1 - Getting started

Getting started with Resiliency Operator

1.1 - Intro

What is Resiliency Operator and why it could be useful for you

Astronetes Resiliency Operator is a Kubernetes operator that improves the resiliency of cloud native platforms. It acts as the orchestrator that setup and manages the resiliency of Cloud Native platforms, automating processes and synchronizing data and configurations across multiple technologies.

Astronetes Resiliency Operator helps you to accomplish the following:

  • Enable active-active architectures for cloud native platforms
  • Automate Disaster Recovery plans for cloud native platforms

Use cases

Active-Active architectures

Active-Active architectures are a proven approach to ensure the required resiliency for mission cricital applications. It protects the application from an outage caused by both technical and operational failures in the platform and its dependencies.

Astronetes Resiliency Operator empowers organizations to deploy and maintain applications across multiple clusters or regions, ensuring maximum uptime and seamless user experiences even during failures or maintenance events.

Disaster Recovery

Business continuity refers to the ability that a particular business can overcome potentially disruptive events with minimal impact in its operations. This no small ordeal requires the definition, implementation of plans, processes and systems while involving complete collaboration and synchronization between multiple actors and departments.

This collection of assets and processes compose the company’s Disaster Recovery. Its goal is to reduce the downtime and data loss in the case of a catastrophic, unforeseen situation. Disaster Recovery needs answer two questions:

  • How much data can we lose? - Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
  • How long can we take to recover the system? - Recovery Time Objective (RTO)

Resiliency Operator provides a solution to improve the business continuity of Cloud Native Platforms by offering a tool that improves resiliency that is transparent in day-to-day operations while having minimal impact in technical maintenance.

Depending on the organisation, system and project necessities resiliency can be improved with a combination of real time synchronization across two or more instances and with a backup and restore strategy. Resiliency Operator implements both methods of data replication across multiple technologies and allows for flexibility on where and how is the information stored.

Business Continuity plans often include complex tests to validate backups content and that they can be restored at any time. To help with these requirements Resiliency Operator includes monitorization systems so that operational teams can make sure that the data is being correctly synchronized and its state in destination.

1.2 - Release notes

Resiliency Operator Release Notes

v1.2.1

  • Add custom-image plugin.

2 - Architecture

Astronetes Resiliency Operator architecture

2.1 - Overview

Resiliency Operator architecture

Resiliency Operator acts as the orchestrator that setup and manages the resiliency of Cloud Native platforms, automating processes and synchronizing data and configurations across multiple technologies.

It is built with a set of plugins that enables to integrate many technologies and managed services in the resiliency framework.

Key concepts

Assets

Platforms, technologies and services can be linked to the Resiliency Operator to be included in the resiliency framewor, like Kubernetes clusters and databases.

Synchronizations

The synchronization of data and configurations can be configured according to the platform requirements.

Synchronization NameDescription
SynchronizationSynchronize data and configurations only once.
SynchronizationPlanSynchronize data and configurations based on a scheduled period.
LiveSynchronizationReal-time synchronization of data and configurations.

Automation

The Resiliency Operator allows the automation of tasks to be executed when an incident or a disaster occurs.

2.2 - Components

Resiliency Operator Components

Astronetes Resiliency Operator is software that can be deployed on Kubernetes based clusters. It is composed by a set of controllers that automate and orchestrate the resiliency of Cloud Native platforms.

Operator

ControllersDescription
BucketOrchestrate the Bucket obejcts.
DatabaseOrchestrate the Database obejcts.
Kubernetes ClusterOrchestrate the KubernetesCluster obejcts.
Live SynchronizationOrchestrate the LiveSynchronization obejcts.
Synchronization PlanOrchestrate the SynchronizationPlan obejcts.
SynchronizationOrchestrate the Synchronization obejcts.
Task RunOrchestrate the TaskRun obejcts.
TaskOrchestrate the Task obejcts.

2.3 - Audit

Parameters built into Resiliency Operator to track when a change was made and whom did it

Auditing and version control is an important step when configuring resources. Knowing when a change was made and the account that applied it can be determinative in an ongoing investigation to solve an issue or a configuration mismanagement.

Audit annotations

The following annotation are attached to every resource that belongs to Resiliency Operator Custom Resources:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  annotations:
    audit.astronetes.io/last-update-time: "<date>"         # Time at which the last update was applied.
    audit.astronetes.io/last-update-user-uid: "<uid-hash>" # Hash representing the Unique Identifier of the user that applied the change.
    audit.astronetes.io/last-update-username: "<username>" # Human readable name of the user that applied the change. 

Example:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  annotations:
    audit.astronetes.io/last-update-time: "2024-02-09T14:05:30.67520525Z"
    audit.astronetes.io/last-update-user-uid: "b3fd2a87-0547-4ff7-a49f-cce903cc2b61"
    audit.astronetes.io/last-update-username: system:serviceaccount:preproduction:microservice1

Fields are updated only when a change to the fields .spec, .labels or .annotations are detected. Status modifications by the operator are not recorded.

3 - Installation

Install the Resiliency Operator

3.1 - Preparing to install

Setup for the necessary tools to install the operator.

Prerequisites

  • Get familiarized with the architecture reading this section.
  • The Secret provided by AstroKube to access the Image Registry.
  • The Secret provided by AstroKube with the license key.

Cluster requiremenets

Supported platforms

Astronetes Resiliency Operator is vendor agnostic meaning that any Kubernetes distribution such as Google Kubernetes Engine, Azure Kubernetes Service, OpenShift or self-managed bare metal installations can run it.

This is the certified compatibility matrix:

PlatformMin VersionMax Version
AKS1.241.29
EKS1.241.28
GKE1.241.28
OpenShift Container Platform4.114.14

Permissions

To install the Resiliency Operator on a cluster, you need to have Cluster Admin permissions in that cluster.

The Resiliency Operator needs read access to the assets being protected and read/write access to the backup assets. Refer to plugin documentation for details.

Kuberentes requirements

Software

Networking

  • Allow traffic to the Image Registry quay.io/astrokube using the mechanism provided by the chosen distribution.

OpenShift requirements

Software

Networking

apiVersion: config.openshift.io/v1
kind: Image
metadata:
    ...
spec:
  registrySources: 
    allowedRegistries: 
    ...
    - quay.io/astrokube

3.2 - Installing on OpenShift

Steps to install the Resiliency Operator in OpenShift

The following operations need to executed in both the management and destination cluster.

Prerequisites

Process

1. Create Namespace

Create the Namespace where the operator will be installed:

oc create namespace resiliency-operator

2. Setup registry credentials

Create the Secret that stores the credentials to the AstroKube image registry:

oc -n resiliency-operator create -f pull-secret.yaml

3. Setup license key

Create the Secret that stores the license key:

oc -n resiliency-operator create -f license-key.yaml

4. Install the operator

Install the CRDs:

oc apply -f https://astronetes.io/deploy/resiliency-operator/v1.2.1/crds.yaml

Install the operator:

oc -n resiliency-operator apply -f https://astronetes.io/deploy/resiliency-operator/v1.2.1/operator-openshift.yaml

3.3 - Uninstalling on OpenShift

Steps to uninstall the Resiliency Operator on OpenShift

Process

1. Delete Operator objects

Delete the synchronizations from the cluster:

oc delete livesynchronizations.automation.astronetes.io -A --all
oc delete synchronizationplans.automation.astronetes.io -A --all
oc delete synchronizations.automation.astronetes.io -A --all

Delete the assets from the cluster:

oc delete buckets.assets.astronetes.io -A --all
oc delete databases.assets.astronetes.io -A --all
oc delete kubernetesclusters.assets.astronetes.io -A --all

2. Remove the operator

Delete the operator:

oc -n resiliency-operator delete -f https://astronetes.io/deploy/resiliency-operator/v1.2.1/operator-openshift.yaml

Delete the CRDs:

oc delete -f https://astronetes.io/deploy/resiliency-operator/v1.2.1/crds.yaml

3. Remove registry credentials

Delete the Secret that stores the credentials to the AstroKube image registry:

oc -n resiliency-operator delete -f pull-secret.yaml

4. Remove license key

Delete the Secret that stores the license key:

oc -n resiliency-operator delete -f license-key.yaml

4 - Configure

Configure the operator

test

4.1 - Update license key

Steps to update the license key for the Resiliency Operator

There is no need to reinstall the operator when updating the license key.

