Backup & Restore

sloth-kubernetes provides comprehensive backup and restore capabilities using Velero, enabling you to protect your Kubernetes applications and data.

Overview

The backup system provides:

Full cluster backups: Back up all namespaces and resources
Selective backups: Target specific namespaces or resource types
Scheduled backups: Automated backups with cron expressions
Volume snapshots: PersistentVolume snapshot support
Point-in-time recovery: Restore from any backup
Multi-cloud storage: Support for AWS S3, GCP, Azure, MinIO

Prerequisites

Velero must be installed in your cluster before using backup operations. All backup commands require the stack name as the first argument.

# Check if Velero is installed
sloth-kubernetes backup status my-cluster

# Install Velero with your storage provider
sloth-kubernetes backup install my-cluster \
  --provider aws \
  --bucket my-backup-bucket \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --secret-file ./credentials

Commands

backup install

Install Velero in the cluster with the specified storage provider.

sloth-kubernetes backup install my-cluster \
  --provider aws \
  --bucket my-velero-bucket \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --secret-file ./aws-credentials

Supported providers:

aws - Amazon S3
gcp - Google Cloud Storage
azure - Azure Blob Storage
minio - MinIO (S3-compatible)

Flags:

Flag	Description	Required
`--provider`	Storage provider (aws, gcp, azure, minio)	Yes
`--bucket`	Storage bucket name	Yes
`--region`	Storage region	No
`--secret-file`	Path to credentials file	Yes

backup status

Check if Velero is installed and show its status.

sloth-kubernetes backup status my-cluster

Example output:

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                     VELERO STATUS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

[OK] Velero is installed

Backup Locations: 1 configured
  - default (aws)

Backups: 15 total
Schedules: 2 configured

backup create

Create a new backup of the cluster or specific namespaces.

# Create a full cluster backup
sloth-kubernetes backup create my-cluster my-backup

# Backup specific namespaces
sloth-kubernetes backup create my-cluster my-backup --namespaces default,app,database

# Exclude certain namespaces
sloth-kubernetes backup create my-cluster my-backup --exclude-namespaces kube-system,monitoring

# Backup specific resources only
sloth-kubernetes backup create my-cluster my-backup --resources deployments,services,configmaps

# Set custom retention period (default: 30 days)
sloth-kubernetes backup create my-cluster my-backup --ttl 168h  # 7 days

# Backup without volume snapshots
sloth-kubernetes backup create my-cluster my-backup --snapshot-volumes=false

# Wait for backup to complete
sloth-kubernetes backup create my-cluster my-backup --wait

# Dry-run to see what would be backed up
sloth-kubernetes backup create my-cluster my-backup --dry-run

Flags:

Flag	Description	Default
`--namespaces`	Namespaces to include (comma-separated)	All
`--exclude-namespaces`	Namespaces to exclude	-
`--resources`	Resources to include	All
`--exclude-resources`	Resources to exclude	-
`--ttl`	Backup retention period	`720h` (30 days)
`--storage-location`	Backup storage location name	Default
`--labels`	Labels to apply (key=value)	-
`--snapshot-volumes`	Take PV snapshots	`true`
`--wait`	Wait for backup to complete	`false`
`--timeout`	Timeout when using --wait	`30m`
`--dry-run`	Preview without creating	`false`

backup list

List all backups in the cluster.

sloth-kubernetes backup list my-cluster

# Output as JSON
sloth-kubernetes backup list my-cluster --json

Example output:

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                         BACKUPS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

NAME                           STATUS          ERRORS     WARNINGS   CREATED
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
daily-backup-20240115          Completed       0          0          2024-01-15 00:00:05
daily-backup-20240114          Completed       0          2          2024-01-14 00:00:03
manual-backup-pre-upgrade      Completed       0          0          2024-01-13 14:30:22
weekly-backup-20240107         Completed       0          0          2024-01-07 00:00:08

Total: 4 backups

backup describe

Show detailed information about a specific backup.

sloth-kubernetes backup describe my-cluster my-backup

Example output:

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                     BACKUP DETAILS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  Name:       my-backup
  Status:     Completed
  Phase:      Completed
  Namespaces: default, app, database
  Started:    2024-01-15 10:30:00
  Completed:  2024-01-15 10:35:22
  Duration:   5m22s
  Expires:    2024-02-14 10:30:00
  Errors:     0
  Warnings:   0
  Location:   default

backup delete

Delete a backup.

sloth-kubernetes backup delete my-cluster my-backup

# Dry-run to see what would be deleted
sloth-kubernetes backup delete my-cluster my-backup --dry-run

backup restore

Restore from an existing backup.

