Backup on Support Tools

MySQL Operator Backup Strategies on Kubernetes: Enterprise Production Guide

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Implementing comprehensive backup strategies for MySQL on Kubernetes is critical for data protection and business continuity. This guide covers enterprise-grade backup implementations using MySQL operators, including automated scheduling, incremental backups, and point-in-time recovery.

We’ll explore production-ready configurations for Percona XtraDB Cluster Operator, Oracle MySQL Operator, and Vitess, with detailed examples of backup automation, encryption, compression, and disaster recovery testing.

Cloud-Native Disaster Recovery Architectures: Enterprise Implementation Guide

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Disaster recovery (DR) in cloud-native environments requires fundamentally different approaches compared to traditional infrastructure. With Kubernetes orchestrating containerized workloads across distributed systems, organizations must implement sophisticated DR strategies that account for application state, persistent data, configuration, and infrastructure-as-code. This comprehensive guide covers enterprise-grade disaster recovery architectures, automation patterns, and operational procedures for cloud-native environments.

Implementing Daily MySQL Backups with Percona XtraBackup: A Complete Guide

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 09:00:00 -0600

Master the art of MySQL backup management using Percona XtraBackup, a powerful tool for creating consistent, efficient database backups without downtime.

CKA Prep: Part 7 – Cluster Maintenance

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Cluster Maintenance Overview

Cluster maintenance is a critical aspect of Kubernetes administration and a significant part of the CKA exam. This section covers key maintenance activities including node management, upgrades, and backup/restore procedures.

Node Maintenance

Cordoning and Draining Nodes

When performing maintenance on a node, you need to safely move workloads away from it:

Cordoning a Node

Cordoning marks a node as unschedulable, preventing new pods from being scheduled on it.

Migrating from RKE1 to RKE2 Using Velero: An Open-Source Approach

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 01:45:00 -0500

With RKE1 approaching its end-of-life date on July 31, 2025, organizations need reliable migration strategies to transition to RKE2. Velero, an open-source backup and restore tool for Kubernetes, offers a cost-effective approach for this migration that works across diverse environments.

Migrating from RKE1 to RKE2 Using Kasten K10: A Complete Backup and Restore Guide

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 01:44:00 -0500

With RKE1’s end-of-life approaching on July 31, 2025, organizations need efficient strategies to migrate to RKE2. Kasten K10 by Veeam provides a powerful Kubernetes-native solution for this migration that handles both application state and data persistence.

Migrating from RKE1 to RKE2 Using CloudCasa: A Backup and Restore Approach

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 01:42:00 -0500

With RKE1 reaching end-of-life on July 31, 2025, organizations need reliable strategies to migrate their workloads to RKE2. CloudCasa offers a powerful backup and restore approach for this migration, providing a comprehensive solution that handles both stateless and stateful workloads.

Backup Kubernetes Cluster Resources to AWS S3 with Velero

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 09:37:00 -0500

Ensuring the safety and recoverability of your Kubernetes cluster is critical, especially in production environments. Velero, a powerful open-source tool, simplifies the process of backing up Kubernetes cluster resources to cloud storage, such as AWS S3. In this guide, we’ll walk through how to set up Velero to back up your Kubernetes cluster resources to an AWS S3 bucket.

Longhorn Backup and Disaster Recovery

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This guide covers backup and disaster recovery strategies for Longhorn storage, including backup configuration, recovery procedures, and best practices.

Extract a Kubernetes Secret From an etcd Snapshot

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 19:26:00 -0500

Someone deleted a Secret, or overwrote it, and the only copy left is in an etcd snapshot. Restoring the whole cluster to get one object back would roll every other resource back too. This guide restores the snapshot into a scratch etcd that has nothing to do with the live cluster, reads the one key you need, and decodes it into normal Secret YAML.

Kubernetes Master Class: A Seamless Approach to Rancher & Kubernetes Upgrades

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 17:30:00 -0500

Kubernetes Master Class: A Seamless Approach to Rancher & Kubernetes Upgrades

Upgrading your Rancher and Kubernetes clusters requires a strategic approach to minimize downtime and ensure seamless operation. This guide covers rules, backup operations, planning steps, and upgrade procedures for Rancher and Kubernetes environments using RKE1 and RKE2.

High-Level Rules for Upgrades

Create an upgrade plan
- Using the rule listed below, create a plan for all of your upgrades and follow it.
- You might need to do multiple upgrades to get to the latest version.
- Please use Rancher Upgrade Tool to help you pick the right version(s) to upgrade to. Rancher Upgrade Tool
Don’t Rush Upgrades:
- Allow at least 24 hours between upgrades to ensure the stability of each component.
- Give yourself plenty of time for backups, testing, monitoring, and rollback. I recommend at least 4hr change window for each upgrade.
Don’t Stack Upgrades:
- Avoid upgrading Rancher, Kubernetes, and Docker/Containerd in one session to reduce risk. Perform them sequentially.
Backups Are Mandatory:
- Take ETCD snapshots and use the Rancher Backup Operator to ensure quick recovery in case of failure.
Upgrade Order:
- Follow the sequence: Rancher → Kubernetes → Docker/Containerd → Operating System.
Pause CI/CD Pipelines:
- Halt pipelines using the Rancher API to prevent conflicts during upgrades.
Test in Non-Production Environments:
- Always validate upgrades in a lab environment before deploying to production.
Review Release Notes and Support Matrix:
- Check the Rancher release notes and Kubernetes support matrix to avoid issues with version incompatibilities.
Monitor and Verify:
- Continuously monitor the health of nodes and pods after each upgrade to ensure everything is running smoothly.

Cloning or Backing Up Drives Remotely Using dd and netcat

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 19:26:00 -0500

In this guide, we will walk through the process of cloning or backing up drives remotely using the powerful combination of dd and netcat. This approach allows for efficient disk copying over a network, making it ideal for remote backups or system migrations.

Rsync: Backup Tool

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 19:26:00 -0500

Rsync is a powerful command-line tool used in Linux for efficient file synchronization and data transfer. It minimizes data transfer by only copying file differences, making it ideal for backups and remote synchronization.

Decrypt One Secret From an RKE2 etcd Snapshot

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 04:48:35 -0500

Someone deleted a Secret, or rotated a credential and lost the old value, and the only copy left is in last night’s RKE2 etcd snapshot. Restoring the whole cluster to get one object back is out of the question. This guide restores the snapshot into a scratch etcd that has nothing to do with the live cluster, reads the one key you need, and decrypts it, because on RKE2 every Secret in etcd is encrypted at rest.

Comprehensive Guide to Backing Up Rancher and its Clusters

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Comprehensive Guide to Backing Up Rancher and its Clusters

Ensuring the safety and continuity of data in Rancher-managed Kubernetes clusters is paramount. This workshop aims to provide you with a thorough understanding and practical approach to back up Rancher and its clusters, safeguarding your data against potential losses.

Understanding Rancher Backups

Rancher, a popular Kubernetes management platform, simplifies container orchestration. However, like any system, it’s prone to data loss due to hardware failures, software bugs, or human errors. Regular backups are crucial.