CouchDB Backup and Restore

# CouchDB Backup and Restore

This guide provides detailed procedures for backing up and restoring CouchDB in on-premises Kubernetes PCA deployments.

Prerequisites

• kubectl access to the PCA cluster
• SSH access to cluster nodes (for restoration)
• Familiarity with OpenEBS local storage paths

Backup Overview

CouchDB backups run automatically via a Kubernetes CronJob at 01:00 UTC daily. Backups are stored in MinIO at:

<bucket-name>/couchDB/v2/couchDB-Backup/

Verify the backup job exists:

kubectl get cronjobs -n pca | grep couchdb

Manually Trigger a Backup

From any pod with curl (such as airflow):

kubectl exec -it -n pca airflow-0 -- sh
curl -vvv -f couchdb:10003/backup

Expected output: Successfully ran Backup on couchDB

Access Backups in MinIO

1. Connect to the MinIO pod:

   kubectl exec -it -n pca pca-minio-pool-0-0 -- sh
   . /tmp/minio/config.env
   

2. Configure the MinIO client:

   mc alias set --insecure pca https://localhost:9000 "$MINIO_ROOT_USER" "$MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD"
   

3. List available backups:

   mc --insecure ls pca/<bucket-name>/couchDB/v2/couchDB-Backup/
   

4. Copy a backup to the pod filesystem:

   mc --insecure cp -r \
     pca/<bucket-name>/couchDB/v2/couchDB-Backup/<backup-file>.tar \
     /tmp/
   

Export Backup to Admin VM

The MinIO image does not include tar, so use cat to stream files:

1. Set the backup filename:

   export CDB_BKUP="<backup-timestamp>.tar"
   mkdir COUCH_RESTORE
   

2. Copy the file:

   kubectl exec -n pca pca-minio-pool-0-0 -- cat /tmp/$CDB_BKUP > COUCH_RESTORE/$CDB_BKUP
   

3. Verify the checksum:

   kubectl exec -n pca pca-minio-pool-0-0 -- cksum /tmp/$CDB_BKUP
   cksum COUCH_RESTORE/$CDB_BKUP
   

   Checksums must match exactly.

Identify Storage Location

Embedded and air-gapped deployments use OpenEBS local storage. PVC data resides on the node filesystem.

1. Identify the CouchDB pod's node and PVC:

   kubectl get pods -n pca -o wide | grep couchdb-0
   kubectl get pvc -n pca | grep couchdb-data-couchdb-0
   

2. Set environment variables:

   export CDB_HOST=<node-name>
   export CDB_PVC=<pvc-id>
   

3. Copy the backup to the target node:

   scp -r COUCH_RESTORE/$CDB_BKUP \
     ${CDB_HOST}:/var/lib/embedded-cluster/openebs-local/$CDB_PVC/
   

   Note: If CouchDB runs on the admin node, use mv instead of scp.

Restore Procedure

Warning: This procedure replaces existing data. Ensure you have a valid backup before proceeding.

1. Extract the backup on the target node:

   cd /var/lib/embedded-cluster/openebs-local/
   tar xvf <backup-file>.tar
   

2. Scale down CouchDB:

   kubectl scale statefulset -n pca couchdb --replicas=0
   

3. Back up and replace the data directory:

   cd /var/lib/embedded-cluster/openebs-local/
   cp -r "$CDB_PVC" "${CDB_PVC}_$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S)"
   mv data "$CDB_PVC"
   

4. Scale up CouchDB:

   kubectl scale statefulset -n pca couchdb --replicas=1
   

5. Monitor startup:

   kubectl logs -f -n pca couchdb-0
   

Post-Restore Validation

1. Access the CouchDB UI to verify connectivity
2. Confirm data is present and processing correctly
3. Check application logs for errors

Related Topics

• Backup and Restore Overview (Kubernetes)
• PostgreSQL Backup and Restore
• Elasticsearch Backup and Restore