MARK MIRCHANDANI: Cost optimization
MARK MIRCHANDANI: Cost optimization

is about more than saving money.
is about more than saving money.

It's about maximizing the return on what you're spending.
It's about maximizing the return on what you're spending.

Let's walk through how to optimize your costs for Google
Let's walk through how to optimize your costs for Google

Kubernetes Engine, or GKE.
Kubernetes Engine, or GKE.

Today, we'll be talking about some general tips
Today, we'll be talking about some general tips

for getting started with cost optimization and some best
for getting started with cost optimization and some best

practices.
practices.

In other words, let's go beyond your GKE bill.
In other words, let's go beyond your GKE bill.

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Individuals and companies alike are talking about,
Individuals and companies alike are talking about,

experimenting with, and deploying apps on Kubernetes.
experimenting with, and deploying apps on Kubernetes.

And of course, GKE is made to scale
And of course, GKE is made to scale

as you add more traffic and more applications.
as you add more traffic and more applications.

However, scaling your apps might also mean scaling your costs.
However, scaling your apps might also mean scaling your costs.

And as more teams in your organization use Kubernetes,
And as more teams in your organization use Kubernetes,

it may become more complex to manage.
it may become more complex to manage.

Let's look at some ways to think about how
Let's look at some ways to think about how

you can optimize your usage, and your costs, for GKE.
you can optimize your usage, and your costs, for GKE.

I'll get started by quickly going over some basics,
I'll get started by quickly going over some basics,

and then talk about the business and culture side.
and then talk about the business and culture side.

Then, I'll go over some general technical tips.
Then, I'll go over some general technical tips.

Simply put, what you're paying for with GKE
Simply put, what you're paying for with GKE

itself is primarily two things--
itself is primarily two things--

the managed architecture for actually running the Kubernetes
the managed architecture for actually running the Kubernetes

cluster, and the resources that your apps are running on,
cluster, and the resources that your apps are running on,

such as CPUs, memory, and storage.
such as CPUs, memory, and storage.

There's also a few other things that
There's also a few other things that

will affect your costs, like networking and resource
will affect your costs, like networking and resource

location.
location.

We'll dive into details to better understand and optimize
We'll dive into details to better understand and optimize

different areas in these videos.
different areas in these videos.

But no matter what the costs are,
But no matter what the costs are,

it's hard to make decisions without knowing
it's hard to make decisions without knowing

where they're coming from.
where they're coming from.

Being able to have visibility into all the different moving
Being able to have visibility into all the different moving

pieces is incredibly important.
pieces is incredibly important.

And a great place to start might be
And a great place to start might be

using a dashboard to help visualize your resources.
using a dashboard to help visualize your resources.

The next videos will go over some tips
The next videos will go over some tips

for exactly how to do that.
for exactly how to do that.

But try to always remember that the more you understand
But try to always remember that the more you understand

about the full details of your applications,
about the full details of your applications,

the more opportunities you'll have to optimize.
the more opportunities you'll have to optimize.

And don't worry.
And don't worry.

You'll hear me say that plenty of times.
You'll hear me say that plenty of times.

On top of that, you shouldn't forget
On top of that, you shouldn't forget

about the people that are actually
about the people that are actually

writing the applications.
writing the applications.

When you're in a rush to deploy an application, sometimes,
When you're in a rush to deploy an application, sometimes,

shortcuts get taken.
shortcuts get taken.

Or maybe your organization has grown so large
Or maybe your organization has grown so large

that they completely abstract Kubernetes away from the teams,
that they completely abstract Kubernetes away from the teams,

and then they're not even sure how their apps make it to GKE.
and then they're not even sure how their apps make it to GKE.

Either way, keeping developers, operators, and everyone else
Either way, keeping developers, operators, and everyone else

in the dark about how their applications actually run
in the dark about how their applications actually run

might cause more harm than good.
might cause more harm than good.

Instead, consider spending the time
Instead, consider spending the time

to train your technical teams on Kubernetes
to train your technical teams on Kubernetes

best practices, like online classes, code labs,
best practices, like online classes, code labs,

even videos like this one.
even videos like this one.

