# Prerequisites

This tutorial can be followed using either Google Cloud Platform or Microsoft Azure. Any sections where the commands to be entered are different based on the selected platform will either be captioned ```gcloud``` or ```az```, depending on the platform that the command applies to.

## Google Cloud Platform

This tutorial leverages the [Google Cloud Platform](https://cloud.google.com/) to streamline provisioning of the compute infrastructure required to bootstrap a Kubernetes cluster from the ground up. [Sign up](https://cloud.google.com/free/) for $300 in free credits.

[Estimated cost](https://cloud.google.com/products/calculator#id=873932bc-0840-4176-b0fa-a8cfd4ca61ae) to run this tutorial: $0.23 per hour ($5.50 per day).

> The compute resources required for this tutorial exceed the Google Cloud Platform free tier.

## Google Cloud Platform SDK

### Install the Google Cloud SDK

Follow the Google Cloud SDK [documentation](https://cloud.google.com/sdk/) to install and configure the `gcloud` command line utility.

Verify the Google Cloud SDK version is 338.0.0 or higher:

```
gcloud version
```

### Set a Default Compute Region and Zone

This tutorial assumes a default compute region and zone have been configured.

If you are using the `gcloud` command-line tool for the first time `init` is the easiest way to do this:

```
gcloud init
```

Then be sure to authorize gcloud to access the Cloud Platform with your Google user credentials:

```
gcloud auth login
```

Next set a default compute region and compute zone:

```
gcloud config set compute/region us-west1
```

Set a default compute zone:

```
gcloud config set compute/zone us-west1-c
```

> Use the `gcloud compute zones list` command to view additional regions and zones.

## Microsoft Azure Cloud Platform

As an alternative, MS Azure can be used to provision resources to complete the tutorial. [Estimated cost](https://azure.com/e/caa9df7c786c4f93bbd5566e02bd69b5) is roughly $11 a day

## Azure CLI

### Installation

Documentation on installing the azure CLI (```az```) is located [here](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/install-azure-cli)

### az Setup

If this is your first time running the ```az``` tool, you will need to login. The easiest way to do this is via ```az login```, which will bring up a web browser where you will fill out your username/password. Alternative methods for logging in are detailed [here](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/authenticate-azure-cli)

Set your default location:

```az config set defaults.location=eastus```

Create a resource group to hold all VMs / VPCs / etc that will be created:

```az group create --resource-group k8s-the-hard-way```

Set the created resource group as the default:

```az config set defaults.group=k8s-the-hard-way```

## Running Commands in Parallel with tmux

[tmux](https://github.com/tmux/tmux/wiki) can be used to run commands on multiple compute instances at the same time. Labs in this tutorial may require running the same commands across multiple compute instances, in those cases consider using tmux and splitting a window into multiple panes with synchronize-panes enabled to speed up the provisioning process.

> The use of tmux is optional and not required to complete this tutorial.

![tmux screenshot](images/tmux-screenshot.png)

> Enable synchronize-panes by pressing `ctrl+b` followed by `shift+:`. Next type `set synchronize-panes on` at the prompt. To disable synchronization: `set synchronize-panes off`.

Next: [Installing the Client Tools](02-client-tools.md)