Create a cluster

A cluster has one master node, which runs the Kubernetes control plane, and one or more worker node pools, where your applications run. You choose the Kubernetes version, how the master node is billed, the pools, the VPC, and the security group on one form. The name, the version, and encryption stay as you set them here.

Before you begin

• MyAccount is set to Delhi or Chennai, the regions Kubernetes is offered in. In Delhi, an account created on or after May 15, 2026 needs an exemption from E2E; see Why can I not create a cluster in Delhi?
• You have a VPC in that region with an E2E provided range, or you are ready to create one from the form. See Create a VPC.
• You have a security group in that region with inbound rules that allow TCP port 6443 and UDP port 8472. See Create a security group and Add or edit rules.
• On a prepaid account, you have infra credits for 24 hours of the master node and of each hourly pool’s starting nodes, plus the full price of every committed node.
• If you are a team member, your role has the create permission for Kubernetes.

Open the create form

In MyAccount, under Compute, click Kubernetes, and click Create New Cluster. With no cluster yet, the page says Currently no Kubernetes is available., and its Click here link opens the same form.

Create Kubernetes Cluster opens. The Summary panel adds up the cost as you choose.

Name the cluster and choose a version

Cluster Name is filled in with the master plan’s name and a three-digit number. Keep it, or enter your own name of up to 50 letters, digits, hyphens, and underscores.

Choose a Kubernetes Version that your tools and manifests support. The cluster keeps this version for its whole life; to move to a newer version later, create a new cluster.

Choose the version before you add pools. If you choose another version after adding worker pools, the form asks Change Kubernetes Version?. Change Version removes every pool you configured, and Cancel keeps the old version.

Choose how the master node is billed

Under Plan, Instance Pricing shows an On-Demand card with the hourly and monthly price, and one card per committed term, such as 3 Months.

• On-Demand bills the master node by the minute. Take it to start; you can convert the master node to a committed plan later.
• A committed card bills the master node at a committed price for the term. With one selected, choose what happens when the term ends on its date: Auto-renew the committed plan: , selected by default, or Switch to hourly billing at the base rate of .

For how committed terms work, see Use committed billing for a cluster. To give the master node more vCPU and RAM once the cluster is running, see Upgrade the master plan.

If the master plan is out of stock, the form says The plan is temporarily not available. You can try after some time or click on the ‘Request’ button to place a request. Click Request to ask for it; the portal answers We have accepted your request, will contact you shortly.

Add worker node pools

A cluster needs at least one pool and can have up to 10. Under Worker Node Pool, click Add Node Pool, or Add Pool once a pool exists. A drawer opens.

1. Node Pool Name starts as pool- and five random characters. Keep it, or enter your own name of up to 50 letters, digits, underscores, and hyphens.

2. Choose a Scaling Strategy:

   • Static, the default, keeps a fixed number of nodes. Take it when you know how many nodes you need.
   • Elastic adds and removes nodes as CPU use or a metric you send goes up and down.
   • Scheduled scales to set node counts at set times, from cron expressions.
   • Hybrid combines elastic and scheduled scaling.

   For the settings each autoscaling strategy asks for, see Configure autoscaling for a node pool.

3. For a static pool, set Node Count. A pool holds 2 to 25 worker nodes, or 1 to 25 on the GPU or GDC 3rd generation family. Node Count starts at 3, or at 1 on those two families.

4. Under Infrastructure Configuration, choose a Compute Family. An autoscaling pool can use every family except GDC 3rd generation.

5. Choose a Plan with enough vCPU and RAM for the pods you will run on each node. For a plan that is out of stock, click Request, and E2E contacts you. If the request fails, the portal asks you to email cloud-platform@e2enetworks.com.

6. Choose a Billing Plan. A static pool offers On-Demand and the plan’s committed terms. An autoscaling pool is billed by the minute only, and the drawer says Autoscaling requires hourly billing. For a committed static pool, choose its end-of-term setting: Auto-renew the committed plan: or Switch to hourly billing at the base rate of .

7. Click Add Pool.

Until you create the cluster, you can edit or delete each pool you added. To run different kinds of work on different hardware, such as memory-hungry services next to CPU-heavy ones, add a pool on a plan that suits each.

Choose the network

Network Settings requires a VPC. Only VPCs with an E2E provided range are listed, with the note Custom VPCs are not supported for Kubernetes. To make a VPC without leaving the form, click Create New.

(Optional) If the VPC has subnets, choose one under Select Subnet (Optional). Every master and worker node gets a private IP from the cluster’s VPC, or from its subnet when you pick one.

Choose a security group

Open Advanced Settings and choose a security group. A security group is required, and it must have inbound rules that allow TCP port 6443 and UDP port 8472. A rule counts when its protocol is the one needed or All, and its ports are All, the exact port, or a range that includes it. Without both, creation is refused with Kubernetes requires TCP port 6443 and UDP port 8472 to be open in the security group., or with the message naming only the missing port.

(Optional) Encrypt the cluster

To encrypt the cluster at rest, turn on Enable Encryption under Advanced Settings. The setting stays with the cluster from creation on, so decide here.

The encryption passphrase is optional. If you set one, it must be 8 to 12 characters, with at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, and one of !@#$%^&*.

Create the cluster

Create Cluster is available once the name, the version, the VPC, the security group, and at least one worker pool are set. Check the cost in the Summary panel. For current prices, see E2E’s pricing page.

On a prepaid account without enough infra credits, creation is refused with You do not have sufficient credits to launch the kubernetes. Additional Balance required: Available:

Click Create Cluster. If the master node or a pool is committed, Committed Plans Confirmation (K8s) opens first. It lists each committed item with its plan, its end-of-term setting, and its end date. Check the box to agree that the full committed cost is deducted from your infra credits, or charged to your postpaid account, and click Proceed.

You return to the list with Kubernetes cluster created successfully. Please wait for 5-10 minutes to configure., and the cluster reads Creating.

While the cluster reads Creating, only its Cluster Details tab works; the other tabs say Cluster is currently in state, please wait. Delete becomes available once the cluster reads Running. If it still reads Creating after 80 minutes, see Troubleshooting Kubernetes.

Check that the cluster is running

The cluster reads Running in the list. To find it among many clusters, search the list, or filter it by tag. Click its name: the Node Pool tab shows its pools, and each pool lists its worker nodes.

Your cluster is ready. Next, download its kubeconfig and connect kubectl to it; see Connect to a cluster with kubectl. If creation is refused, see Troubleshooting Kubernetes.