When teams understand and care about the cost
When teams understand and care about the cost

it takes to run their apps, the more those teams
it takes to run their apps, the more those teams

will be able to optimize.
will be able to optimize.

Beyond that, you can also implement guardrails
Beyond that, you can also implement guardrails

to protect yourself from updates that might significantly
to protect yourself from updates that might significantly

affect your costs.
affect your costs.

There are ways to automatically enforce policies and set up
There are ways to automatically enforce policies and set up

quotas for resources that we'll also
quotas for resources that we'll also

cover in this video series.
cover in this video series.

Building a culture of awareness and accountability
Building a culture of awareness and accountability

is critical to being able to optimize your costs.
is critical to being able to optimize your costs.

Keeping all of that in mind, let's switch over
Keeping all of that in mind, let's switch over

to some best practices on the technical side.
to some best practices on the technical side.

You can find reference links in the description
You can find reference links in the description

if you want to read more about any of these.
if you want to read more about any of these.

So if you're already using GKE, you're
So if you're already using GKE, you're

probably aware of your production clusters.
probably aware of your production clusters.

But how many development clusters do you have?
But how many development clusters do you have?

Smaller teams might work well with one cluster per developer.
Smaller teams might work well with one cluster per developer.

But you should actually look at multi-tenant clusters
But you should actually look at multi-tenant clusters

to save on overhead.
to save on overhead.

By using namespaces and policies to keep resources capped
By using namespaces and policies to keep resources capped

and isolated, dev teams can have the room to experiment
and isolated, dev teams can have the room to experiment

that won't lead to any surprise bills.
that won't lead to any surprise bills.

On top of that, there's a few add-ons
On top of that, there's a few add-ons

that come with GKE clusters that are important for production
that come with GKE clusters that are important for production

environments, but might not be needed for your development
environments, but might not be needed for your development

environments.
environments.

For each of your smaller clusters,
For each of your smaller clusters,

consider disabling or limiting add-ons
consider disabling or limiting add-ons

if you're not using them, such as Cloud Logging
if you're not using them, such as Cloud Logging

and Monitoring, Horizontal Pod Autoscaling, the Kubernetes
and Monitoring, Horizontal Pod Autoscaling, the Kubernetes

Dashboard, and Kube DNS.
Dashboard, and Kube DNS.

Most can be disabled with a one-line command.
Most can be disabled with a one-line command.

These small add-ons can add up.
These small add-ons can add up.

So the better you understand what your apps need
So the better you understand what your apps need

and the environment around them, the more you can optimize.
and the environment around them, the more you can optimize.

Speaking of what your apps need, do you
Speaking of what your apps need, do you

know what your pod disruption budgets are?
know what your pod disruption budgets are?

You can set the number of pods or the percentage of pods that
You can set the number of pods or the percentage of pods that

can be taken down when doing voluntary disruptions,
can be taken down when doing voluntary disruptions,

like upgrades or autoscaling.
like upgrades or autoscaling.

Think about the minimum amount of pots
Think about the minimum amount of pots

that you need to run without disrupting your applications'
that you need to run without disrupting your applications'

users.
users.

And think about that for each application independently.
And think about that for each application independently.

Pod disruption budgets can help keep your apps
Pod disruption budgets can help keep your apps

running as you configure autoscaling
running as you configure autoscaling

without overprovisioning.
without overprovisioning.

We'll talk more about autoscaling soon.
We'll talk more about autoscaling soon.

If you're not sure about how to figure out
If you're not sure about how to figure out

things like resource utilization or pod disruption budgets,
things like resource utilization or pod disruption budgets,

stay tuned.
stay tuned.

On the next video, we'll talk all
On the next video, we'll talk all

about monitoring your GKE environment
about monitoring your GKE environment

and getting better observability.
and getting better observability.

Remember to check out the link in the description
Remember to check out the link in the description

for the full guide on GKE cost optimization.
for the full guide on GKE cost optimization.

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