="latest" \
--machine-type='n2-standard-8' \
--num-nodes='2' \
--disk-type='pd-ssd' --disk-size='20' \
--image-type='UBUNTU_CONTAINERD' \
--enable-stackdriver-kubernetes \
--no-enable-autoupgrade \
--no-enable-autorepair

and then we’ll create a dedicated pool with NVMes for ScyllaDB

gcloud container \
node-pools create 'scyllaclusters' \
--zone='us-central1' \
--cluster='my-k8s-cluster' \
--node-version="latest" \
--machine-type='n2-standard-16' \
--num-nodes='4' \
--disk-type='pd-ssd' --disk-size='20' \
--local-nvme-ssd-block='count=4' \
--image-type='UBUNTU_CONTAINERD' \
--system-config-from-file='systemconfig.yaml' \
--no-enable-autoupgrade \
--no-enable-autorepair \
--node-labels='scylla.scylladb.com/node-type=scylla' \
--node-taints='scylla-operator.scylladb.com/dedicated=scyllaclusters:NoSchedule'

Installing Kubernetes prerequisites¶

xfsprogs¶

Beginning with GKE version 1.32.1-gke.1002000, the Ubuntu image used by GKE clusters no longer provides the xfsprogs package by default. This package is required to format the local NVMe disks used by ScyllaDB. Please refer to the xfsprogs section of the Kubernetes prerequisites page for more details.

Deploying Scylla Operator¶

To deploy Scylla Operator follow the installation guide.

Creating ScyllaDB¶

To deploy a ScyllaDB cluster please head to our dedicated section on the topic.

Accessing ScyllaDB¶

We also have a whole section dedicated to how you can access the ScyllaDB cluster you’ve just created.

Deleting a GKE cluster¶

Once you are done with your experiments you can delete your cluster using the following command:

gcloud container clusters delete --zone='us-central1' 'my-k8s-cluster'

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On this page

  • Deploying ScyllaDB on GKE
    • Creating a GKE cluster
    • Installing Kubernetes prerequisites
      • xfsprogs
    • Deploying Scylla Operator
    • Creating ScyllaDB
    • Accessing ScyllaDB
      • Deleting a GKE cluster
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Last updated on 27 November 2025.
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