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ADR-019: Kubernetes Backup Management

Executive Summary

We have decided to implement Azure Backup to manage backups for our applications hosted on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). This decision is motivated by the integration ease, comprehensive feature set, and operational simplicity offered by Azure Backup in our existing Azure ecosystem. By leveraging Azure Backup with defined policies, we aim to safeguard our Kubernetes clusters against data loss and ensure rapid recovery in case of incidents.

Background

At the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, ensuring data resilience and availability is paramount due to the critical nature of our applications and services. Our applications are hosted on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), providing a highly available and automated container orchestration solution. However, to mitigate risks associated with data loss, corruption, or unintentional deletions, we need a backup solution.

Our goal was to identify a backup management solution that could seamlessly integrate with our existing Azure infrastructure, support Kubernetes workloads, and provide efficient policy-based backup and recovery capabilities. After evaluating various options, we determined that Azure Backup met our requirements best due to its ease of use, scalability, and deep integration with Azure services.

Decision

We chose Azure Backup for Kubernetes backup management because it integrates seamlessly with AKS, supporting our goal for a streamlined and efficient backup strategy. Azure Backup offers automated backup policies, scalable storage, and rapid restoration capabilities that align with our operational needs.

Considered Alternatives

Velero

Advantages:

  • Open-source: Cost-effective and community-supported.
  • Multi-cloud support: Works with various cloud providers and on-prem environments.
  • Flexibility: Offers customizable backup schedules and policies.

Disadvantages:

  • Setup complexity: Requires additional setup and configuration efforts.
  • Less Azure integration: Lacks some native integrations and features compared to Azure Backup.

Restic with Stash

Advantages:

  • Open-source: No licensing costs, community-driven development.
  • Policy support: Supports scheduled backups and policies.
  • Flexibility: Highly customizable backup solutions.

Disadvantages:

  • Setup and management: Requires significant initial setup and ongoing management.
  • Less mature: Compared to other dedicated Kubernetes backup solutions like Azure Backup.

Rationale for choosing Azure Backup

Ease of Integration:

  • Advantages: Azure Backup integrates natively with AKS, streamlining setup and management.

  • Disadvantages: Vendor lock-in with Microsoft Azure.

Automated Policies:

  • Advantages: Simplifies backup management with policy-based automation, ensuring backups are consistent and reliable.

  • Disadvantages: Limited flexibility compared to some open-source alternatives.

Scalability:

  • Advantages: Handles growing data needs efficiently without significant performance degradation, leveraging Azure's scalable infrastructure.

  • Disadvantages: Costs can increase with higher storage usage, requiring monitoring and optimization.

Recovery Capabilities:

  • Advantages: Provides efficient and rapid data recovery, minimizing downtime and data loss in the event of incidents.

  • Disadvantages: Recovery speed might depend on the volume of data and Azure network performance.

Conclusion

Implementing Azure Backup for our Kubernetes clusters in AKS offers a seamless, integrated solution that leverages our existing Azure infrastructure. This choice simplifies backup management through automated policies, scalable storage, and efficient recovery processes. While alternatives like Velero and Restic with Stash offer viable open-source options, they introduce additional complexity and require more integration effort with Azure services.

Azure Backup's native integration with AKS ensures smoother operations, reduced management overhead, and rapid recovery capabilities, making it an optimal choice for our backup strategy. This proactive approach enhances our data resilience, safeguarding our applications and services against data loss and ensuring continuity in case of incidents.

References