11-Day Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) Study Plan
Kubernetes on Google Cloud can feel overwhelming with so many features — from cluster creation and networking to scaling, security, and enterprise capabilities.
To make the journey structured and achievable, I created this 11-day roadmap that covers everything from the fundamentals to advanced enterprise use cases.
This plan is designed to help you build hands-on GKE expertise step by step, while staying consistent and avoiding information overload.
📅 11-Day Study Plan
Day 1 — Introduction & GKE Basics
- Introduction & Architecture
- Kubernetes Architecture
- GKE Architecture
- GKE - Configuration Choices
- Standard vs Autopilot Cluster
- GCP Public vs Private VMs
- GKE Private Cluster
- GKE Public Cluster
- Standard vs Enterprise Tier Cluster
- GKE Availability Choices
Day 2 — Creating Clusters & Accessing Them
- Cluster Setup
- Creating a Standard Cluster (multi-part)
- Public/Private Node Options
- Creating an Autopilot Cluster
- Accessing the Cluster
- Access via Laptop
- Access via Cloud Shell
- Access via Compute Instance
Day 3 — Deployments & Services
- Kubectl Essentials
- Shortcuts and Autocomplete
- Pods and Deployments
- Services (ClusterIP, NodePort, LoadBalancer)
- Sample Applications
- Backend Deployment & Service
- Frontend Deployment & Service
- LoadBalancer with Static IP
- ConfigMaps for App Configuration
Day 4 — Cloud SQL Integration
- Public Cloud SQL (MySQL)
- Creating SQL Instance
- Adding Database and User
- Connecting from Backend App
- Secure App Connections
- Secrets in Deployment
- Private Cloud SQL Setup
- Cloud SQL Proxy (Sidecar / Independent Deployment)
- Workload Identity Setup
Day 5 — Volumes & Storage Options
- Volumes in GKE
- HostPath
- Persistent Disks (Single & Regional)
- Storage Classes & Filestore
- Default & Custom Storage Classes
- Using Filestore with Pods
- Buckets Integration
- Mounting Buckets in Pods
- Storage Option Comparisons
Day 6 — Load Balancing & Ingress
- Load Balancing Options
- NodePort Services
- External & Internal LoadBalancers
- Container Native LoadBalancing
- Health Checks
- Ingress
- Ingress Basics
- Static IPs with Ingress
- DNS Mapping
- HTTPS Setup with Certificates
- HTTP to HTTPS Redirects
- Internal Ingress & Restricting HTTP Traffic
Day 7 — Probes, Gateway & Cloud Armor
- Health Checks & Probes
- Liveness, Readiness, Startup Probes
- Custom Health Checks
- SSL Policies & Certificate Manager
- Gateway API
- Creating Gateways
- Static IP & DNS
- HTTPS with Gateways
- Cloud Armor (Security)
- Creating Security Policies
- Protecting Ingress & Gateway Services
Day 8 — Scheduling, Scaling & Autopilot
- Scheduling Pods
- Taints, Tolerations, Node Affinity
- Node Pools
- Creating & Managing Node Pools
- Assigning Workloads to Node Pools
- Scaling
- HPA (Horizontal Pod Autoscaler)
- VPA (Vertical Pod Autoscaler)
- Cluster Autoscaler & Node Auto-provisioning
- Safe Scaling Down Techniques
- Resource Management
- QoS Classes
- Resource Quotas & Limits
- Autopilot Cluster Deep Dive
- Resource Allocation
- Node Types & Rapid Scaling
Day 9 — Upgrades, Security & Binary Authorization
- Cluster & Version Management
- Release Channels
- Upgrade Options & Strategies
- Security
- Service Accounts Best Practices
- RBAC (Role-Based Access Control)
- Network Policies & Logging
- Security Posture & Workload Scanning
- Binary Authorization
- Setting Policies & Attestors
- Signing & Deploying Trusted Images
Day 10 — Observability, Anthos & Multi-Cluster
- Observability
- Logging & Monitoring in GKE
- Anthos & Service Mesh
- Service Mesh Setup (Istio on GKE)
- Anthos Dashboards & Configurations
- Multi-Cluster Operations
- Multi-Cluster Ingress
- Multi-Cluster Gateways
- Load Balancing Across Clusters
Day 11 — Enterprise GKE
- Enterprise Features
- Fleet Management (Multi-Project Clusters)
- Posture Management (Security, Reporting, Compliance)
- Policy Constraints & Governance
- Config Management
- Teams & RBAC Extensions
- Config Sync with GitOps Workflows
- Enterprise Pricing & Considerations
🎯 Final Thoughts
By following this roadmap, you’ll gain end-to-end expertise in GKE — from cluster basics and app deployments to enterprise-scale features like Anthos, multi-cluster management, and policy enforcement.
Stick to this plan for 11 focused days, and you’ll not only cover the essentials but also build the production-ready knowledge required for real-world Kubernetes on Google Cloud.
🔥 This study plan is designed to help you stay consistent. Bookmark it, track your progress, and by the end you’ll be confident running Kubernetes workloads on GCP at any scale.