Attention: Filestore Backup relies on CSI VolumeSnapshot which is a Beta feature in k8s enabled by default in Kubernetes 1.17+. CSI VolumeSnapshot should not be confused with Filestore Backups. Filestore CSI driver leverages CSI VolumeSnapshot capability to support Filestore Backups by specifying a type parameter in the VolumeSnapshotClass object.

Attention: VolumeSnapshot is only available in the driver version "master".

Prerequisites:: Volume Snapshot CRDs and snapshot-controller needs to be installed for the backup example to work. Please refer to this for additional details. GKE clusters 1.17+ come pre-installed with the above mentioned CRDs and snapshot controller, see here.

A Filestore backup is a copy of a file share that includes all file data and metadata of the file share from the point in time when the backup is created. It works for Basic HDD, Basic SSD, and Enterprise tier instances. The tier and volume size of the backup must match the source volume. Once a backup of a file share is created, the original file share can be modified or deleted without affecting the backup. A file share can be completely restored from a backup as a new Filestore instance or onto an existing file share. For more details refer to this documentation.

Refer to the Filestore Quotas page for limits on the number and frequency of backups.

The CSI Snapshot feature is leveraged to create Filestore Backups. By specifying a type: backup field in the VolumeSnapshotClass parameters, filestore CSI driver understands how to initiate a backup for a Filestore instance backed by the Persistent Volume. In future release when Filestore snapshots will be supported, an appropriate type parameter will be set in the VolumeSnapshotClass to indicate Filestore snapshots.

1. Create StorageClass

   If you haven't created a StorageClass yet, create one first:

   $ kubectl apply -f ./examples/kubernetes/backups-restore/sc.yaml

   If a non-default network is used for the filestore instance, provide a network parameter to the storage class.

   apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
   kind: StorageClass
   metadata:
   name: csi-filestore
   provisioner: filestore.csi.storage.gke.io
   parameters:
     network: <network name> # Change this network as per the deployment
   volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
   allowVolumeExpansion: true

2. Create default VolumeSnapshotClass

   $ kubectl create -f ./examples/kubernetes/backups-restore/backup-volumesnapshotclass.yaml

3. Create source PVC and Pod

   kubectl create -f ./examples/kubernetes/backups-restore/source-pod-pvc.yaml

4. Wait for PVC to reach 'Bound' status.

   $ kubectl get pvc source-pvc
   NAME         STATUS   VOLUME                                     CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   STORAGECLASS    AGE
   source-pvc   Bound    pvc-62e3d593-8844-483b-8884-bb315678b3b7   1Ti        RWX            csi-filestore   27m

5. Generate sample data

   The source PVC is mounted into /demo/data directory of this pod. This pod will create a file sample-file.txt in /demo/data directory. Check if the file has been created successfully:

   $ kubectl exec source-pod -- ls /demo/data/

   The output should be:

   lost+found
   sample-file.txt
   

6. Create a VolumeSnapshot of the source PVC (This internally generates Filestore instance backup)

   $ kubectl create -f ./examples/kubernetes/backups-restore/backup.yaml

7. Verify that VolumeSnapshot has been created and it is ready to use:

   $ kubectl get volumesnapshot backup-source-pvc -o yaml

   The output is similar to this:

   apiVersion: snapshot.storage.k8s.io/v1
   kind: VolumeSnapshot
   metadata:
   creationTimestamp: "2020-11-13T03:04:03Z"
   finalizers:
   - snapshot.storage.kubernetes.io/volumesnapshot-as-source-protection
   - snapshot.storage.kubernetes.io/volumesnapshot-bound-protection
   ...
   spec:
       source:
           persistentVolumeClaimName: source-pvc
       volumeSnapshotClassName: csi-gcp-filestore-backup-snap-class
   status:
       boundVolumeSnapshotContentName: snapcontent-191fde18-5eb3-4bb1-9f64-0356765c3f9f
       creationTime: "2020-11-13T03:04:39Z"
       readyToUse: true
       restoreSize: 1Ti

8. Restore the VolumeSnapshot into a new PVC and create a pod to use the PVC:

   Create a new PVC. Specify spec.dataSource section to restore from VolumeSnapshot backup-source-pvc.

   $ kubectl create -f ./examples/kubernetes/backups-restore/restored-pod-pvc.yaml

9. Wait for PVC to reach 'Bound' status.

   $ kubectl get pvc restored-pvc
   NAME           STATUS   VOLUME                                     CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   STORAGECLASS    AGE
   restored-pvc   Bound    pvc-53ced778-6a28-4960-aeb7-82b7bb093981   1Ti        RWX            csi-filestore   4m39s

10. Verify sample data has been restored:

    Check data has been restored in /demo/data directory:

    $ kubectl exec restored-pod -- ls /demo/data/

    Verify that the output is:

    lost+found
    sample-file.txt