# Deploying Sisense on Google GKE

> How to Deploy Sisense on Google GKE

*Source: https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/deploying-sisense-on-google-gke.htm*

---

Last updated: June 10, 2026

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| [Tier](https://www.sisense.com/pricing/#pricing) | [Deployment](https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/introduction-to-sisense-cloud-managed-services.md#ComparisonofManagedCloudandSelfHosted) |
| Enterprise | On-Prem |

Sisense can be provisioned on a Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cluster.

To provision Sisense, you must create a GKE cluster if you do not already have one, and then connect to it. After
you
have completed these steps, you must download and extract the Sisense Linux archive. This archive includes a
configuration yaml file, which contains all the configuration settings for deploying a single-node or multi-node
cluster.

From the configuration yaml file, you can customize your installation by setting various parameters in the cloud
configuration yaml file. Once the parameters have been defined, you run the script to deploy Sisense, and then
retrieve the URL to access the Sisense application online.

## Prerequisites

- [Installed and configured gcloud](https://cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/quickstarts)
- GKE version 1.15 or later
- Deployed cluster that meets the minimum requirements
- Nodepools/Nodegroups, etc. must be labeled in the deployed k8s cluster with Sisense related labels (`node-${NAMESPACE}-Application=true`, `node-${NAMESPACE}-Query=true`, `node-${NAMESPACE}-Build=true`; for example: `node-sisense-Application=true`, `node-sisense-Query=true`, `node-sisense-Build=true`) if autoscaling is enabled. For some cloud providers, not all autoscaling is enabled by default; this must be done before installing, otherwise when nodes are recycled, new nodes will lose the labels added by the Sisense installer.
- By default, the GCE blocks traffic between hosts. You must run the following command to allow Calico traffic to
  flow between containers on different hosts, where the source-ranges parameter assumes you have created your
  project with the default GCE network parameters.

```
    cloud compute firewall-rules create calico-ipip --allow 4 --network "default" --source-ranges "10.128.0.0/9"  
   
```

**Note:**

Modify the address range if yours is different.

- You must mark your worker nodes with labels recognized by Sisense, see [Autoscaling and Linux](https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/autoscaling-and-linux.md)
- As Sisense version L2025.2 and newer use a new nfs-csi controller for new clusters, it is required to have a Resource Quota defined for the default namespace (or a different namespace if the `utils_namespace` parameter has been changed).

  The following is an example of such a ResourceQuota YAML:

  [Copy](javascript:void(0);)

  ```
  apiVersion: v1  
  kind: ResourceQuota  
  metadata:  
    name: gcp-critical-pods  
    namespace: default  
  spec:  
    hard:  
      pods: 100  
    scopeSelector:  
      matchExpressions:  
      - operator: In  
        scopeName: PriorityClass  
        values:  
        - system-node-critical  
        - system-cluster-critical
  ```

Apply this as follows: `kubectl apply -f <file>.yaml`

Note:

If you are uninstalling/reinstalling Sisense on AKS/GKE in order to migrate to the new nfs-csi controller in Sisense version L2025.2 or newer, you must manually remove the nfs-client storage class. To do that:

- Run `kubectl delete sc nfs-client`
- Delete the helm chart: `helm delete -n default nfs-client-provisioner`

  - If `nfs-client-provisioner` is installed on a different `utils_namespace`, run the following command:  
    `helm delete -n ${utils_namespace} nfs-client-provisioner`

Otherwise the new installation will still use nfs-client-provisioner.

## Deploying Sisense on Google GKE

1. Create a GKE Cluster.
     
   ![8-6gkethumb0300.png](https://docs.sisense.com/main/Resources/Images/8-6gkethumb0300.png)  
   GKE offers a number of cluster
   templates you can use. The default is Standard cluster. If you select Standard, you need to define the following
   fields:
     
   **Name**: A name for the cluster.
     
   **Location type**: You can deploy your cluster in a GCP zone or region. See Google's
   documentation for more information.
     
   **(Optional) Node pool**: Node pools are a subset of node instances within a cluster that all
   have the same configuration. You can change the number of nodes in the default pool or add a new node pool.
     
