Back up with an in-cluster storage provider

By default, MKE 4k stores backups and restores using the in-cluster storage provider, the MinIO add-on.

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MinIO is not currently backed by persistent storage. For persistent storage of backups, use an external storage provider or download the MinIO backups.

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The offered instructions assume that you have created a cluster with the default MKE 4k backup configuration.

Create an in-cluster backup

To create an in-cluster backup, run:

mkectl backup create --name <name>

Example output:

mkectl backup create --name test
INFO[0000] Creating backup test...
Backup request "test" submitted successfully.
Run `velero backup describe test` or `velero backup logs test` for more details.
INFO[0000] Waiting for backup test to complete...
INFO[0003] Waiting for backup to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0006] Waiting for backup to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0009] Waiting for backup to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0012] Waiting for backup to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0015] Waiting for backup to complete. Current phase: Completed

The backup should be present in the MinIO bucket.

To list the backups, run:

mkectl backup list

Example output:

mkectl backup list
NAME   STATUS      ERRORS   WARNINGS   CREATED                         EXPIRES   STORAGE LOCATION   SELECTOR
test   Completed   0        0          2024-05-07 17:29:18 -0400 EDT   29d       default            <none>

Restore from an in-cluster backup

A restore operation returns the Kubernetes cluster to the state it was in at the time the backup you selected was created.

To perform a restore using an in-cluster backup, run:

mkectl restore create --name test

Example output:

mkectl restore create --name test
INFO[0000] Waiting for restore test-20240507173309 to complete...
INFO[0000] Waiting for restore to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0003] Waiting for restore to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0006] Waiting for restore to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0009] Waiting for restore to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0012] Waiting for restore to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0015] Waiting for restore to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0018] Waiting for restore to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0021] Waiting for restore to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0024] Waiting for restore to complete. Current phase: InProgress
INFO[0027] Waiting for restore to complete. Current phase: Completed
INFO[0027] Restore test-20240507173309 completed successfully

To list the restores, run:

mkectl restore list

Example output:

mkectl restore list
NAME                  BACKUP   STATUS      STARTED                         COMPLETED                       ERRORS   WARNINGS   CREATED                         SELECTOR
test-20240507173309   test     Completed   2024-05-07 17:33:09 -0400 EDT   2024-05-07 17:33:34 -0400 EDT   0        121        2024-05-07 17:33:09 -0400 EDT   <none>

Last updated on September 10, 2025

Back up using an external storage provider Back up etcd