Process

1. Update the license key

Update the Kubernetes Secret that stores the license key with the new license:

kubectl -n resiliency-operator apply -f new-license-key.yaml
oc -n resiliency-operator apply -f new-license-key.yaml

2. Restart the Resiliency Operator

Restart the Resiliency Operator Deployment to apply the new license:

kubectl -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-bucket-controller
kubectl -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-database-controller
kubectl -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-kubernetescluster-controller
kubectl -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-livesynchronization-controller
kubectl -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-synchronization-controller
kubectl -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-synchronizationplan-controller
kubectl -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-task-controller
kubectl -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-taskrun-controller
oc -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-bucket-controller
oc -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-database-controller
oc -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-kubernetescluster-controller
oc -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-livesynchronization-controller
oc -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-synchronization-controller
oc -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-synchronizationplan-controller
oc -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-task-controller
oc -n resiliency-operator rollout restart deployment resiliency-operator-taskrun-controller

3. Wait for the Pods restart

Wait a couple of minutes until all the Resiliency Operator Pods are restarted with the new license.

5 - Assets

Assets management

Platforms, technologies and services can be linked to the Resiliency Operator to enable process automation and data synchronization.

5.1 - Introduction

Asset introduction

An Asset is any kind of platform, technology or service that can be imported into the operator to improve its resiliency. Assets can include Kubernetes clusters and databases.

Asset types

Kubernetes Cluster

While the system is designed to be compatible with all kinds of Kubernetes clusters, official support and testing are limited to a specific list of Kubernetes distributions. This ensures that the synchronization process is reliable, consistent, and well-supported.

This is the list of officially supported Kubernetes distributions:

DistributionVersions
OpenShift Container Platform4.12+
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)1.28+
Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)1.26+
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)1.28+

Buckets

Public cloud storage containers for objects stored in simple storage service.

Databases

DatabaseVersions
Zookeeper3.6+

5.2 - Kubernetes clusters

How-to import Kubernetes clusters

Any kind of KubernetesCluster can be imported in the operator. Credentials are stored in Kubernetes secrets from which the KubernetesCluster collection access to connect to the clusters.

Requirements

  • The kubeconfig file to access the cluster

Process

1. Create secret

Get the kubeconfig file that can be used to access the cluster, and save it as kubeconfig.yaml.

Then create the Secret with the following command:

kubectl create secret generic source --from-file=kubeconfig.yaml=kubeconfig.yaml

2. Create resource

Define the KubernetesCluster resource with the following YAML, and save it as cluster.yaml:

apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: KubernetesCluster
metadata:
  name: cluster-1
spec:
  secretName: <secret_name>

Deploy the resource with the following command:

kubectl create -f cluster.yaml

5.3 - Buckets

How-to import Buckets

Buckets can be imported in the operator. Credentials are stored in Kubernetes secrets from which the KubernetesCluster collection access to connect to the clusters.

Requirements

  • The access key and the secret key to access the bucket

Process

1. Create secret

Store the following file as secret.yaml and substitute the template parameters with real ones.

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: bucket-credentials
stringData:
  accessKeyID: <access_key_id>
  secretAccessKey: <secret_access_key>

Then create the Secret with the following command:

kubectl -n <namespace_name> apply -f secret.yaml

2. Create resource

Store the following file as bucket.yaml and substitute the template parameters with real ones.

apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: Bucket
metadata:
  name: <name>
  namespace: <namespace>
spec:
  generic:
    endpoint: storage.googleapis.com
    name: <bucket_name>
    useSSL: true
    secretName: bucket-credentials

Deploy the resource with the following command:

kubectl create -f bucket.yaml

Examples

AWS S3

Secret:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: bucket-credentials
stringData:
  accessKeyID: <access_key_id>
  secretAccessKey: <secret_access_key>

Bucket:

apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: Bucket
metadata:
  name: gcp
spec:
  generic:
    endpoint: s3.<bucket-region>.amazonaws.com
    name: <bucket-name>
    useSSL: true
    secretName: bucket-credentials

Google Cloud Storage

Secret:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: bucket-credentials
stringData:
  accessKeyID: <access_key_id>
  secretAccessKey: <secret_access_key>

Bucket:

apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: Bucket
metadata:
  name: gcp-bucket
spec:
  generic:
    endpoint: storage.googleapis.com
    name: <bucket-name>
    useSSL: true
    secretName: bucket-credentials

5.4 - Databases

How-to import Databases

Databases can be imported in the operator. Credentials are stored in Kubernetes secrets from which the KubernetesCluster collection access to connect to the clusters.

Requirements

  • The database credentials

Process

Zookeeper

1. Create resource

Define the Database resource with the following YAML, and save it as database.yaml:

apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: Database
metadata:
  name: zookeeper
spec:
  zookeeper:
    client:
      servers:
        - 172.18.0.4:30181
        - 172.18.0.5:30181
        - 172.18.0.6:30181

Deploy the resource with the following command:

kubectl create -f database.yaml

6 - Synchronization

Assets management

6.1 - Introduction

Synchronization introduction

Synchronization is a critical process that enables the replication of data and configurations across different platform assets. This ensures consistency, integrity and improve the platform resiliency.

Key concepts

Source and destination

Each synchronization has at least two assets:

  • Source: the original location or system from which data and configurations are retrived.
  • Destination: the destination location or system where data and configurations are applied or updated.

Synchronization periodicity

There are three distinct types of synchronization processes designed to meet different operational needs: Synchronization, SynchronizationPlan, and LiveSynchronization.

Synchronization

The Synchronization process is designed to run once, making it ideal for one-time data alignment tasks or initial setup processes. This type of synchronization is useful when a system or component needs to be brought up-to-date with the latest data and configurations from another source without ongoing updates.

SynchronizationPlan

The SynchronizationPlan process operates similarly to a cron job, allowing synchronization tasks to be scheduled at regular intervals. This type is ideal for systems that require periodic updates to ensure data and configuration consistency over time without the need for real-time accuracy.

LiveSynchronization

LiveSynchronization provides real-time synchronization, continuously monitoring and updating data and configurations as changes occur. This type of synchronization is essential for environments where immediate consistency and up-to-date information are crucial.

This option minimises RPO and RTO due to the minimal amount of data lost before a disaster and the low overhead and wait time to restart operations in the new instance.

Resume

PeriodicityDescription
SynchronizationSynchronize data and configurations only once.
SynchronizationPlanSynchronize data and configurations based on a scheduled period.
LiveSynchronizationReal-time synchronization of data and configurations.

Prerequisites

Before initiating the Synchronization process, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

  • Both source and destiation systems have been defined as Asset.
  • There is a network connectivity between the assets and the operator.

6.2 - Kubernetes/OpenShift

Synchronization across two Kubernetes clusters.

6.2.1 - Introduction

Synchronize Kubernetes/OpenShift clusters

You can synchronize Kubernetes objects between two clusters.

Supported models

LiveSynchronization

The Kubernetes objects are syncrhonized in real-time between the defined clusters using the LiveSynchronization Kubernetes object.

Architecture

The sychronization can be executed from inside one of the clusters you want to synchronize (2-clusters architecture) or from a third clusters (3-clusters architecture).

2-clusters architecture

This configuration is recommended for training, testing, validation or when the 3-clusters option is not optimal or possible.

The currently active cluster will be the source cluster, while the passive is the destination cluster. The operator, including all the Custom Resource Definitions (CRD) and processes, is installed in the latter. The operator will listen for new resources that fulfill the requirements and clone them into the destination cluster.