   There are other advanced networking and security settings you can configure but you can use the default
   settings for now.
2. Click Create to deploy the cluster. After a minute or two, your Kubernetes cluster is deployed and available for
   use.
3. To connect your cluster, you need to configure the `kubectl` command to communicate with the cluster.
4. Download a Sisense version package. Contact your Sisense Customer Success Manager for a link to the latest
   version.

```
    wget $sisense_url
```

5. Extract the Sisense package.

```
    tar zxf $package_name
```

6. Navigate to the directory where you extracted the tar.gz file.

```
    cd sisense-$sisense_version
```

7. Access the cloud\_config.yaml file.

```
    vim cloud_config.yaml
```

8. Edit the following values in the cloud\_config.yaml file.

   | Parameters | Value |
   | --- | --- |
   | ``` k8s_nodes: - { node: node1, roles: "application, query" } - { node: node2, roles: "application, query" } - { node: node3, roles: "build" } ``` | The K8S node/nodes are the set of machines that will run Sisense.  **node:** Enter the name of your nodes to be included in the cluster. You can retrieve their values with the command:  kubectl get nodes  **role:** Define the role of the node with one of the following values: **application**, **query**, and **build**.  **Note:**  Node names may not include uppercase letters. Node names can only include lowercase letters, digits and hyphens. Hyphens cannot be the last character in the node name.  The installation machine is used only during installation to run the installation scripts. The Installation machine can be one of the K8S nodes, but it can also be a different machine (remote installation). |
   | ``` deployment_size: "small" ``` | Set to **large** to increase pod resource limits allocated for the application. |
   | ``` cluster_visibility: true ``` | For security restrictions that revoke cluster role permissions, set to false to disable the following Sisense workflows. - Watching Sisense Nodes that exist or are added to the cluster (E.g. for the data-groups   feature). In this case, a customer should use manual labeling method. - Updating the logging system with the customer registered owner ID. |
   | ``` offline_installer: false ``` | Set to **true** when you are using an offline installer. |
   | ``` #docker_registry: "" ``` | (Optional) Only required if you are using an offline installer (offline\_installer = true).  Enter your server's address. |
   | ``` #pull_secrets_name: "" ``` | (Optional) Only required if you have entered a value for the docker\_registry parameter.  Enter the docker secret name if your registry is private. |
   | ``` update: false ``` | Enter **true** If you are upgrading Sisense.  Otherwise, use false as the default value. |
   | ``` Notify_On_Upgrade: true ``` | If set to true, the Sisense application will not be accessible during upgrades. Instead, a system maintenance notification will appear. |
   | ``` is_kubernetes_cloud: true ``` | Enter **true** if you already have a Kubernetes cluster. |
   | ``` kubernetes_cluster_name: "" ``` | Enter your Kubernetes cluster name. |
   | ``` kubernetes_cluster_location: "" ``` | Enter your Kubernetes cluster location.  For Google GKE, the value must be the name of your zone. |
   | ``` 								kubernetes_cloud_provider: "" ``` | Enter **gke**. |
   | ``` cloud_load_balancer: false ``` | Enter **true** if you have defined a load balancer.  For more information see, [Setting Up a Load Balancer](https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/setting-up-a-load-balancer.md) for more information. |
   | ``` cloud_auto_scaler: false ``` | Enter **true** if you want Sisense to integrate with GKE node autoscaling when needed. |
   | ``` high_availability: true ``` | Enter **false** if your system does not support redundancy between the nodes. |
   | ``` application_dns_name: "" ``` | Enter the DNS name.  - If no DNS name is entered, the default value is the external IP of the first node in the   cluster. - If the is\_ssl parameter is set to true, enter the Common Name for this parameter. - If an external load balancer is used for the Common Name, add the http:// or https:// prefix to   the entry. **Note:**  You can only define this parameter when installing or upgrading Sisense. After defining this value, you can view this value under **General Settings** in the Sisense **Admin page**. |
   | ``` linux_user: "" ``` | Enter the name of the Linux user.  This user must not be the "root" user, but must have sudo privileges, and all the other privileges as a root user. |
   | ``` ssh_key: "" ``` | Enter the SSH key if you have a secure connection to your server. The SSH key of the Linux user defined in .  The SSH key must be in .pem format.  If you do not provide this key, you will be prompted to enter the Linux user's password during installation. |
   | ``` storage_type: "" ``` | Enter **nfs** for Google GKE for using the Google Cloud Filestore storage service.  You must also enter values for nfs\_server and nfs\_path. |
   | ``` nfs_server: "" ``` | Enter your NFS server's address (IP or DNS). |
   | ``` nfs_path: "" ``` | Enter your NFS server's location.  The mounting point for each logical disk (Sisense app, MongoDB, and Zookeeper) is created under this path. |
