Google Cloud Certified Associate Cloud Engineer Practice 2026 - Free Cloud Engineer Practice Questions and Study Guide

Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is the service that provides managed container orchestration on Google Cloud Platform. It simplifies the deployment, management, and scaling of containerized applications using Kubernetes, which is a powerful platform for orchestrating containers. GKE automates many of the operational tasks associated with managing Kubernetes clusters, such as upgrades, monitoring, and scaling, allowing developers to focus on building and deploying their applications without getting bogged down by infrastructure concerns.

GKE integrates with other GCP services and utilizes Google's infrastructure to offer high availability, security, and performance. This makes it suitable for running complex applications that require container orchestration, leveraging features like auto-scaling, load balancing, and seamless integration with CI/CD pipelines.

The other services mentioned, while also useful for deploying applications, do not provide the same level of orchestration capabilities as GKE. Cloud Run focuses on managing serverless applications, App Engine handles platform-as-a-service deployment for web applications, and Cloud Functions is designed for event-driven microservices. Each of these services operates at different levels of abstraction compared to GKE, making GKE the ideal choice for those specifically seeking managed container orchestration.