The source cluster is never aware of the destination cluster and can exist and operate as normal without its presence. The destination cluster needs to have access to it through a KubernetesCluster resource.

3-clusters architecture

In addition of the already existing 2 clusters, this modality includes the management cluster. The operator synchronization workflow is delegated in it instead of depending on the destination cluster. The management cluster is in charge of reading the changes and new resources in the source cluster and syncing them to the destination. Neither source or destination cluster needs to know of the existence of the management cluster and can operate without it. Having a separate cluster that is decoupled from direct production activity lowers operational risks and eases access control to both human and software operators. The operator needs to be installed in the destination cluster as well to start the recovery process without depending on other clusters. Custom Resources that configure the synchronization are deployed in the management cluster while those only relevant when executing the recovery process are deployed in the destination cluster.

This structure fits organizations that are already depending on a management cluster for other tasks or ones that are planning to do so. Resiliency Operator does not require a standalone management cluster and can be installed and managed from an existing one.

6.2.2 - Configuring a LiveSynchronization

How to proctect the platform resources from a disaster

Introduction

A LiveSynchronization resource indicates a set of Kubernetes resource to replicate or synchronize between the source cluster and the destination cluster.

Requirements

Process

1. Configure the live synchronization

Create the livesynchronization.yaml file according to your requirements. For this example, the goal is to synchronize deployments with the disaster-recovery label set to enabled. It is also desirable that when its replication is completed that no pod is created in the destination cluster and that after a recovery is launched the deployment launches active pods again.

Let’s dissect the following YAML:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  name: livesynchronization-sample
spec:
  suspend: false
  plugin: kubernetes-objects-to-kubernetes
  config:
    sourceName: source
    destinationName: destination
    observability:
      enabled: false
    replication:
      resources:
        - group: apps
          version: v1
          resource: deployments
          transformation:
            patch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 0
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                disaster-recovery: enabled
          recoveryProcess:
            fromPatch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 1

spec.config.sourceName and spec.config.destinationName refers to the name and namespace of the KubernetesCluster resources for the corresponding clusters.

The spec.config.replication.resources is a list of the set of resources to deploy. A single LiveSynchronization can cover multiple types or groups of resources, although this example only manages deployments.

The type of the resource is defined at spec.config.replication.resources[*].resource. The filters can be located in spec.config.replication.resources[*].filters. In this case, the RecoveryPlan is matching the content of the disaster-recovery label.

The spec.config.replication.resources[*].transformation and spec.config.replication.resources[*].recoveryProcess establish the actions to take after each resource is synchronized and after they are affected by the recovery process respectively. In this case, while being replicated, each deployment will set their replicas to 0 in the destination cluster and will get back to one after a successful recovery. The resource parameters are always left intact in the source cluster.

2. Suspending and resumen a recovery plan

A keen eye might have noticed the spec.suspend parameter. In this example it is set to true to indicate that the recovery plan is inactive. An inactive or suspended recovery plan will not replicate new or existing resources until it is resumed. Resuming a recovery plan can be done by setting spec.suspend to false and applying the changes in yaml. Alternatively, a patch with kubectl will work as well and will not require the original yaml file:

kubectl patch livesynchronization <livesynchronization_name> -p '{"spec":{"suspend":false}}' --type=merge

3. Deploy the Live Synchronization

The live synchronizarion can be deployed as any other Kubernetes resource:

kubectl -n <namespace_name> apply -f livesynchronization.yaml

Additional steps

For more examples, take a look at our [samples](../../samples/kubernetes-objects-to-kubernetes" >}} “samples”).

Modifying synchronized resources.

Depending on the use case and the chosen solution for Resiliency Operator, it is convenient that resources synchronized in the destination cluster differ from the original copy. Taking as example a warm standby scenario, in order to optimize infrastructure resources, certain objects such as Deployments or Cronjobs do not need to be actively running until there is a disaster. The standby destination cluster can run with minimal computing power and autoscale as soon as the recovery process starts, reducing the required overhead expenditure.

While a resource is being synchronized into the destination cluster, its properties can be transformed to adapt them to the organization necessities. Then, if and when a disaster occurs, the resource characteristics can be restored to either its original state or an alternative one with the established recover process.

Filters

FIlters are useful to select only the exact objects to synchronize. They are set in the spec.config.replication.resources[*].filters parameter.

Name selector

The nameSelector filters by the name of the resources of the version and type indicated. The following example selects only the Configmaps that follow the regular expression config.*:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  name: livesynchronization-sample
spec:
  plugin: kubernetes-objects-to-kubernetes
  suspend: false
  config:
    sourceName: source
    destinationName: destination
    observability:
      enabled: false
    replication:
      resources:
      - version: v1
        resource: configmaps
        filters:
          nameSelector:
            regex:
              - "config.*"

This selector can also be used negatively with excludeRegex. The following example excludes every configmap that ends in .test:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  name: livesynchronization-sample
spec:
  plugin: kubernetes-objects-to-kubernetes
  suspend: false
  config:
    sourceName: source
    destinationName: destination
    observability:
      enabled: false
    replication:
      resources:
      - version: v1
        resource: configmaps
        filters:
          nameSelector:
            excludeRegex:
            - "*.test"

Namespace selector

The namespaceSelector filters resources taking in consideration the namespace they belong to. This selector is useful to synchronize entire applications if they are stored in a namespace. The following example selects every deployment that is placed in a namespace with the label disaster-recovery: enabled:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  name: livesynchronization-sample
spec:
  plugin: kubernetes-objects-to-kubernetes
  suspend: false
  config:
    sourceName: source
    destinationName: destination
    observability:
      enabled: false
    replication:
      resources:
        - group: apps
          version: v1
          resource: deployments
          filters:
            selector:
              matchLabels:
                disaster-recovery: enabled

Transformations

Transformations are set in the spec.config.replication.resources[*].transformation parameter and are managed through patches.

Patch modifications alter the underlying object definiton using the same mechanism as kubectl patch. As with jsonpatch, the allowed operations are replace, add and remove. Patches are defined in the spec.config.replication.resources[*].transformation.patch list and admits an arbitary number of modifications.

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  name: livesynchronization-sample
spec:
  ...
  config:
    ...
    replication:
      resources:
      - ...
        transformation:
          patch:
            - op: replace
              path: /spec/replicas
              value: 0
            - op: remove
              path: /spec/strategy

RecoveryProcess

The RecoveryProcess of a LiveSynchronization is executed in the case of a disaster to recover the original status of the application in the destination cluster. A resource can be either restored from the original definition stored in a bucket or by performing custom patches like with Transformations.

To restore from the original data, read the Recovering from a Bucket section. This option will disregard performed transformations and replace the parameters with those of the source cluster.

Patching when recovering is accessible at spec.config.replication.resources[*].recoveryProcess.fromPatch list and admits an arbitary number of modifications. It will act on the current state of the resource in the destination cluster, meaning it will take into consideration the transformations performed when it was synchronized unlike when recovering from original. As with jsonpatch, the allowed operations are replace, add and remove.

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  name: livesynchronization-sample
spec:
  ...
  config:
    ...
    replication:
      resources:
        - ...
          recoveryProcess:
            fromPatch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 1

6.2.3 - Recovering from a Bucket

How save objects and recover them using object storage.

Introduction

A Bucket resource indicates an Object Storage that will be used to restore original objects when recovering from a disaster.

Object Storage stores data in an unstructured format in which each entry represents an object. Unlike other storage solutions, there is not a relationship or hierarchy between the data being stored. Organizations can access their files as easy as with traditional hierarchical or tiered storage. Object Storage benefits include virtually infinite scalability and high availability of data.

Many Cloud Providers include their own flavor of Object Storage and most tools and SDKs can interact with them as their share the same interface. Resiliency Operator officially supports the following Object Storage solutions:

AWS Simple Storage Service (S3) Google Cloud Storage

Resiliency Operator can support multiple buckets in different providers as each one is managed independently.

