Gen3 Admin Backup Restore
- Open Backup & Restore in the Control Panel sidebar.
- In interim builds where
BACKUP_RESTORE_UX_ENABLEDis false, expect an under development placeholder—the full backup workspace is not yet generally available in the UI. - For disaster recovery today, follow the operator CNPG runbook (
deploy/cnpg/BACKUP-S3-RUNBOOK.md) and GitOps/kubectlprocedures rather than waiting on the Control Panel workspace. - When the workspace is enabled in a future release, configure object storage on Settings first, then return here for CNPG schedules and backup catalog actions (see appendix below).
Backup and restore split operator concerns cleanly: reusable object-storage targets live on Settings, while CNPG schedules, on-demand runs, and backup catalog/download are intended to live on Backup & Restore. Until the Control Panel workspace ships, operators still need a clear DR path outside the placeholder UI.
Backup & Restore is the Gen 3 Control Panel route for CloudNativePG backup automation and object-storage backup browse/download.
When BACKUP_RESTORE_UX_ENABLED is false (current interim posture), the page shows an under development placeholder instead of backup tabs and automation controls. The sidebar entry remains visible so operators know the capability is planned; the shipped experience is a status callout, not a working backup console.
Automated backups, database restore, and portable backup workflows are being finished before general availability. Do not assume the placeholder page can configure schedules or download artifacts.
Until the Control Panel workspace is enabled:
- Configure S3-compatible object storage per
deploy/cnpg/BACKUP-S3-RUNBOOK.md. - Reconcile CNPG
Clusterbackup settings andScheduledBackupobjects through GitOps orkubectlin the deployment namespace. - Verify bucket reachability and backup artifacts with operator tooling described in the runbook—not through the Control Panel placeholder.
Restore (temporary recovery clusters, readiness polling, destructive cutover) is not exposed in the shipped Control Panel UI even when backup automation code exists behind the feature gate.
When enabled, the workspace is expected to focus on the Backup tab first:
| Tab | Route | Shipped in v1 |
|---|---|---|
| Backup | /dashboard/backup-restore |
Yes — CNPG schedule reconciliation, on-demand backup, catalog browse, tar download |
| Restore | /dashboard/backup-restore?tab=restore |
Not exposed — deferred |
| Portable | /dashboard/backup-restore?tab=portable |
Not exposed — deferred |
The page description states that bucket endpoints and Kubernetes secret references stay on Settings, while this workspace handles CNPG schedules and backup artifacts in object storage.
The sections below describe the intended Control Panel workflow once BACKUP_RESTORE_UX_ENABLED is true. They do not apply while the under-development placeholder is shown.
The Object storage card explains that S3-compatible bucket configuration belongs on Settings. Use Open Settings — Object storage to configure the CNPG/Barman-compatible target before enabling scheduled backups below.
Object storage fields on Settings include provider (aws-s3, azure-blob-s3, gcp-gcs-s3, backblaze-b2, minio, cloudflare-r2), endpoint, bucket, region, path prefix, secret references, and the Backups toggle that marks the target for CNPG use.
When enabled, the Control Panel reconciles CNPG Cluster backup settings and ScheduledBackup objects in the deployment namespace.
Status badges at the top of the card show:
- Reconcile state (ok, error, or not run yet)
- Bucket preflight state (ok, failed, or not run)
- last reconcile timestamp and error text when present
- external bucket preflight step details when a preflight has run
Operators can:
- enable or disable scheduled backups
- pick schedule presets (hourly, every N hours, daily, weekly, or custom six-field cron)
- set UTC hour, minute, and weekday for daily/weekly presets
- edit raw cron directly in advanced mode
- choose retention quick presets or type a custom Barman-style retention value
- optionally set endpoint CA secret name and key
- Admin DB cluster (cnpg-admin)
- Tenant DB cluster (cnpg-tenant)
- Immediate first backup
- Suspend schedule
| Action | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Save backup automation | Persists schedule, retention, and scope settings |
| Run backup now | Triggers an on-demand backup when scheduled backups are enabled |
| Check bucket (preflight) | Verifies object-storage credentials, reachability, and read/write probes without changing databases |
After backups land in the configured bucket, super-admins can:
- Refresh the backup catalog for the admin and/or tenant CNPG planes.
- Review rows (newest first): timestamps, physical
backupId, AI OS version, backup set id, and whether the row is present in object storage. -
Download tar — enqueue an async job that packages the Barman
base/<backupId>/tree into a.tar.gzarchive and download it when ready.
Tar downloads include base backup files only (not WAL prefixes). Use this for off-site artifact retention or support handoff—not as a substitute for keeping the live bucket layout CNPG expects for recovery.
Staged database restore (temporary recovery clusters, readiness polling, destructive cutover) is not exposed in the shipped Control Panel even when the Backup tab is enabled. Operators performing disaster recovery should follow deploy/cnpg/BACKUP-S3-RUNBOOK.md and GitOps/kubectl procedures until the Restore tab ships.
- Configure object storage on Settings.
- Enable scheduled backups for the clusters you operate.
- Save automation settings and confirm reconcile status is ok.
- Run bucket preflight before the first scheduled or on-demand backup.
- Periodically run Run backup now and confirm new rows appear in Backups in object storage.
- Open the Backup tab after a successful on-demand or scheduled backup.
- Refresh the catalog and select the desired row.
- Download the
.tar.gzarchive and store it per your SSP retention policy.
- Keep object storage and backup automation as separate steps: configure the bucket on Settings, then reconcile schedules here.
- Run preflight before trusting a new bucket or secret rotation.
- Use provider-specific endpoint and path-style guidance from the CNPG backup runbook for AWS, Azure Blob S3 interop, and GCP GCS HMAC interop.
- Treat tar download as an export convenience; the authoritative DR path remains the operator bucket CNPG writes to.