# Restore entire backup
sloth-kubernetes backup restore my-cluster --from-backup my-backup

# Restore specific namespaces
sloth-kubernetes backup restore my-cluster --from-backup my-backup --namespaces app,database

# Restore without persistent volumes
sloth-kubernetes backup restore my-cluster --from-backup my-backup --restore-volumes=false

# Preserve NodePort values
sloth-kubernetes backup restore my-cluster --from-backup my-backup --preserve-nodeports

# Wait for restore to complete
sloth-kubernetes backup restore my-cluster --from-backup my-backup --wait

# Dry-run to see what would be restored
sloth-kubernetes backup restore my-cluster --from-backup my-backup --dry-run

Flags:

Flag	Description	Default
`--from-backup`	Backup name to restore from	Required
`--namespaces`	Namespaces to restore	All from backup
`--exclude-namespaces`	Namespaces to exclude	-
`--resources`	Resources to restore	All
`--exclude-resources`	Resources to exclude	-
`--restore-volumes`	Restore persistent volumes	`true`
`--preserve-nodeports`	Preserve original NodePort values	`false`
`--wait`	Wait for restore to complete	`false`
`--timeout`	Timeout when using --wait	`30m`
`--dry-run`	Preview without restoring	`false`

backup restore-list

List all restore operations.

sloth-kubernetes backup restore-list my-cluster

Example output:

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                         RESTORES
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

NAME                           BACKUP                    STATUS          ERRORS     WARNINGS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
restore-20240115-103045        my-backup                 Completed       0          0
restore-20240112-154522        daily-backup-20240112     Completed       0          1

Total: 2 restores

backup locations

List all configured backup storage locations.

sloth-kubernetes backup locations my-cluster

Example output:

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                 BACKUP STORAGE LOCATIONS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

NAME                 PROVIDER        BUCKET                    REGION          DEFAULT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
default              aws             my-velero-bucket          us-east-1       Yes
secondary            gcp             backup-bucket-gcp         us-central1     No

Scheduled Backups

schedule create

Create automated backup schedules using cron expressions.

# Daily backup at midnight
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule create my-cluster daily-backup --schedule "0 0 * * *"

# Every 6 hours
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule create my-cluster frequent-backup --schedule "0 */6 * * *"

# Weekly on Sunday at midnight
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule create my-cluster weekly-backup --schedule "0 0 * * 0"

# Monthly on the 1st at midnight
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule create my-cluster monthly-backup --schedule "0 0 1 * *"

# Schedule with specific namespaces
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule create my-cluster app-backup \
  --schedule "0 0 * * *" \
  --namespaces app,database

# Schedule with custom retention
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule create my-cluster short-retention \
  --schedule "0 */12 * * *" \
  --ttl 48h

# Dry-run to preview
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule create my-cluster daily-backup \
  --schedule "0 0 * * *" \
  --dry-run

Cron expression format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week

Flags:

Flag	Description	Default
`--schedule`	Cron expression	Required
`--namespaces`	Namespaces to include	All
`--exclude-namespaces`	Namespaces to exclude	-
`--ttl`	Backup retention period	`720h`
`--snapshot-volumes`	Take PV snapshots	`true`
`--dry-run`	Preview without creating	`false`

schedule list

List all backup schedules.

sloth-kubernetes backup schedule list my-cluster

Example output:

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                     BACKUP SCHEDULES
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

NAME                      SCHEDULE             PAUSED     LAST BACKUP
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
daily-backup              0 0 * * *            No         2024-01-15 00:00:05
weekly-backup             0 0 * * 0            No         2024-01-14 00:00:03
app-hourly                0 * * * *            Yes        2024-01-10 15:00:02

Total: 3 schedules

schedule delete

Delete a backup schedule.

sloth-kubernetes backup schedule delete my-cluster daily-backup

# Dry-run
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule delete my-cluster daily-backup --dry-run

schedule pause

Pause a backup schedule.

sloth-kubernetes backup schedule pause my-cluster daily-backup

schedule unpause

Resume a paused backup schedule.

sloth-kubernetes backup schedule unpause my-cluster daily-backup

Global Flags

These flags apply to all backup commands:

Flag	Description	Default
`--kubeconfig`	Path to kubeconfig file	`~/.kube/config`
`--velero-namespace`	Velero namespace	`velero`
`--json`	Output in JSON format	`false`

Examples

Disaster Recovery Setup

Set up comprehensive disaster recovery:

# Install Velero with AWS S3
sloth-kubernetes backup install my-cluster \
  --provider aws \
  --bucket dr-backups \
  --region us-west-2 \
  --secret-file ./aws-creds

# Create daily full cluster backup
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule create my-cluster daily-full \
  --schedule "0 2 * * *" \
  --ttl 720h

# Create hourly app backup
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule create my-cluster hourly-apps \
  --schedule "0 * * * *" \
  --namespaces app,api,frontend \
  --ttl 72h

# Create weekly long-term backup
sloth-kubernetes backup schedule create my-cluster weekly-archive \
  --schedule "0 3 * * 0" \
  --ttl 8760h  # 1 year