Contents stored in a bucket

A bucket is assigned to a LiveSynchronization by setting it in a spec.config.bucketName item. It stores every synchronized object in the destination cluster with some internal control annotations added. In the case of a disaster, resources with recoveryProcess.fromOriginal.enabled equal to true will be restored using the bucket configuration.

The path of a stored object is as follows: <bucket_namespace>/<bucket_name>/<object_group-version-resource>/<object_namespace>.<object_name>.

Requirements

  • At least an instance of a ObjectStorage service in one of the supported Cloud Providers. This is commonly known as a bucket and will be referred as so in the documentation.
  • At least one pair of accessKeyID and secretAccessKey that gives both write and read permissions over all objects of the bucket. Refer to the chosen cloud provider documentation to learn how to create and extract them. It is recommended that each access key pair has only access to a single bucket.

Preparing and setting the bucket

Create the secret

Store the following file and apply it into the cluster substituting the template parameters with real ones.

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: bucket-credentials
stringData:
  accessKeyID: <access_key_id>
  secretAccessKey: <secret_access_key>

Create the Bucket

Store the following file and apply it into the cluster substituting the template parameters with real ones.

apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: Bucket
metadata:
  name: gcp
  namespace: <namespace>
spec:
  generic:
    endpoint: storage.googleapis.com
    name: <bucket_name>
    useSSL: true
    secretName: bucket-credentials

Create the LiveSynchronization

If the LiveSynchronization does not set spec.resources[x].recoveryProcess.fromOriginal.enabled equal to true, where x refers to the index of the desired resource, the contents of the bucket will not be used. For the configuration to work, make sure both the bucket reference and recovery process transformations are correctly set.

Indicating which bucket to use can accomplished by configuring the spec.config.bucketName like in the following example:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  name: livesynchronization-sample
spec:
  plugin: kubernetes-objects-to-kubernetes
  config:
    sourceName: source
    destinationName: destination
    bucketName: <bucket_object_name>
    observability:
      enabled: false
    replication:
      resources:
        - group: apps
          version: v1
          resource: deployments
          transformation:
            patch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 0
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                env: pre
          recoveryProcess:
            fromPatch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 1
        - group: apps
          version: v1
          resource: deployments
          transformation:
            patch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 0
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                env: pre-second
          recoveryProcess:
            fromPatch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 1
        - group: ""
          version: v1
          resource: services
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                env: pre
        - group: ""
          version: v1
          resource: services
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                env: pre-second
        - group: ""
          version: v1
          resource: secrets
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                env: pre

Create the secret

Store the following file and apply it into the cluster substituting the template parameters with real ones.

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: bucket-credentials
stringData:
  accessKeyID: <access_key_id>
  secretAccessKey: <secret_access_key>

Create the Bucket

Store the following file and apply it into the cluster substituting the template parameters with real ones.

S3 requires that the region in the endpoint matches the region of the target bucket. It has to be explicitely set as AWS does not infer buckets region e.g. us-east-1 for North Virginia.

apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: Bucket
metadata:
  name: gcp
spec:
  generic:
    endpoint: s3.<bucket-region>.amazonaws.com
    name: <bucket-name>
    useSSL: true
    secretName: bucket-credentials

Create the LiveSynchronization

If the Recovery Plan does not set spec.resources[x].recoveryProcess.fromOriginal.enabled equal to true, where x refers to the index of the desired resource, the contents of the bucket will not be used. For the configuration to work, make sure both the bucket reference and recovery process transformations are correctly set.

Indicating which bucket to use can accomplished by configuring the spec.BucketRef like in the following example:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  name: livesynchronization-sample
spec:
  plugin: kubernetes-objects-to-kubernetes
  config:
    sourceName: source
    destinationName: destination
    bucketName: <bucket_object_name>
    observability:
      enabled: false
    replication:
      resources:
        - group: apps
          version: v1
          resource: deployments
          transformation:
            patch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 0
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                env: pre
          recoveryProcess:
            fromPatch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 1
        - group: apps
          version: v1
          resource: deployments
          transformation:
            patch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 0
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                env: pre-second
          recoveryProcess:
            fromPatch:
              - op: replace
                path: /spec/replicas
                value: 1
        - group: ""
          version: v1
          resource: services
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                env: pre
        - group: ""
          version: v1
          resource: services
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                env: pre-second
        - group: ""
          version: v1
          resource: secrets
          filters:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                env: pre

6.2.4 - Understanding logging

How to interpret Disaster Recovery Operator log messages and manage them

Disaster Recovery Operator implements a logging system throughout all its pieces so that the end user can have visibility on the system.

JSON fields

NameDescription
levelLog level at write time.
timestampTime at which the log was written.
msgLog message.
processInformation about the process identity that generated the log.
eventIndicates if the log is referring to a create, update or delete action.
sourceObjectObject related to the source cluster that is being synchronized.
oldSourceObjectPrevious state of the sourceObject. Only applicable to update events.
sourceClusterInformation about the source managed cluster.
destinationObjectObject related to the destination cluster.
destinationObjectInformation about the destination managed cluster.
bucketRecovery bucket information.
bucketObjectPath to the object to synchronize.
lastUpdateAuditing information. More information.

Examples

An object read from the source cluster.

{
  "level": "info",
  "timestamp": "2023-11-28T18:05:26.904276629Z",
  "msg": "object read from cluster",
  "process": {
    "id": "eventslistener"
  },
  "sourceCluster": {
    "name": "source",
    "namespace": "dr-config",
    "resourceVersion": "91015",
    "uid": "3c39aaf0-4216-43a8-b23c-63f082b22436"
  },
  "sourceObject": {
    "apiGroup": "apps",
    "apiVersion": "v1",
    "name": "nginx-deployment-five",
    "namespace": "test-namespace-five",
    "resource": "deployments",
    "resourceVersion": "61949",
    "uid": "5eb6d1d1-b694-4679-a482-d453bcd5317f"
  },
  "oldSourceObject": {
    "apiGroup": "apps",
    "apiVersion": "v1",
    "name": "nginx-deployment-five",
    "namespace": "test-namespace-five",
    "resource": "deployments",
    "resourceVersion": "61949",
    "uid": "5eb6d1d1-b694-4679-a482-d453bcd5317f"
  },
  "lastUpdate": {
    "time": "2023-11-25T13:12:28.251894531Z",
    "userUID": "165d3e9f-04f4-418e-863f-07203389b51e",
    "username": "kubernetes-admin"
  },
  "event": {
    "type": "update"
  }
}

An object was uploaded to a recovery bucket.

{
  "level": "info",
  "timestamp": "2023-11-28T18:05:27.593493962Z",
  "msg": "object uploaded in bucket",
  "sourceObject": {
    "apiGroup": "apps",
    "apiVersion": "v1",
    "name": "helloworld",
    "namespace": "test-namespace-one",
    "resource": "deployments",
    "resourceVersion": "936",
    "uid": "7c2ac690-3279-43ca-b14e-57b6d57e78e1"
  },
  "oldSourceObject": {
    "apiGroup": "apps",
    "apiVersion": "v1",
    "name": "helloworld",
    "namespace": "test-namespace-one",
    "resource": "deployments",
    "resourceVersion": "936",
    "uid": "7c2ac690-3279-43ca-b14e-57b6d57e78e1"
  },
  "process": {
    "id": "processor",
    "consumerID": "event-processor-n74"
  },
  "bucket": {
    "name": "bucket-dev",
    "namespace": "dr-config",
    "resourceVersion": "91006",
    "uid": "47b50013-3058-4283-8c0d-ea3a3022a339"
  },
  "bucketObject": {
    "path": "dr-config/pre/apps-v1-deployments/test-namespace-one.helloworld"
  },
  "lastUpdate": {
    "time": "2023-11-25T13:12:29.625399813Z",
    "userUID": "165d3e9f-04f4-418e-863f-07203389b51e",
    "username": "kubernetes-admin"
  }
}

Managing logs

Messages structure vary depending on the operation that originated it.

