What should be done to reduce costs related to logging for applications running on GKE?

Adding exclusion filters to the default logging sink is an effective way to manage costs associated with logging in Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) applications. When logs are generated, they can quickly accumulate, leading to increased costs for storage and processing. By applying exclusion filters, you're able to prevent certain logs from being ingested into Cloud Logging, particularly those that are not critical or useful for monitoring and troubleshooting.

This means that you can specifically exclude verbose or frequent logs that may not provide significant value, such as debug-level logs or health check entries. As a result, you will effectively reduce the volume of logs that incur charges while still retaining the essential logging data required for observability and compliance.

Other options, while potentially beneficial in different contexts, do not directly address cost reduction through log volume management. For instance, enabling Cloud Logging in a development cluster may provide useful insights but won't inherently reduce costs. Disabling logging sinks may result in missing valuable data, and implementing a standardized logging structure helps in organizing logs but doesn't necessarily reduce costs unless it's paired with effective logging volume management strategies like exclusion filters.