How to configure automatic backups

This guide explains how to enable and configure automatic backups for your MySQL database on Hikube. Backups use Restic and are stored in an S3-compatible bucket, enabling reliable restoration in case of data loss.

Prerequisites

• kubectl configured with your Hikube kubeconfig
• A MySQL instance deployed on your tenant
• An accessible S3-compatible bucket (Hikube Object Storage, AWS S3, etc.)
• S3 access credentials (Access Key and Secret Key)

Steps

1. Prepare S3 storage and credentials

Before configuring backups, make sure you have the following information:

Information	Example	Description
S3 Region	eu-central-1	S3 bucket region
S3 Bucket	s3.hikube.cloud/mysql-backups	Full bucket path
Access Key	HIKUBE123ACCESSKEY	S3 access key
Secret Key	HIKUBE456SECRETKEY	S3 secret key
Restic password	SuperStrongResticPassword!	Password for backup encryption

warning

Keep the Restic password in a safe place. Without this password, it is impossible to restore encrypted backups.

2. Configure the backup section in the manifest

Create or modify your MySQL manifest to include the backup section:

mysql-with-backup.yaml

apiVersion: apps.cozystack.io/v1alpha1
kind: MariaDB
metadata:
  name: example
spec:
  replicas: 3
  size: 10Gi
  resourcesPreset: small

  users:
    appuser:
      password: strongpassword
      maxUserConnections: 100

  databases:
    myapp:
      roles:
        admin:
          - appuser

  backup:
    enabled: true
    schedule: "0 2 * * *"                                              # Tous les jours à 2h du matin
    cleanupStrategy: "--keep-last=3 --keep-daily=3 --keep-within-weekly=1m"
    s3Region: eu-central-1
    s3Bucket: s3.hikube.cloud/mysql-backups
    s3AccessKey: "HIKUBE123ACCESSKEY"
    s3SecretKey: "HIKUBE456SECRETKEY"
    resticPassword: "SuperStrongResticPassword!"

Backup parameters

Parameter	Description	Default value
backup.enabled	Enable backups	false
backup.schedule	Cron schedule	"0 2 * * *"
backup.s3Region	AWS S3 region	"us-east-1"
backup.s3Bucket	S3 bucket	-
backup.s3AccessKey	S3 access key	-
backup.s3SecretKey	S3 secret key	-
backup.resticPassword	Restic password	-
backup.cleanupStrategy	Retention strategy	"--keep-last=3 --keep-daily=3 --keep-within-weekly=1m"

tip

Adapt the schedule to your needs. Some common examples:

• "0 2 * * *": every day at 2 AM
• "0 */6 * * *": every 6 hours
• "0 3 * * 0": every Sunday at 3 AM

3. Apply the configuration

kubectl apply -f mysql-with-backup.yaml

4. Adapt the retention strategy

The cleanupStrategy uses Restic retention options. Here are some examples:

Strategy	Description
--keep-last=3	Keep the last 3 snapshots
--keep-daily=7	Keep 1 snapshot per day for 7 days
--keep-weekly=4	Keep 1 snapshot per week for 4 weeks
--keep-within-weekly=1m	Keep all weekly snapshots from the last month

Example for a production environment:

mysql-production-backup.yaml

apiVersion: apps.cozystack.io/v1alpha1
kind: MariaDB
metadata:
  name: production
spec:
  replicas: 3
  resourcesPreset: medium
  size: 50Gi

  backup:
    enabled: true
    schedule: "0 */6 * * *"
    cleanupStrategy: "--keep-last=7 --keep-daily=7 --keep-weekly=4"
    s3Region: eu-central-1
    s3Bucket: s3.hikube.cloud/mysql-backups
    s3AccessKey: "PROD_ACCESS_KEY"
    s3SecretKey: "PROD_SECRET_KEY"
    resticPassword: "ProdResticPassword!"

Verification

Verify that the configuration has been applied correctly:

kubectl get mariadb example -o yaml | grep -A 10 backup

Expected output:

  backup:
    enabled: true
    schedule: "0 2 * * *"
    s3Region: eu-central-1
    s3Bucket: s3.hikube.cloud/mysql-backups
    cleanupStrategy: "--keep-last=3 --keep-daily=3 --keep-within-weekly=1m"

note

The first backup will be executed according to the cron schedule defined in schedule. You can check available snapshots with the Restic command (see the guide How to restore a backup).

Going further

• API Reference: complete list of backup parameters
• How to restore a backup: restoration procedure from a Restic snapshot