The sourceCluster and destinationCluster are only present for operations that required direct access to either cluster. For the former, only messages originating from either the eventsListener, processor or reconciler services can include it in their logs. The latter will only be present in synchronizer or reconciler logs messages. These parameters will not be present for internal messages such as those coming from the nats since there is no direct connection with either cluster.

oldSourceObject is the previous state of the object when performing an update operation. It is not present in other types.

When the bucket and bucketObject parameters are present, the operation is performed against the indicated bucket without any involvement of the source and destination clusters. For create operations, an object was uploaded for the first time to the bucket, for updates an existing one is modified and for delete an object was deleted from the specified bucket.

These characteristics can be exploited to improve log searches by narrowing down the messages to those that are relevant at the moment. Serving as an example, the following command will output only those logs that affect the source managed cluster by filtering the messages that lack the sourceCluster.

kubectl -n dr-config logs pre-eventslistener-74bc689665-fwsjc | jq '. | select(.sourceCluster != null)'

This could be useful when trying to debug and solve connection issues that might arise.

Log messages

The log message is located in the msg parameter. It can be read and interpreted to establish the severity of the log. The following tables group every different log message depending on whether it should be treated as error or informative.

Error messages

msg
“error reading server groups and resources”
“error reading resources for group version”
“error getting namespace from cluster”
“error creating namespace in cluster”
“error getting object from cluster”
“error creating object in cluster”
“error updating object in cluster”
“error listing objects in cluster”
“error deleting object in cluster”
“error uploading object in bucket”
“error deleting object form bucket”
“error getting object from bucket”

Informative messages

msg
“reading server groups and resources”
“server group and resources read from cluster”
“reading resources for group version”
“resource group version not found”
“group resource version found”
“reading namespace from cluster”
“namespace not found in cluster”
“namespace read from cluster”
“creating namespace from cluster”
“namespace already exists in cluster”
“namespace created in cluster”
“reading object from cluster”
“object not found in cluster”
“object read from cluster”
“creating object in cluster”
“object created in cluster”
“updating object in cluster”
“object updated in cluster”
“deleting object in cluster”
“object deleted in cluster”
“listing objects in cluster”
“list objects not found in cluster”
“listed objects in cluster”
“uploading object in bucket”
“object uploaded in bucket”
“deleting object from bucket”
“object deleted from bucket”
“getting object from bucket”
“object got from bucket”
“listing object from bucket”

6.2.5 - Resynchronization

Synchronized resources reconciliation between source and destination cluster.

Introduction

Due to particular circumstances it might be possible that there are objects that were not synchronized from the source cluster to the destination cluster. To cover this case, Resiliency Operator offers a reconciliation process that adds, deletes or updates objects in the destination cluster if its state differs from the source.

Architecture

Reconciliation is performed at the LiveSynchronization level. Every Live Synchronization is in charge of their covered objects and that they are up to date with the specification. Reconciliation is started by two components, EventsListener and Reconciler. The former is in charge of additive reconciliation and the latter of substractive reconciliation.

Additive reconciliation

Refers to the reconciliation of missing objects that are present in the source cluster but, for any reason, are not present or are not up to date in the destination cluster. The entry point is the EventsListener service which receives events with the current state in the source cluster of all the objects covered by the Recovery Plan with a period of one hour by default.

These resync events are then treated like regular events and follow the syncronization communication flow. If the object does not exist in the destination cluster, the Synchronizer will apply it. In the case of updates, only those with a resourceVersion greater than the existing one for that object will be applied, updating the definition of said object.

Substractive reconciliation

In the case that an object was deleted in the source cluster but it was not in the destination, the Additive Reconciliation will not detect it. The source cluster can send events containing the current state of its existing components, but not of those that ceased to exist in it.

For that, the Reconciler is activated with a period of one hour by default. It compares the state of the objects covered the Recovery Plan in both source and destination clusters. If a change is found, it creates a delete event in the NATS. This event is then processed as an usual delete event throughout the rest of the communication process.

Modifying the periodic interval

By default, the resynchronization process will be launched every hour. It can be changed by modifying the value at spec.config.resyncPeriod in the LiveSynchronization object. The admitted format is %Hh%Mm%Ss e.g. 1h0m0s for intervals of exactly one hour. Modifying this variable updates the schedule for both additive and substractive reconciliations.

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: LiveSynchronization
metadata:
  name: resync-3h-25m-12s
spec:
  ...
  config:
    replication:
      resyncPeriod: 3h25m12s

6.2.6 - Configuration reference

Plugin parameters and accepted values

LiveSynchronization

Configuration

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
sourceNameKubernetes Cluster acting as sourcestringyes
destinationNameKubernetes Cluster acting as destinationstringyes
bucketNameBucket name to upload the synchronization contentsstringno
replicationConfiguration of the plugin synchronizationUserConfigyes
observabilityConfiguration of the observability componentsObservabilityConfigno
componentsPlugin component managementComponentsno

UserConfig

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
resyncPeriodPeriod to activate resynchronizationTimestamp with (HH)h(mm)m(ss)s formatno
resourcesResources to synchronizeList of Resourceyes
forceNamespaceCreationForce namespace creation when applying the objectbooleanno

Resource

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
groupGroup of the resourcestringno
versionVersion of the resourcestringyes
resourceKind of the resourcestringyes
transformationTransformations to applyTransformationno
filtersFilters to applyFiltersno
recoveryProcessActions to execute while recoveringRecoveryProcessno

Transformation

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
patchOptionsPatch optionsPatchOptsno
patchPatches to applyList of PatchOperationno

PatchOpts

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
skipIfNotFoundOnDeleteDetermines if errors should be ignored when trying to remove an field that doesn’t exist.boolno

PatchOperation

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
opOperations to apply. Accepted values are “replace” and “delete”stringyes
pathPath of the object to modifystringyes
valueValue to include if applicableJSONyes

Filters

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
selectorResource selectorKubernetes LabelSelectorno
namespaceSelectorResource selector based on namespacesKubernetes LabelSelectorno

RecoveryProcess

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
patchOptionsPatch optionsPatchOptsno
fromPatchPath of the object to modifyList of PatchOperationno
fromOriginalOptions to recover from a disaster from the original sourceFrom Originalno

FromOriginal

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
enabledEnable recovering from originalbooleanno

ObservabilityConfig

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
enabledEnable observabilitybooleanno
intervalInterval to gather metrics from sourceDuration with format number and metric e.g. 30s or 15mno

Components

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
eventsListenerSettings for the componentComponentno
processorSettings for the componentComponentno
reconcilerSettings for the componentComponentno
restorerSettings for the componentComponentno
synchronizerSettings for the componentComponentno
natsSettings for the componentComponentno
redisSettings for the componentComponentno
metricsExporterSettings for the componentComponentno

Component

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
logLevelLog level for the componentstringno
imagePullPolicyImage pull policy for the component imageKubernetes pull policyno
resourcesResource quota for the componentKubernetes Resource Quotasno
concurrentTasksNumber of concurrent tasksint32no
replicasNumber of replicasint32no

6.2.7 - Components

Kubernetes to Kubernetes plugin Components

Synchronization across clusters is managed through Kubesync, Astronetes solution for Kubernetes cluster replication. The following components are deployed when synchronization between two clusters is started:

ComponentDescriptionSource cluster permissionsDestination cluster permissions
Events listenerRead events in the source cluster.Cluster readerN/A
ProcessorFilter and transform the objects read from the source cluster.Cluster readerN/A
SynchronizerWrite processed objects in the destination cluster.N/AWrite
ReconcilerSends delete events whenever it founds discrepancies between source and destination.Cluster readerCluster reader
NATSUsed by other components to send and receive data.N/AN/A
RedisStores metadata about the synchronization state. Most LiveSynchronization components interact with it.N/AN/A
Metrics exporterExport metrics about the LiveSynchronization status.N/AN/A

6.2.8 - Granafa setup

How to configure Grafana

Resiliency Operator offers the option of leveraging an existing Grafana installation to monitor the state of the synchronization and recovery process. Users can incorporate the provided visualizations to their workflows in a transparent manner without affecting their operability.

