AWS S3 + Taikun: Kubernetes Backup

Kubernetes, used for containerized applications, requires backups of pods, nodes, the control plane, and storage for data integrity and resilience. Taikun CloudWorks can back up your Kubernetes cluster to any S3-compatible storage. This guide will show you how to connect to AWS S3. CloudWorks allows you to back up all your Kubernetes cluster resources incrementally through periodically triggered snapshots.

Generating AWS Access and Secret Keys

To back up data in Taikun, users need an Access Key, Secret Key, Region, and Endpoint. In AWS, access and secret keys can be generated in two ways:

IAM User – Recommended for users requiring limited access.
Security Credentials – Used for full-access users.

Creating Access and Secret Keys via IAM User (Limited Access)

Step 1: Log in to AWS

Sign in to your Amazon Web Services (AWS) account.
Navigate to IAM (Identity and Access Management) under the Security, Identity, & Compliance section.

Step 2: Create an IAM User

In the Access Management section, click on Users.
Click Create User.

Enter the required details on the Specify user details page.
Click Next to proceed to Set Permissions.

Step 3: Set User Permissions

To grant access to Amazon S3, a user must attach the AmazonS3FullAccess policy. An admin can add the user to a group if the group has the required policies or copy permissions from an existing user. However, the recommended approach is to attach policies directly.

Step 4: Review and Create a User

Review the User Details, Permissions Summary, and Tags (optional).
Click Create User to finalize the process.

Step 5: Generate Access and Secret Keys

Open the just created User.
In the Summary section, click Create Access Key or navigate to Security Credentials > Access Keys.

Creating an Access Key
Select a Use Case:
- Command Line Interface (CLI) – For AWS CLI access.
- Local Code – This is for applications running in a local development environment.
- Application Running on AWS Compute Services – For services like EC2, ECS, or Lambda.
- Third-Party Service – This is for external applications needing AWS resource access.
- Application Running Outside AWS – For workloads in an external data center.
- Other – If none of the predefined options apply.

(Optional) Add a Description Tag to describe the access key.
Download the .csv file containing the credentials, as it can only be viewed or copied once.
Click Done to finalize the process.

Note

A maximum of two access keys can be created per IAM user.

Creating Access and Secret Keys via Security Credentials (Full Access)

Step 1: Log in to AWS

Sign in to your Amazon Web Services (AWS) account.

Step 2: Open Security Credentials

Click on your account name in the AWS Management Console (top-right corner).
Select Security Credentials.

Step 3: Create an Access Key

Under the Access Keys section, click Create Access Key.
Follow the instructions to generate the key.
Download and securely store the .csv file containing the credentials.

Using AWS Credentials for Taikun Backup

Follow the Taikun backup guide to create and attach backup credentials to a cluster. When a user enables and schedules a backup, a bucket will be automatically created in the AWS console.

This bucket can be found under:

All Services > Storage > S3 > General purpose buckets
The bucket name will follow the format:
(Autogenerated-characters--name--of--the--K8s--cluster)