Pre-Upgrade Backup

Create a backup before cluster upgrade:

# Create backup with descriptive name
sloth-kubernetes backup create my-cluster pre-upgrade-v128-to-v129 \
  --wait \
  --labels env=production,reason=upgrade

# Verify backup completed
sloth-kubernetes backup describe my-cluster pre-upgrade-v128-to-v129

# Proceed with upgrade
sloth-kubernetes upgrade apply my-cluster --to v1.29.0

Application Migration

Migrate applications between clusters:

# Source cluster: Create application backup
sloth-kubernetes backup create source-cluster app-migration \
  --namespaces myapp \
  --wait

# Target cluster: Restore application
sloth-kubernetes backup restore target-cluster \
  --from-backup app-migration \
  --wait

Namespace Recovery

Restore a specific namespace after accidental deletion:

# Find backup containing the namespace
sloth-kubernetes backup list my-cluster

# Describe backup to verify contents
sloth-kubernetes backup describe my-cluster daily-backup-20240115

# Restore only the deleted namespace
sloth-kubernetes backup restore my-cluster \
  --from-backup daily-backup-20240115 \
  --namespaces deleted-namespace \
  --wait

Selective Resource Restore

Restore specific resources without overwriting existing:

# Restore only ConfigMaps and Secrets
sloth-kubernetes backup restore my-cluster \
  --from-backup my-backup \
  --resources configmaps,secrets \
  --namespaces app

# Restore everything except Deployments (keep current versions running)
sloth-kubernetes backup restore my-cluster \
  --from-backup my-backup \
  --exclude-resources deployments \
  --namespaces app

Credential Files

AWS S3

Create aws-credentials file:

[default]
aws_access_key_id = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
aws_secret_access_key = YOUR_SECRET_KEY

Google Cloud Storage

Create gcp-credentials.json using a service account key.

Azure Blob Storage

Create azure-credentials file:

AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID=your-subscription-id
AZURE_TENANT_ID=your-tenant-id
AZURE_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret
AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP=your-resource-group
AZURE_CLOUD_NAME=AzurePublicCloud

MinIO

Create minio-credentials file (same format as AWS):

[default]
aws_access_key_id = MINIO_ACCESS_KEY
aws_secret_access_key = MINIO_SECRET_KEY

Troubleshooting

Velero Not Installed

Error: velero is not installed. Run 'sloth-kubernetes backup install' first

Install Velero with your storage provider:

sloth-kubernetes backup install my-cluster --provider aws --bucket my-bucket --secret-file ./creds

Backup Stuck in InProgress

Check Velero pods:

sloth-kubernetes kubectl my-cluster get pods -n velero
sloth-kubernetes kubectl my-cluster logs -n velero deployment/velero

Restore Fails with Conflicts

If resources already exist:

# Restore with exclude to avoid conflicts
sloth-kubernetes backup restore my-cluster \
  --from-backup my-backup \
  --exclude-resources persistentvolumeclaims

Volume Snapshots Not Working

Ensure your storage provider supports CSI snapshots:

# Check VolumeSnapshotClass exists
sloth-kubernetes kubectl my-cluster get volumesnapshotclass

Backup Taking Too Long

For large clusters, exclude non-essential namespaces:

sloth-kubernetes backup create my-cluster quick-backup \
  --exclude-namespaces monitoring,logging,kube-system \
  --timeout 60m

Overview​

Prerequisites​

Commands​

backup install​

backup status​

backup create​

backup list​

backup describe​

backup delete​

backup restore​

backup restore-list​

backup locations​

Scheduled Backups​

schedule create​

schedule list​

schedule delete​

schedule pause​

schedule unpause​

Global Flags​

Examples​

Disaster Recovery Setup​

Pre-Upgrade Backup​

Application Migration​

Namespace Recovery​

Selective Resource Restore​

Credential Files​

AWS S3​

Google Cloud Storage​

Azure Blob Storage​

MinIO​

Troubleshooting​

Velero Not Installed​

Backup Stuck in InProgress​

Restore Fails with Conflicts​

Volume Snapshots Not Working​

Backup Taking Too Long​

Overview

Prerequisites

Commands

backup install

backup status

backup create

backup list

backup describe

backup delete

backup restore

backup restore-list

backup locations

Scheduled Backups

schedule create

schedule list

schedule delete

schedule pause

schedule unpause

Global Flags

Examples

Disaster Recovery Setup

Pre-Upgrade Backup

Application Migration

Namespace Recovery

Selective Resource Restore

Credential Files

AWS S3

Google Cloud Storage

Azure Blob Storage

MinIO

Troubleshooting

Velero Not Installed

Backup Stuck in InProgress

Restore Fails with Conflicts

Volume Snapshots Not Working

Backup Taking Too Long