Prerequisites

Grafana Operator

The operator installation includes the necessary tools to extract the information from it. To view that information with the official dashboard, is required that the management cluster has the Grafana Operator installed.

Process

Create the Dashboard

Create the GrafanaDashboard from the release manifests:

kubectl apply -f https://astronetes.io/deploy/disaster-recovery-operator/v1.2/grafana-v5-dashboard.yaml

Working with the dashboard

The dashboard shows detailed information about the write, read and computing processes alongside a general overview of the health of the operator.

General view of the status of the operator:

The dashboard can be filtered attending the following characteristics:

  • Namespace. Only shows information related to the LiveSynchronizations in a specified namespace.
  • Recovery Plan. Filters by a specific LiveSynchronizaton.
  • Object Namespace. Only shows information of the objects located in a given namespace regardless their associated LiveSynchronization.
  • Object API Group. Objects are filtered attending to the API Group that they belong to.

Filters can be combined to get more specific results e.g. Getting the networking related objects that belong to a LiveSynchronization that is deployed in a namespace.

6.3 - Zookeeper

Synchronize Zookeeper data between clusters

6.3.1 - Introduction

Synchronize Zookeeper data between clusters

You can synchronize Zookeeper data between two clusters using the Zookeeper protocol.

Supported models

One time synchronization

You can synchronize the data just once with the Synchronization Kubernetes object.

Periodic synchronization

You can synchronize periodically the SynchronizationPlan Kubernetes object.

Samples

Synchronize once

Synchronize the data once only in the /test path:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: Synchronization
metadata:
  generateName: synchronize-zookeeper-
spec:
  plugin: zookeeper-to-zookeeper-nodes
  config:
    sourceName: zookeeper-source
    destinationName: zookeeper-destination
    rootPath: /test
    createRoutePath: true

Scheduled synchronization

Synchronize data every hour in the /test path:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: SynchronizationPlan
metadata:
  name: synchronize-zookeeper
spec:
  schedule: "0 * * * *"
  template:
    spec:
      plugin: zookeeper-to-zookeeper-nodes
      config: 
        sourceName: zookeeper-source
        destinationName: zookeeper-destination
        rootPath: /test

6.3.2 - Configuration

Plugin parameters and accepted values

Synchronization

Configuration

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
sourceNameZookeeper instance acting as sourcestringyes
destinationNameZookeeper instance acting as destinationstringyes
rootPathRoot Path of the contents to synchronizestringyes
createRootPathWhether to create the Root Path in the destination databasebooleanno
ignoreEphemeralWhether to ignore ephemeralbooleanno
excludePathRegexpRegular expression for keys to exclude while synchronizingstringno

7 - Automation

Incident response automation

7.1 - Introduction

Automation introdution

The operations to improve the platform resiliency can be automated with the automation framework provided by the Resiliency Operator.

Use cases

Recovery from a disaster

After a disaster occurs in one of your platform assets, the automation framework help in the recovery of the platform.

Key concepts

Tasks

A Task represents a configurable, reusable unit of work. It defines a plugin with a specific configuration to be executed later.

TaskRuns

A TaskRun represents a single execution of a Task. When a TaskRun is created, it triggers the execution of the plugin defined in the Task.

7.2 - Plugins

Automation plugins

7.2.1 - Custom image

Run custom container image in Kubernetes cluster.

7.2.1.1 - Introduction

Custom image plugin introduction

The custom-image plugins enables the deployment of a custom image to be executed as Task. This is extremely useful to run custom logic and software in the resiliency patterns.

The Pod is deployed in the Kubernetes namespace where the Task has been created.

7.2.1.2 - Configuration

Plugin parameters and accepted values

Task

Configuration

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
imageContainer image to be deployedstringyes
commandThe command to be executed when the container starts[]stringyes

7.2.1.3 - Samples

Kubernetes to Kubernetes plugin Architecture

This is a list of samples of what can be perfomed as Task with the custom-image plugin.

Bash command

Run a bash command:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: hello-world
spec:
  plugin: custom-image
  config:
    image: busybox
    command:
      - echo
      - "hello world"

Kubectl command

Execute a kubectl command:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: kubectl
spec:
  plugin: custom-image
  config:
    image: bitnami/kubectl:1.27
    command:
      - kubectl
      - cluster-info
    clusterRole: cluster-admin

7.2.2 - Kubernetes object transformation

Transform objects in a Kubernetes cluster.

7.2.2.1 - Introduction

Plugin introduction

The custom-image plugins enables the deployment of a custom image to be executed as Task. This is extremely useful to run custom logic and software in the resiliency patterns.

7.2.2.2 - Configuration

Plugin parameters and accepted values

Task

Configuration

NameDescriptionTypeRequired
imageContainer image to be deployedstringyes
commandThe command to be executed when the container starts[]stringyes

8 - Tutorials

Tutorials for real-world use cases

8.1 - Active-active Kubernetes architecture

How to setup an active-active architecture between two Kubernetes clusters

Overview

Active-active replication between Kubernetes clusters is a strategy to ensure high availability and disaster recovery for applications. In this setup, multiple Kubernetes clusters, typically located in different geographical regions, run identical copies of an application simultaneously.

Prerequisites

  • Install Astronetes Resiliency Operator.
  • Create a namespace where to store the secrets and run the synchronization between clusters.

Setup

Import the first cluster

Import the first Kubernetes cluster as described in details here:

  1. Save the kubeconfig file as cluster-1-kubeconfig.yaml.

    Import the kubeconfig file as secret:

    kubectl create secret generic cluster-1-kubeconfig --from-file=kubeconfig.yaml=cluster-1-kubeconfig.yaml
    
  2. Create the KubernetesCluster resource manifest cluster-1.yaml:

    apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
    kind: KubernetesCluster
    metadata:
      name: cluster-1
    spec:
      secretName: cluster-1-kubeconfig
    

    Deploy the resource with the following command:

    kubectl create -f cluster-1.yaml
    

Import the second cluster

Import the first Kubernetes cluster as described in details here:

  1. Save the kubeconfig file as cluster-2-kubeconfig.yaml.

    Import the kubeconfig file as secret:

    kubectl create secret generic cluster-2-kubeconfig --from-file=kubeconfig.yaml=cluster-2-kubeconfig.yaml
    
  2. Create the KubernetesCluster resource manifest cluster-2.yaml:

    apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
    kind: KubernetesCluster
    metadata:
      name: cluster-2
    spec:
      secretName: cluster-2-kubeconfig
    

    Deploy the resource with the following command:

    kubectl create -f cluster-2.yaml
    

Synchronize the clusters

Create the configuration manifest to synchronize the clusters according to the full documentation is provided at Configure LiveSynchronization.

In the following examples there is a minimal configuration to synchronize namespaces labeled with sync=true:

  1. Save the configuration file as livesync.yaml with the following content:

    apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
    kind: LiveSynchronization
    metadata:
      name: active-active
    spec:
      plugin: kubernetes-objects-to-kubernetes
      suspend: false
      config:
        sourceName: cluster-1
        destinationName: cluster-2
        replication:
          resources:
            - group: apps
              version: v1
              resource: deployments
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
            - group: ""
              version: v1
              resource: services
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
            - group: ""
              version: v1
              resource: secrets
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
            - group: "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
              version: v1
              resource: roles
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
            - group: "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
              version: v1
              resource: rolebindings
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
            - group: ""
              version: v1
              resource: serviceaccounts
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
                nameSelector:
                  excludeRegex:
                    - "^(default|deployer|builder)$"
            - group: "networking.k8s.io"
              version: v1
              resource: ingresses
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
    
  2. Apply the configuration:

    kubectl apply -f livesync.yaml
    

Operations

Pause the synchronization

The synchronization process can be paused with the following command:

kubectl patch livesynchronization active-active -p '{"spec":{"suspend":true}}' --type=merge

Resume the synchronization

The synchronization process can be paused with the following command:

kubectl patch livesynchronization active-active -p '{"spec":{"suspend":false}}' --type=merge

8.2 - Active-passive Kubernetes architecture

How to setup an active-passive architecture between two Kubernetes clusters

Overview

Active-passive replication between Kubernetes clusters is a strategy designed to provide high availability and disaster recovery, albeit in a more cost-efficient manner than active-active replication.

