Hey everyone,
I've been having some issues with Velero since the recent updates, especially now that it seems VMware has really messed things up. I'm on the lookout for a reliable alternative backup solution, preferably open source since I'd like to use it in my home lab.
I'm not too keen on the built-in solutions from cloud providers like Azure, especially since I don't operate in the cloud environment. I feel like there are limited options out there—maybe I'm just missing something.
For context, after updating my clusters to Kubernetes version 1.34, Velero hasn't been functioning properly due to a problematic kubectl image from Bitnami that no longer works. The GitHub issue addressing this has been lingering without resolution, and it's led to a loss of trust in Velero for critical backups.
Thanks for your help!
4 Answers
You can also try using the Docker image from Bitnami's legacy repo for kubectl. Just add these helm options for Velero while you're waiting for things to stabilize: `repository: docker.io/bitnamilegacy/kubectl` and `tag: 1.33.4`. It might help temporarily.
For your needs, maybe take a look at other open source tools that are specifically designed for backup. Tools like Restic or Borg can back up to S3 or local storage, but they will require some setup to hook into Kubernetes. Just be sure to consider what features you really need.
If you're looking for a lightweight option, consider pv-migrate. It's good for moving Persistent Volumes around, but as a backup tool, it lacks features like scheduling and encryption. It could be useful for one-time migrations, but you'd definitely need something else if you want comprehensive backup capabilities, especially for Kubernetes objects like secrets and configs.
I agree! For a robust backup solution, you'd want something that encrypts the data and allows for regular incremental backups. Velero's ability to back up Kubernetes resources along with persistent data has been crucial for me.
You might want to check out K8up. It's pretty straightforward, and while it might not be the most polished tool out there, it gets the job done for personal use. I moved away from Velero because I struggled to set it up with non-AWS S3 buckets, and K8up has worked fine for me on my k3s cluster. Just keep an eye out for those occasional bugs!
Thanks for the tip! I'll try that as I find a long-term solution, but I really hope Velero sorts its issues soon.