Introduction
Whether your workloads run on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), OpenShift (OCP), or on-premises (OVA), one truth holds: data protection is essential.
Backup and recovery ensure business continuity, protect against accidental data loss, and provide a path to restore workloads quickly in case of failures.
Why Backup and Recovery Are Important ?
Kubernetes is designed for scalability and resilience, but not for data protection by default. That means:
• Stateful applications like databases, queues, or file stores need backups
• Persistent Volumes (PVs) must be preserved for recovery
• Cluster configuration (RBAC, secrets, CRDs, namespaces) should be safeguarded
• Disaster recovery planning is essential for compliance and uptime
When Should You Do Backups?
Backups are most valuable when they align with risk and change frequency. Consider backing up:
• Before major upgrades – cluster upgrades, application version changes, or infra changes
• Before deployments – especially for stateful workloads like databases
• After major configuration changes – updates to CRDs, RBAC, or namespace policies
• On a schedule – automated recurring backups reduce risk of human error
• For compliance – industries like healthcare and finance require frequent and auditable backups
Similarly these can be done for Velero also
How Often Should You Back Up?
Backup frequency depends on RPO (Recovery Point Objective) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective) requirements. Common patterns:
• Daily → For active workloads, fast-changing applications, and production databases
• Weekly → For less critical applications or staging/test clusters
• Monthly → For archival purposes and compliance-driven storage
• Yearly → Long-term retention, often required by regulatory policies
Our Approach Across Platforms
To address this across different environments, we used:
• GKE → Native Backup for GKE, integrated directly into Google Cloud
• AKS, EKS, OCP, OVA → A third-party, open-source solution like Velero, providing consistency across platforms
This hybrid approach allowed us to balance native integration with multi-cloud flexibility.
What Gets Backed Up ?
Across platforms, a comprehensive backup typically includes:
• Kubernetes objects: Deployments, ConfigMaps, Secrets, RBAC policies
• Persistent Volumes: Application data stored on disks or block storage
• Custom Resources (CRs): Platform-specific extensions
• Namespaces: Logical grouping of workloads
What Restore Looks Like ?
When restoring, the focus is on bringing workloads back to a consistent state:
• Application manifests (deployments, services) are recreated
• Persistent Volumes are reattached or restored from snapshots
• Configuration and secrets are reapplied
• Namespaces are recovered as units
Best Practices
• Always combine application data + configurations in your backups
• Automate backup scheduling rather than relying on manual triggers
• Store backups in secure, durable storage (object storage, cloud buckets)
• Regularly test restore scenarios to ensure backups are usable
• Document procedures so recovery can be executed under pressure
Conclusion
Backup and recovery in Kubernetes isn’t about the tool—it’s about ensuring resilience across platforms.
• On GKE, native services simplify operations
• On AKS, EKS, OCP, and OVA, open-source tools like Velero provide a consistent, flexible approach
• Regardless of platform, always validate what’s being backed up and test your restores regularly
With the right balance of native and third-party solutions, you can confidently safeguard workloads across any environment.