Prerequisites

  • Install Astronetes Resiliency Operator.
  • Create a namespace where to store the secrets and run the synchronization between clusters.

Setup

Import the active cluster

Import the first Kubernetes cluster as described in details here:

  1. Save the kubeconfig file as cluster-1-kubeconfig.yaml.

    Import the kubeconfig file as secret:

    kubectl create secret generic cluster-1-kubeconfig --from-file=kubeconfig.yaml=cluster-1-kubeconfig.yaml
    
  2. Create the KubernetesCluster resource manifest cluster-1.yaml:

    apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
    kind: KubernetesCluster
    metadata:
      name: cluster-1
    spec:
      secretName: cluster-1-kubeconfig
    

    Deploy the resource with the following command:

    kubectl create -f cluster-1.yaml
    

Import the passive cluster

Import the first Kubernetes cluster as described in details here:

  1. Save the kubeconfig file as cluster-2-kubeconfig.yaml.

    Import the kubeconfig file as secret:

    kubectl create secret generic cluster-2-kubeconfig --from-file=kubeconfig.yaml=cluster-2-kubeconfig.yaml
    
  2. Create the KubernetesCluster resource manifest cluster-2.yaml:

    apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
    kind: KubernetesCluster
    metadata:
      name: cluster-2
    spec:
      secretName: cluster-2-kubeconfig
    

    Deploy the resource with the following command:

    kubectl create -f cluster-2.yaml
    

Synchronize the clusters

Create the configuration manifest to synchronize the clusters according to the full documentation is provided at Configure LiveSynchronization.

In the following examples there is a minimal configuration to synchronize namespaces labeled with sync=true. The deployments are replicated to the second cluster with replica=0, meaning that the applicatio is deployed but not running in the cluster. Only after the switch to the second cluster, the application will be started.

  1. Save the configuration file as livesync.yaml with the following content:

    apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
    kind: LiveSynchronization
    metadata:
      name: active-passive
    spec:
      plugin: kubernetes-objects-to-kubernetes
      suspend: false
      config:
        sourceName: cluster-1
        destinationName: cluster-2
        replication:
          resources:
            - group: apps
              version: v1
              resource: deployments
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
              transformation:
                patch:
                  - op: replace
                    path: /spec/replicas
                    value: 0
              recoveryProcess:
                fromPatch:
                  - op: replace
                    path: /spec/replicas
                    value: 1
            - group: ""
              version: v1
              resource: services
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
            - group: ""
              version: v1
              resource: secrets
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
            - group: "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
              version: v1
              resource: roles
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
            - group: "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
              version: v1
              resource: rolebindings
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
            - group: ""
              version: v1
              resource: serviceaccounts
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
                nameSelector:
                  excludeRegex:
                    - "^(default|deployer|builder)$"
            - group: "networking.k8s.io"
              version: v1
              resource: ingresses
              filters:
                namespaceSelector:
                  matchLabels:
                    sync: "true"
    
  2. Apply the configuration:

    kubectl apply -f livesync.yaml
    

Operations

Pause the synchronization

The synchronization process can be paused with the following command:

kubectl patch livesynchronization active-passive -p '{"spec":{"suspend":true}}' --type=merge

Resume the synchronization

The synchronization process can be paused with the following command:

kubectl patch livesynchronization active-passive -p '{"spec":{"suspend":false}}' --type=merge

Recover from disasters

Recovering from a disaster will require the deployment of a TaskRun resource per Task that applies to recover the system and applications.

  1. Define the TaskRun resource in the taskrun.yaml file:

    apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
    kind: TaskRun
    metadata:
      name: restore-apps
    spec:
      taskName: set-test-label
    
  2. Create the TaskRun:

    kubectl create -f taskrun.yaml
    
  3. Wait for the application to be recovered.

Understanding the TaskRun

After defining a LiveSynchronization, a Task resource will be created in the destination cluster. The operator processes the spec.config.reaplication.resources[*].recoveryProcess parameter to define the required steps to activate the dormant applications.

This is the Task that will be created according to the previous defined LiveSynchronization object:

apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: active-passive
spec:
  plugin: kubernetes-objects-transformation
  config:
    resources:
      - identifier:
          group: apps
          version: v1
          resources: deployments
        patch:
          operations:
            - op: replace
              path: '/spec/replicas'
              value: 1
          filter:
            namespaceSelector:
              matchLabels:
                sync: "true"

For every Deployment in the selected namespaces, the pod replica will be set to 1.

This object should not be tempered with. It is managed by their adjacent LiveSynchronization.

8.3 - Synchronize Zookeeper clusters

How to synchronize Zookeeper clusters data

Overview

In environments where high availability and disaster recovery are paramount, it is essential to maintain synchronized data across different ZooKeeper clusters to prevent inconsistencies and ensure seamless failover.

In the following tutorial will be explained how to synchronize Zookeeper clusters.

Prerequisites

  • Install Astronetes Resiliency Operator.
  • Create a namespace where to store the secrets and run the synchronization between clusters.

Setup

Import the first cluster

Import the first Zookeeper cluster as described in details here:

  1. Define the Database resource with the following YAML, and save it as zookeeper-1.yaml:

    apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
    kind: Database
    metadata:
      name: zookeeper-1
    spec:
      zookeeper:
        client:
          servers:
            - <zookeeper_ip>:<zookeeper_port>
            - <zookeeper_ip>:<zookeeper_port>
            - <zookeeper_ip>:<zookeeper_port>
    
  2. Import the resource with the following command:

    kubectl create -f zookeeper-1.yaml
    

Import the second cluster

Import the second Zookeeper cluster as described in details here:

  1. Define the Database resource with the following YAML, and save it as zookeeper-2.yaml:

    apiVersion: assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
    kind: Database
    metadata:
      name: zookeeper-2
    spec:
      zookeeper:
        client:
          servers:
            - <zookeeper_ip>:<zookeeper_port>
            - <zookeeper_ip>:<zookeeper_port>
            - <zookeeper_ip>:<zookeeper_port>
    
  2. Import the resource with the following command:

    kubectl create -f zookeeper-2.yaml
    

Synchronize the clusters

Create the configuration manifest to synchronize the clusters according to the full documentation is provided here:

In the following example there is the configuration to synchronize every hour all the data in the / path:

  1. Create the synchronization file as zookeeper-sync.yaml with the following content:

    apiVersion: automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
    kind: SynchronizationPlan
    metadata:
      name: synchronize-zookeeper
    spec:
      schedule: "0 * * * *"
      template:
        spec:
          plugin: zookeeper-to-zookeeper-nodes
          config:
            sourceName: zookeeper-1
            destinationName: zookeeper-2
            rootPath: /
            createRoutePath: true
    
  2. Apply the configuration:

    kubectl apply -f zookeeper-sync.yaml
    

Operations

Force the synchronization

The synchronization can be run at any time creating a Synchronization object.

In the following example there is the configuration to synchronize all the data in the / path:

  1. Create the synchronization file as zookeeper-sync-once.yaml with the following content:
kind: Synchronization
metadata:
  generateName: synchronize-zookeeper-
spec:
  plugin: zookeeper-to-zookeeper-nodes
  config:
    sourceName: zookeeper-1
    destinationName: zookeeper-2
    rootPath: /
    createRoutePath: true
  1. Apply the configuration:

    kubectl create -f zookeeper-sync-once.yaml
    

9 - API Reference

This section contains the API Reference of CRDs for the Resiliency Operator.

