Restore a backup

Autopilot Standard

This page describes how to restore a backup into a cluster in Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) using the Backup for GKE service.

This page is for Backup and disaster recovery (DR) administrators who manage and perform backup and recoveries across the organization. To learn more about common roles and example tasks that we reference in Google Cloud content, see Common GKE Enterprise user roles and tasks.

Introduction

After a backup is created, administrators can create a restore for that backup, which initiates the restoration of some portion of the contents of that backup into a target cluster (which might be different from the cluster from which the backup was originally created).

When a backup is restored, the Kubernetes resources are re-created in the target cluster. After the resources are created, actual restoration of workload capability is subject to the regular cluster reconciliation process (for example, Pods are scheduled to Nodes and then started on those Nodes).

Before you begin

Plan a set of restores.

Required roles

To get the permissions that you need to create and manage a restore, ask your administrator to grant you the Backup for GKE Restore Admin (roles/gkebackup.restoreAdmin), which is a subset of Backup for GKE Admin (roles/gkebackup.admin) IAM role on your project. For more information about granting roles, see Manage access to projects, folders, and organizations.

You might also be able to get the required permissions through custom roles or other predefined roles.

Create a restore

You can restore a backup by using the Google Cloud CLI or the Google Cloud console.

gcloud

To restore a backup, run the following command:

gcloud beta container backup-restore restores create RESTORE \
    --project=PROJECT_ID \
    --location=LOCATION \
    --restore-plan=RESTORE_PLAN \
    --backup=BACKUP

Replace the following:

RESTORE: the name of the restore that you want to create.
PROJECT_ID: the ID of your Google Cloud project.
LOCATION: the compute region of the parent restore plan.
RESTORE_PLAN: the name of the parent restore plan this restore is derived from.
BACKUP: the backup to restore (must be located in the backup plan to which the parent restore plan refers):
- projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/backupPlans/BACKUP_PLAN/backups/BACKUP

For the full list of options, refer to the gcloud beta container backup-restore restores create documentation.

The restore operation completes after all Kubernetes resources are successfully restored from the backup. You must validate that all the applications are running after the restore.

Console

Use the following instructions to create a restore in the Google Cloud console:

Go to the Google Kubernetes Engine page in the Google Cloud console.

Go to Google Kubernetes Engine
In the navigation menu, click Backup for GKE.
Click the Backups tab.
In the list of backups, find the backup that you want to restore and click Set up a restore.
Choose a restore plan from the list of plans that apply to this backup.
Enter a name and optional description for the restore.
Click Restore.

The restore operation completes after all Kubernetes resources are successfully restored from the backup. You must validate that all the applications are running after the restore.

View a restore

View a restore and its details by using the gcloud CLI or the Google Cloud console.

gcloud

To list the restores for a restore plan, run the following command:

gcloud beta container backup-restore restores list \
    --project=PROJECT_ID \
    --location=LOCATION \
    --restore-plan=RESTORE_PLAN

For list commands only, you can provide - as the value for any parameters except PROJECT_ID. The - value acts as a wildcard. The - value is the default for any parameter if you don't specify a command-line option or set a property.

For the full list of options, refer to the gcloud beta container backup-restore restores list documentation.

To see the details of a restore, run the following command:

gcloud beta container backup-restore restores describe RESTORE \
    --project=PROJECT_ID \
    --location=LOCATION \
    --restore-plan=RESTORE_PLAN

For the full list of options, refer to the gcloud beta container backup-restore restores describe documentation.

Console

Use the following instructions to view a restore and its details in the Google Cloud console:

Go to the Google Kubernetes Engine page in the Google Cloud console.

Go to Google Kubernetes Engine
In the navigation menu, click Backup for GKE.
Click the Restores tab.
In the list of restores, click the restore name and view its details.

View a volume restore

A volume restore is a record of a volume restoration. This resource is automatically created and managed by the agent as part of the restore operation.

View a volume restore and its details by using the gcloud CLI.

gcloud

To list all the volume restores for a restore, run the following command:

gcloud beta container backup-restore volume-restores list \
    --project=PROJECT_ID \
    --location=LOCATION \
    --restore-plan=RESTORE_PLAN \
    --restore=RESTORE

For the full list of options, refer to the gcloud beta container backup-restore volume-restores list documentation.

To see the details of a volume restore, run the following command:

gcloud beta container backup-restore volume-restores describe VOLUME_RESTORE \
    --project=PROJECT_ID \
    --location=LOCATION \
    --restore-plan=RESTORE_PLAN \
    --restore=RESTORE

For the full list of options, refer to the gcloud beta container backup-restore volume-restores describe documentation.

Update a restore

Update a restore by using the gcloud CLI or the Google Cloud console.

gcloud

To update a restore, for example by adding a new description, run the following command:

gcloud beta container backup-restore restores update RESTORE\
    --project=PROJECT_ID \
    --location=LOCATION \
    --restore-plan=RESTORE_PLAN \
    --description=DESCRIPTION

For the full list of options, refer to the gcloud beta container backup-restore restores update documentation.

Console

Use the following instructions to update a restore in the Google Cloud console:

Go to the Google Kubernetes Engine page in the Google Cloud console.

Go to Google Kubernetes Engine
In the navigation menu, click Backup for GKE.
Click the Restore tab.
In the list of restores, click the restore name.
In the Description field, click Edit. Update the description, and then click Save changes.

Delete a restore

Unlike backups, restores don't have associated artifacts. After you restore a backup, you can delete the restore without impacting either the target cluster or the source backup.

You can delete a restore by using the gcloud CLI or the Google Cloud console.

gcloud

To delete a restore, run the following command:

gcloud beta container backup-restore restores delete RESTORE \
    --project=PROJECT_ID \
    --location=LOCATION \
    --restore-plan=RESTORE_PLAN

For the full list of options, refer to the gcloud beta container backup-restore restores delete documentation.

Console

Use the following instructions to delete a restore in the Google Cloud console:

Go to the Google Kubernetes Engine page in the Google Cloud console.

Go to Google Kubernetes Engine
In the navigation menu, click Backup for GKE.
Click the Restores tab.
In the list of restores, click the restore name.
Click Delete.
Type the restore plan name and then click Delete in the confirmation dialog.

What's next

Learn more about planning a set of restores.