Velero data store in GCP bucket

[au-fetch]

I am currently using Velero version 1.14.0 and would like to store my data in a GCP bucket instead of using snapshots.

Is this possible? If so, could you please explain how to achieve it?

[kaovilai]

I assume you mean disk PV/PVC data because other parts of velero are already using buckets.

You can opt to use Data Mover or File System Backup. Please refer to each installation instructions and usage example.

[Mr-Philipp]

Thank you for your clarification. I got it working so that it creates a kopia directoy in the bucket with data in it. I need to try the restore tough. Is this a file based export or a snapshot blob export?

I am still a bit confused about all the different moving parts in velero because for GCP it seems like i can trigger the snapshot with the GCP plugin only like in this installation:

velero install \
    --provider gcp \
    --plugins velero/velero-plugin-for-gcp:v1.12.0 \
    --bucket $BUCKET \
    --secret-file ./credentials-velero \

or i can use the CSI plugin instead (?)

velero install \
    --provider gcp \
    --plugins velero/velero-plugin-for-gcp:v1.12.0 \ 
    --bucket $BUCKET \
    --secret-file ./credentials-velero \
    --use-node-agent \
    --features=EnableCSI

so if the DataMover Feature is useless (why is it useless?), when do i need the --use-node-agent or the --use-volume-snapshots=true or --use-volume-snapshots=false switch?

and for creating backups do i need to use --snapshot-move-data or not?

also i tried --default-volumes-to-fs-backup which seems to do a file-based backup and also creates the kopia directory. is it then any different then the "snapshot-export kopia" export or is it both file based?

What i would like to use is a snapshot export (not file based) to objcet storage with auto-cleanup of the google disk snapshots. I am still not sure what EXACTLY would be the optimal setup.

[kaovilai]

so if the DataMover Feature is useless

We only mean that DataMover is not a valid parameter of --features=. Whichever documentation you got that from needs to be corrected.

[kaovilai]

Please follow https://velero.io/docs/v1.16/csi-snapshot-data-movement/ exactly. It outlines the velero install requirements and flags to use during velero backup create

[Mr-Philipp]

thank you for the response. It's a bit confusing but i got it working now. for everyone else wondering: DataMover is not a valid parameteras @kaovilai already mentioned. Also EnableCSI, use-node-agent as well as the gcp plugin is needed.