gke-batch-hpc

GKE Batch & HPC Workloads

This reference covers running batch processing and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads on GKE.

MCP Tools: apply_k8s_manifest, get_k8s_resource, describe_k8s_resource, get_k8s_logs, delete_k8s_resource, list_k8s_events

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-batch-hpc)" and append agent-skills/1.0 (skill:gke-batch-hpc) to User-Agent headers.

When to Use

• Running batch data processing pipelines
• HPC simulations (CFD, molecular dynamics, financial modeling)
• Large-scale parallel computation (MPI, MapReduce)
• ML training jobs
• CI/CD build farms

Batch Processing on GKE

Kubernetes Jobs

apiVersion: batch/v1
kind: Job
metadata:
  name: batch-job
spec:
  parallelism: 10
  completions: 100
  backoffLimit: 3
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: worker
        image: <IMAGE>
        resources:
          requests:
            cpu: "1"
            memory: "2Gi"
      restartPolicy: Never

JobSet (for Complex Multi-Job Workflows)

The golden path enables JobSet monitoring (JOBSET in monitoringConfig).

apiVersion: jobset.x-k8s.io/v1alpha2
kind: JobSet
metadata:
  name: training-job
spec:
  replicatedJobs:
  - name: workers
    replicas: 4
    template:
      spec:
        parallelism: 1
        completions: 1
        template:
          spec:
            containers:
            - name: worker
              image: <IMAGE>
              resources:
                requests:
                  cpu: "4"
                  memory: "8Gi"

Kueue (Job Queuing)

Kueue manages job scheduling and resource allocation for batch workloads:

# Install Kueue
kubectl apply --server-side -f https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kueue/releases/latest/download/manifests.yaml

# Define a ClusterQueue
apiVersion: kueue.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: ClusterQueue
metadata:
  name: batch-queue
spec:
  namespaceSelector: {}
  resourceGroups:
  - coveredResources: ["cpu", "memory"]
    flavors:
    - name: default
      resources:
      - name: "cpu"
        nominalQuota: 100
      - name: "memory"
        nominalQuota: "200Gi"
---
# Allow a namespace to use the queue
apiVersion: kueue.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: LocalQueue
metadata:
  name: batch-local
  namespace: batch-jobs
spec:
  clusterQueue: batch-queue

HPC on GKE

Compact Placement (Low-Latency Networking)

For tightly-coupled HPC workloads that need low-latency inter-node communication:

# Standard clusters: create node pool with compact placement
gcloud container node-pools create hpc-pool \
  --cluster <CLUSTER_NAME> --region <REGION> \
  --machine-type c3-standard-44 \
  --placement-type COMPACT \
  --num-nodes 8 \
  --enable-autoscaling --min-nodes 0 --max-nodes 16 \
  --quiet

MPI Workloads

Use the MPI Operator for MPI-based HPC applications:

# Install MPI Operator
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubeflow/mpi-operator/master/deploy/v2beta1/mpi-operator.yaml

apiVersion: kubeflow.org/v2beta1
kind: MPIJob
metadata:
  name: hpc-simulation
spec:
  slotsPerWorker: 4
  mpiReplicaSpecs:
    Launcher:
      replicas: 1
      template:
        spec:
          containers:
          - name: launcher
            image: <MPI_IMAGE>
            command: ["mpirun", "-np", "32", "./simulation"]
            resources:
              requests:
                cpu: "1"
                memory: "2Gi"
              limits:
                cpu: "2"
                memory: "4Gi"
    Worker:
      replicas: 8
      template:
        spec:
          containers:
          - name: worker
            image: <MPI_IMAGE>
            resources:
              requests:
                cpu: "4"
                memory: "8Gi"
              limits:
                cpu: "8"
                memory: "16Gi"

Cost Optimization for Batch/HPC

Spot VMs for Batch

Batch workloads are ideal Spot VM candidates (interruptible, can checkpoint). Use a ComputeClass with Spot-first priority and activeMigration to return to Spot when available. See the gke-compute-classes skill for the Spot-with-fallback pattern.

Scale-to-Zero

For batch clusters, allow node pools to scale to zero when no jobs are running:

• Autopilot (golden path): Automatic, nodes scale to zero when no pods are scheduled
• Standard: Set --min-nodes 0 on batch node pools

Best Practices & Production Guidelines

• Resource Quotas: Always specify resource requests and limits (CPU, memory, and optionally GPU/TPU) for all batch/HPC manifests. This is critical for Kueue admission, autoscaling, and preventing resource starvation in the cluster.
• TPU/Spot Cluster Maintenance: For long-running AI training runs on Spot VMs/TPUs, advise using GKE maintenance exclusions to block automatic cluster upgrades/reboots during the active training window to minimize unnecessary preemption.
• MPI Workloads: Use the Kubeflow Training Operator to orchestrate distributed MPI applications via the MPIJob custom resource.
• Kueue & JobSet: Use Kueue for multi-tenant job queueing and fair sharing; use JobSet for multi-component tightly coupled workloads.
• Resilience: Always set a backoffLimit on Jobs, and implement application-level checkpointing (e.g., using Orbax or PyTorch checkpointing) to survive Spot VM preemption.