Oracle’s MySQL Operator for Kubernetes is a convenient way to automate MySQL database provisioning within your cluster. One of the operator’s headline features is integrated hands-off backup support that increases your resiliency. Backups copy your database to external storage on a recurring schedule.

This article will walk you through setting up backups to an Amazon S3-compatible object storage service. You’ll also see how to store backups in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) storage or local persistent volumes inside your cluster.

Preparing a Database Cluster

Install the MySQL operator in your Kubernetes cluster and create a simple database instance for testing purposes. Copy the YAML below and save it to mysql.yaml:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: mysql-root-user
stringData:
  rootHost: "%"
  rootUser: "root"
  rootPassword: "P@$$w0rd"
 
---

apiVersion: mysql.oracle.com/v2
kind: InnoDBCluster
metadata:
  name: mysql-cluster
spec:
  secretName: mysql-root-user
  instances: 3
  tlsUseSelfSigned: true
  router:
    instances: 1

Use Kubectl to apply the manifest:

$ kubectl apply -f mysql.yaml

Wait a few minutes while the MySQL operator provisions your Pods. Use Kubectl’s get pods command to check on the progress. You should see four running Pods: one MySQL router instance and three MySQL server replicas.

$ kubectl get pods
NAME                                    READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
mysql-cluster-0                         2/2     Running   0          2m
mysql-cluster-1                         2/2     Running   0          2m
mysql-cluster-2                         2/2     Running   0          2m
mysql-cluster-router-6b68f9b5cb-wbqm5   1/1     Running   0          2m

Defining a Backup Schedule

The MySQL operator requires two components to successfully create a