Backup Best Practices for Your Kubernetes Environment

You've built an awesome Kubernetes environment to run your apps and services, so protecting your data is a top priority.

You've built an awesome Kubernetes environment to run your apps and services, so protecting your data is a top priority. Losing access to your cluster because of a disaster or outage would be a nightmare. Setting up backups may seem daunting, but it's one of the most important things you can do. In this article, we'll explore backup best practices tailored for Kubernetes so you can keep your apps and data safe. We'll cover different backup methods, tools, and strategies to fit your unique needs. Stick with us to learn how to implement robust backups for your K8s cluster and sleep better knowing your data is secure. With the right backups in place, you'll be ready to handle any disaster that comes your way. Let's dive in!

Why Backing Up Kubernetes Is Critical

Your Kubernetes environment contains critical data that powers your applications and services. Without proper backups, you risk losing access to this data which could impact your business operations.

Data Loss Scenarios

Several scenarios could lead to data loss in Kubernetes, including:

Node failure: If a node goes down and pods on that node are rescheduled, you lose access to data stored on those pods.

Protecting Your Data

To avoid data loss in these scenarios, you should implement a comprehensive backup strategy for your Kubernetes environment. This includes:

Backing up etcd: etcd is the key-value store used by Kubernetes to store cluster data. Back up etcd to avoid losing access to your cluster state.

By implementing solid backup best practices for your Kubernetes environment, you'll ensure your critical data is protected and available when you need it most. Failing to back up Kubernetes adequately could put your business at serious risk in the event of data loss.

Backup Options for Kubernetes Clusters

Volume Snapshots

One of the most common backup methods for Kubernetes is volume snapshots. This takes a snapshot of the persistent volumes in your cluster and saves them for later use. If a pod goes down or data gets corrupted, you can restore from a previous snapshot. Kubernetes supports multiple volume plugins, so the steps to take a snapshot will differ depending on which ones you're using. But in general, you'll define a Volume Snapshot Class, take the actual snapshot using the Kubernetes API, and then restore from it if needed.

Trilio

Trilio is a leader in cloud-native data protection for Kubernetes and OpenStack environments. Traditional recovery approaches no longer work for the enterprise. Cloud-native or not, data loss is not an option. But with traditional recovery methods, data loss is a real risk. Trilio’s intelligent recovery approach gets your apps and data recovered in minutes, automatically, and in the background, with near zero RPO. Get the peace of mind that comes with knowing your apps and data is always recoverable, and your business can keep running smoothly in the cloud.

Database Backups

Don't forget to also back up any databases running in your Kubernetes cluster, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB. Most database containers (and services like Amazon RDS) allow you to take periodic snapshots and backups. You should enable this feature to protect your critical data. That way if your database Pod goes down for any reason, you'll have backups to restore from.

With regular snapshots and a disaster recovery plan in place, you can feel confident in the resiliency of your Kubernetes environment. By choosing the right backup tools and techniques for your needs, you'll be able to recover quickly in case of any mishaps.

Setting Up Scheduled Backups for Persistent Volumes

To ensure your Kubernetes data is properly backed up, you'll want to configure scheduled backups for your persistent volumes. Persistent volumes store the data for your Kubernetes deployments, so backing them up is critical.

Choosing a Backup Solution

There are a few options for backing up Kubernetes persistent volumes, including:

Using your cloud provider's backup service (like EBS snapshots)

For most users, Trilio is a great choice. It's open source, Kubernetes-native, and supports backing up volumes from all major storage providers.

Configuring Trilio

To get started with Trilio, you'll first install it on your cluster. Then, you need to:

Create Backup Plans

A backup plan defines the schedule and retention for your backups. You'll want to create plans for each volume type in your cluster. For example, you may have:

A plan to backup MySQL volumes daily, retaining 7 days of backups

Include Relevant Namespaces

By default, Velero backs up all namespaces. You'll want to configure your backup plans to only include the namespaces that contain volumes you want to backup. This avoids backing up namespaces with no persistent data.

Start the Scheduled Backups

Once your plans are created and namespaces selected, you simply start the schedule to begin automated backups. Velero will then backup the selected volumes on the schedule you defined.

Monitor and Manage Backups

Be sure to monitor your Trilio backups to ensure they are completing successfully. You can also manage backups by deleting old backups, restoring from backups, and more.

With a scheduled backup solution in place, you'll have peace of mind knowing your Kubernetes persistent volume data is backed up and protected. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Restoring Kubernetes from Backup

Recovering control plane nodes

To restore your Kubernetes control plane nodes from backup, you'll first need to reprovision the machines and install Kubernetes. Then, restore the etcd database from backup to get your cluster up and running again.

Once you have Kubernetes installed on the new control plane nodes, stop the etcd service. Then restore your etcd backup by copying the backup file to the etcd data directory and restoring the permissions. Finally, restart etcd and the remaining control plane components. Your control plane should now be restored and ready to restore worker nodes.

Restoring worker nodes

With your control plane restored, you can now focus on bringing your worker nodes back online. This process will depend on whether your worker nodes are managed or self-managed.

For managed worker nodes (like EC2 instances), you'll need to terminate the existing instances and launch new ones, making sure to add the appropriate labels and taints. The control plane will then schedule pods on the new worker nodes.

For self-managed worker nodes, you'll need to reprovision the nodes, install Kubernetes, and join them to the cluster. Add labels and taints to match your backup configuration. The control plane will reschedule any pods that were running on those worker nodes before the backup.

Your Kubernetes cluster should now be fully restored and ready to resume normal operations. Be sure to test critical workloads to ensure proper function before putting the cluster back into production. Performing regular backups of your Kubernetes environment is the best way to ensure quick and painless recovery in the event of a failure or disaster.

Frequently Asked Questions About Kubernetes Backup What should I backup? You'll want to regularly backup several key components of your Kubernetes environment. At a minimum, backup your: Persistent Volumes and Persistent Volume Claims: These provide storage for your Kubernetes pods and contain critical data. How often should I backup? For most Kubernetes environments, daily or weekly full backups are a good place to start. However, the frequency will depend on how much data is changing in your environment and how much data you can afford to lose in a disaster scenario. If data is changing rapidly, you may need more frequent full backups with incremental backups in between. It’s a good idea to test restoring from your backups regularly to ensure the process works as expected. Do I need to backup etcd? Etcd is the distributed key-value store used by Kubernetes to store cluster state and configuration. Backing up etcd is critical for being able to restore your Kubernetes cluster. Etcd backups should be taken at the same frequency as your full cluster backups. When restoring, you'll restore etcd first before restoring other cluster components. What about application data? Kubernetes manages the infrastructure and platform for your applications but does not directly handle application data. It's up to you to implement backups for the actual data of your applications, databases, file shares, etc. Kubernetes backups should be part of an overall data protection strategy that also includes application-level backups. To summarize, implementing regular Kubernetes backups and practicing restores will give you peace of mind that your cluster configuration and data will be available even if disaster strikes. Pairing Kubernetes backups with application data protection will provide comprehensive coverage for your environment. Conclusion So there you have it - a few best practices for backing up your Kubernetes environment. Remember that regular backups are crucial, test your restores, and use tools designed for Kubernetes to make the process smooth. Don't forget to back up your etcd datastore too. Following these tips will help ensure your Kubernetes apps and data are protected in case disaster strikes. And if the worst happens, your backups mean you can get back up and running quickly. Now go forth and back up your clusters! You'll sleep better knowing your hard work is safe and sound.