   | ``` sisense_disk_size: 70 ``` | **Important!** You must provide enough space to support your Sisense ElastiCube models, at least two times the amount of data in all ElastiCubes.  Every namespace takes additional logical disk space from the physical disks, and the installation fails if you did not allocate enough space.To calculate the required space, you can use the following equation:sisense\_disk\_size = 70GB x 3 (for a three node deployment)If you allocate space for the application DB and configuration DB (the values of   ``` mongodb_disk_size ```  and  ``` zookeeper_disk_size ```  ) this should be considered as well. If you enter 210GB as the value, this allocates 70GB in a 3 node deployment minus 3 times (the values of mongodb\_disk\_size and zookeeper\_disk\_size).   Sisense also recommends that you specify an additional 5GB free space for the value of sisense\_disk\_size. |
   | ``` mongodb_disk_size: 20 ``` | Enter the amount of disk space allocated for the Sisense application database.  This value should be multiplied by the number of nodes used in your deployment.  It is recommended to leave the default of 20GB. If only metadata is stored in MongoDB, there is no need to increase the size. |
   | ``` zookeeper_disk_size: 2 ``` | Enter the amount of disk space allocated for the ZooKeeper service.This value should be multiplied by the number of nodes in your deployment.It is recommended to leave the default of 2GB. If only metadata is stored in the Zookeeper service, there is no need to increase the size. |
   | ``` timezone: "UTC" ``` | Enter the system time zone. Applicable to the time zone of the relative date-time filters.  Format: [TZ database name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones) (i.e., UTC, US/Central, Asia Tokyo, Etc/GMC+6). |
   | ``` namespace_name: sisense ``` | Enter the name of the Kubernetes namespace. By default, the namespace is Sisense.  If you have multiple deployments, you should have a unique namespace for each deployment For example, there might be a development and production environment.Additionally for multiple deployments:  - Each environment must have a unique    ```   gateway_port   ```    value - Each deployment after the first, the value of the update should be set to **true** **Note:**  Kubernetes ports should be released (Non-listening mode). |
   | ``` gateway_port: 30845 ``` | Enter the port of the API gateway for your deployment. Do not set this port to 443 if setting up SSL.  If you are not implementing SSL, this is the port used to connect to Sisense. |
   | ``` is_ssl: false ``` | Enter **true** to initialize SSL. Sisense creates a SSL load balancer on port 443.  If you enter true, see [Setting Up SSL for Sisense on Linux](https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/setting-up-ssl-for-sisense-linux.md) for more configuration information. |
   | ``` ssl_key_path: "" ``` | If you connect to your server securely, enter the SSL keypath.  When SSL is defined, the Sisense API Gateway Port will be 443 and not the value defined in the   ``` gateway_port ```  parameter. |
   | ``` ssl_cert_path: "" ``` | If you connect to your server securely, enter the SSL certificate path (.cer file). |
   | ``` internal_monitoring: true ``` | Enter **false** to disable a Prometheus supported Grafana dashboard from monitoring your deployment.For more information, see [Monitoring Sisense on Linux](https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/monitoring-sisense-on-linux.md). |
   | ``` uninstall_sisense: false ``` | Enter true to uninstall Sisense services, but leave your Kubernetes infrastructure unchanged, in case it's needed in the future. |
   | ``` remove_user_data: false ``` | Enter **true** to delete all user data.This deletes your ElastiCube models, application database, message broker, and add-ons. |
9. Run the configuration script.

   ```
        ./sisense.sh cloud_config.yaml
   ```

   Your configuration settings are displayed with a message to confirm that you want to deploy
   Sisense with these settings.
10. Enter Yes to confirm that you want to deploy Sisense.
      
    Enter No to abort the deployment.
      
    If you entered Yes , the script deploys Sisense. If there are any issues, you can view the installation logs
    here:
      

    ```
         [installation-dir]/sisense-ansible.log
    ```

When the installation finishes, a list of endpoints are displayed for accessing Sisense and managing your
deployment. The URLs are listed below. Additionally, you can run the following command to return the URL to access
Sisense:

To verify that all your services are running as expected, you can enter the Sisense URL with the port and /app/test
to the end of the address in your browser. This displays the status of each of your services. For example:

```
   0.0.0.0:PORT/app/test
```

To see a list of endpoints in the GKE installation, connect to Sisense in your browser and enter the relevant
command in your browser:

- For non-secure connections:

  ```
  http://{IP}:30845/
  ```
- For secure connections:

  ```
  https://{IP}/
  ```

To connect to your Kubernetes dashboard, enter the following in your browser:

```
    https://{IP}:6443/api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/services/https:kubernetes-dashboard:/proxy
```