Backup And Restore EKS Clusters With Velero: A Comprehensive Guide

velero eks backup

Velero EKS Backup: Safeguarding Your Kubernetes Workloads on AWS

In today’s cloud-native world, Kubernetes has become the go-to platform for managing containerized workloads. For AWS users, Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) provides a fully managed service to run Kubernetes without the need to install and maintain control plane components. However, even with a managed service like EKS, having a robust backup strategy is critical for ensuring business continuity. This is where Velero — an open-source tool for managing backups, disaster recovery, and data migration for Kubernetes — comes into play.

In this blog, we will explore how to use Velero to back up your EKS cluster, safeguard your data, and ensure your Kubernetes workloads are protected from data loss.

Why Velero for EKS Backup?

Velero is a powerful tool designed to back up and restore Kubernetes clusters. Its key advantages for backing up EKS clusters include:

  • Full Backup of Kubernetes Resources: Velero backs up all Kubernetes resources, including namespaces, pods, services, and config maps. This ensures you have a full copy of your cluster configuration in case of a disaster.
  • Persistent Volume Snapshots: Velero can also back up and restore Persistent Volume (PV) data, a critical component for stateful workloads.
  • Cloud-Native Integration: Velero integrates seamlessly with AWS, utilizing Amazon S3 for storage and EBS snapshots for persistent volumes.
  • Migration and Recovery: Velero supports cluster migrations, allowing you to restore workloads from one cluster to another or migrate between cloud environments.

Prerequisites for Velero EKS Backup

Before setting up Velero to back up your EKS cluster, ensure the following prerequisites:

  1. An EKS Cluster: You need a functioning EKS cluster.
  2. AWS IAM Permissions: Ensure your AWS account has the necessary IAM permissions to create and manage resources like S3 buckets and EBS snapshots.
  3. kubectl: The Kubernetes command-line tool should be installed and configured for your EKS cluster.
  4. Velero: Install Velero on your local machine. You can download the latest version from the official Velero GitHub page.

Step-by-Step Guide: Setting Up Velero for EKS Backup

Let’s walk through the process of setting up Velero for EKS backup.

Step 1: Create an S3 Bucket for Backup Storage

Velero stores its backups in an object storage location, and for EKS, you can use an S3 bucket.

bash
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aws s3api create-bucket --bucket <your-bucket-name> --region <your-region>

Replace <your-bucket-name> and <your-region> with the appropriate values. For example:

bash
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aws s3api create-bucket --bucket velero-backups --region us-west-2

Step 2: Create an IAM Role for Velero

Velero requires an IAM role with specific permissions to create snapshots and interact with AWS services. Create a new IAM policy for Velero:

bash
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cat <<EOF > velero-policy.json
{
   "Version": "2012-10-17",
   "Statement": [
     {
       "Effect": "Allow",
       "Action": [
         "ec2:DescribeVolumes",
         "ec2:CreateSnapshot",
         "ec2:DescribeSnapshots",
         "ec2:DeleteSnapshot",
         "ec2:CreateTags",
         "ec2:DeleteTags"
       ],
       "Resource": "*"
     },
     {
       "Effect": "Allow",
       "Action": [
         "s3:GetObject",
         "s3:PutObject",
         "s3:DeleteObject"
       ],
       "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::<your-bucket-name>/*"
     }
   ]
}
EOF

Replace <your-bucket-name> with the name of your S3 bucket, then create the policy and role:

bash
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aws iam create-policy --policy-name velero-policy --policy-document file://velero-policy.json
aws iam create-role --role-name VeleroRole --assume-role-policy-document file://velero-role.json

Step 3: Install Velero on EKS

With your S3 bucket and IAM role set up, you can now install Velero using Helm:

bash
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helm repo add vmware-tanzu https://vmware-tanzu.github.io/helm-charts
helm repo update
helm install velero vmware-tanzu/velero \
    --set configuration.provider=aws \
    --set configuration.backupStorageLocation.name=default \
    --set configuration.backupStorageLocation.bucket=<your-bucket-name> \
    --set configuration.volumeSnapshotLocation.name=default \
    --set configuration.volumeSnapshotLocation.region=<your-region> \
    --set credentials.secretContents.cloud=aws

Replace <your-bucket-name> and <your-region> with the appropriate values.

Step 4: Backup Your EKS Cluster

Now that Velero is installed and configured, you can start backing up your EKS cluster. Run the following command to create a backup:

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velero backup create eks-backup --include-namespaces <namespace>

If you want to back up the entire cluster, omit the --include-namespaces option:

bash
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velero backup create eks-backup

Velero will store the backup in the S3 bucket you configured.

Step 5: Verify the Backup

To verify the backup, run:

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velero backup describe eks-backup

This command will show the status of the backup and confirm if it was successful.

Step 6: Restore from a Backup

In case of a failure or if you need to restore your data, you can use Velero’s restore feature:

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velero restore create --from-backup eks-backup

Velero will restore the cluster’s state, including resources and Persistent Volumes, from the specified backup.

Best Practices for Velero EKS Backup

  1. Automate Backups: Schedule regular backups to ensure you always have an up-to-date copy of your EKS resources.
  2. Monitor Backup Status: Keep an eye on your backup statuses using Velero’s built-in monitoring tools.
  3. Test Restores: Periodically test your restore process to ensure your backups are functioning as expected.
  4. Encrypt Backups: Use AWS S3 server-side encryption to protect your backups in the storage bucket.
  5. Use Tags: Apply consistent tagging across resources to better manage and organize your backups.

Conclusion

Velero offers a robust, cloud-native solution for backing up and restoring your EKS clusters. By integrating with AWS services like S3 and EBS, it ensures that your Kubernetes workloads are protected from data loss and can be easily restored in case of failure. Implementing Velero EKS backup not only secures your data but also adds a layer of resilience to your Kubernetes infrastructure.

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can set up Velero to back up and restore your EKS cluster efficiently. With a solid backup strategy in place, you can focus on scaling and managing your Kubernetes applications, knowing your data is safe.

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