9.1 - Assets API Reference

Packages

assets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1

Package v1alpha1 contains API Schema definitions for the assets v1alpha1 API group

Resource Types

AWSS3

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
name stringBucket nameRequired: {}
region stringAWS region nameRequired: {}
secretName stringSecret name where credentials are storedRequired: {}

Bucket

Bucket is the Schema for the buckets API

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringassets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringBucket
metadata ObjectMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
spec BucketSpec

BucketList

BucketList contains a list of Bucket

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringassets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringBucketList
metadata ListMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
items Bucket array

BucketSpec

BucketSpec defines the desired state of Bucket

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
generic GenericBucketReference a generic bucketOptional: {}
gcpCloudStorage GCPCloudStorageReference a GCP Cloud Storage serviceOptional: {}
awsS3 AWSS3Reference a AWS Bucket serviceOptional: {}

Database

Database is the Schema for the databases API

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringassets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringDatabase
metadata ObjectMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
spec DatabaseSpec

DatabaseList

DatabaseList contains a list of Database

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringassets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringDatabaseList
metadata ListMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
items Database array

DatabaseSpec

DatabaseSpec defines the desired state of Database

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
zookeeper ZookeeperZookeeper databaseOptional: {}

GCPCloudStorage

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
name stringBucket nameRequired: {}
secretName stringSecret name where credentials are storedRequired: {}

GenericBucket

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
name stringBucket nameRequired: {}
endpoint stringBucket endpointRequired: {}
useSSL booleanUse SSLOptional: {}
secretName stringSecret name where credentials are storedRequired: {}

KubernetesCluster

KubernetesCluster is the Schema for the kubernetesclusters API

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringassets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringKubernetesCluster
metadata ObjectMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
spec KubernetesClusterSpec

KubernetesClusterList

KubernetesClusterList contains a list of KubernetesCluster

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringassets.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringKubernetesClusterList
metadata ListMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
items KubernetesCluster array

KubernetesClusterSpec

KubernetesClusterSpec defines the desired state of KubernetesCluster

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
secretName stringReference to the secret that stores the cluster KubeconfigRequired: {}

Zookeeper

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
admin ZookeeperAdminCredentials for the admin portOptional: {}
client ZookeeperClientCredentials for the client portOptional: {}

ZookeeperAdmin

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
protocol stringZookeeper protocolRequired: {}
host stringZookeeper hostRequired: {}
port stringZookeeper portRequired: {}
secretName stringZookeeper authentication dataOptional: {}

ZookeeperClient

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
servers string arrayZookeeper serversRequired: {}

9.2 - Automation API Reference

Packages

automation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1

Package v1alpha1 contains API Schema definitions for the automation v1alpha1 API group

Resource Types

Backup

Backup is the Schema for the backups API

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringBackup
metadata ObjectMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
spec BackupSpec

BackupDestinationBucket

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
name stringReference the Bucket nameRequired: {}
basePath stringThe base path to be used to store the Backup dataOptional: {}

BackupList

BackupList contains a list of Backup

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringBackupList
metadata ListMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
items Backup array

BackupPlugin

Underlying type: string

Appears in:

BackupSourceDatabase

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
name stringReference the Database nameRequired: {}

BackupSourceKubernetesCluster

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
name stringReference the KubernetesCluster nameRequired: {}
namespaces string arrayReference the Kubernetes namespaces to be includedOptional: {}

BackupSpec

BackupSpec defines the desired state of Backup

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
restartPolicy RestartPolicySuspend the CronJobOptional: {}
plugin BackupPluginBackup pluginRequired: {}
config JSONSynchronization configRequired: {}

LiveSynchronization

LiveSynchronization is the Schema for the livesynchronizations API

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringLiveSynchronization
metadata ObjectMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
spec LiveSynchronizationSpec

LiveSynchronizationList

LiveSynchronizationList contains a list of LiveSynchronization

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringLiveSynchronizationList
metadata ListMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
items LiveSynchronization array

LiveSynchronizationPlugin

Underlying type: string

Appears in:

LiveSynchronizationSpec

LiveSynchronizationSpec defines the desired state of LiveSynchronization

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
suspend booleanSuspend the executionfalseOptional: {}
plugin LiveSynchronizationPluginLiveSynchronization pluginRequired: {}
config JSONLiveSynchronization configRequired: {}

Resource

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
group stringResource groupOptional: {}
version stringResource versionRequired: {}
resource stringResourceRequired: {}

Synchronization

Synchronization is the Schema for the synchronizations API

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringSynchronization
metadata ObjectMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
spec SynchronizationSpec

SynchronizationList

SynchronizationList contains a list of Synchronization

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringSynchronizationList
metadata ListMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
items Synchronization array

SynchronizationPlan

SynchronizationPlan is the Schema for the synchronizationplans API

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringSynchronizationPlan
metadata ObjectMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
spec SynchronizationPlanSpec

SynchronizationPlanList

SynchronizationPlanList contains a list of SynchronizationPlan

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringSynchronizationPlanList
metadata ListMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
items SynchronizationPlan array

SynchronizationPlanSpec

SynchronizationPlanSpec defines the desired state of SynchronizationPlan

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
schedule stringSchedule in Cron formatRequired: {}
startingDeadlineSeconds integerOptional deadline in seconds for starting the job if it misses scheduled
time for any reason. Missed jobs executions will be counted as failed ones.
Optional: {}
concurrencyPolicy ConcurrencyPolicySpecifies how to treat concurrent executions of a Job.
Valid values are:

- “Allow” (default): allows CronJobs to run concurrently;
- “Forbid”: forbids concurrent runs, skipping next run if previous run hasn’t finished yet;
- “Replace”: cancels currently running job and replaces it with a new one
Optional: {}
suspend booleanSuspend the executionfalseOptional: {}
template SynchronizationTemplateSpecSpecify the Synchronization that will be created when executing the CronOptional: {}
successfulJobsHistoryLimit integerThe number of successful finished jobs to retain. Value must be non-negative integer2Optional: {}
failedJobsHistoryLimit integerThe number of failed finished jobs to retain. Value must be non-negative integer2Optional: {}

SynchronizationPlugin

Underlying type: string

Appears in:

SynchronizationSpec

SynchronizationSpec defines the desired state of Synchronization

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
restartPolicy RestartPolicyRestart policyOptional: {}
plugin SynchronizationPluginSynchronization pluginRequired: {}
config JSONSynchronization configRequired: {}

SynchronizationTemplateSpec

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
metadata ObjectMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
spec SynchronizationSpecSpecification of the desired behavior of the SynchronizationOptional: {}

Task

Task is the Schema for the tasks API

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringTask
metadata ObjectMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
spec TaskSpec

TaskList

TaskList contains a list of Task

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringTaskList
metadata ListMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
items Task array

TaskPlugin

Underlying type: string

Appears in:

TaskRun

TaskRun is the Schema for the taskruns API

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringTaskRun
metadata ObjectMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
spec TaskRunSpec

TaskRunList

TaskRunList contains a list of TaskRun

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
apiVersion stringautomation.astronetes.io/v1alpha1
kind stringTaskRunList
metadata ListMetaRefer to Kubernetes API documentation for fields of metadata.
items TaskRun array

TaskRunSpec

TaskRunSpec defines the desired state of TaskRun

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
taskName stringTask nameRequired: {}

TaskSpec

TaskSpec defines the desired state of Task

Appears in:

FieldDescriptionDefaultValidation
restartPolicy RestartPolicyRestart policyOptional: {}
plugin TaskPluginTask pluginRequired: {}
config JSONTask configRequired: {}