# Velero (cluster backups)

Ansible-managed core stack — **not** reconciled by Argo CD (`clusters/noble/apps` is optional GitOps only).

## What you get

- **No web UI** — Velero is operated with the **`velero`** CLI and **`kubectl`** (Backup, Schedule, Restore CRDs). Metrics are exposed for Prometheus; there is no first-party dashboard in this chart.
- **vmware-tanzu/velero** Helm chart (**12.0.0** → Velero **1.18.0**) in namespace **`velero`**
- **AWS plugin** init container for **S3-compatible** object storage (`velero/velero-plugin-for-aws:v1.14.0`)
- **CSI snapshots** via Velero’s built-in CSI support (`EnableCSI`) and **VolumeSnapshotLocation** `velero.io/csi` (no separate CSI plugin image for Velero ≥ 1.14)
- **Prometheus** scraping: **ServiceMonitor** labeled for **kube-prometheus** (`release: kube-prometheus`)
- **Schedule** **`velero-daily-noble`**: cron **`0 3 * * *`** (daily at 03:00 in the Velero pod’s timezone, usually **UTC**), **720h** TTL per backup (~30 days). Edit **`values.yaml`** `schedules` to change time or retention.

## Prerequisites

1. **Volume Snapshot APIs** installed cluster-wide — **`clusters/noble/bootstrap/csi-snapshot-controller/`** (Ansible **`noble_csi_snapshot_controller`**, after **Cilium**). Without **`snapshot.storage.k8s.io`** CRDs and **`kube-system/snapshot-controller`**, Velero logs errors like `no matches for kind "VolumeSnapshot"`.
2. **Longhorn** (or another CSI driver) with a **VolumeSnapshotClass** for that driver.
3. For **Longhorn**, this repo applies **`velero/longhorn-volumesnapshotclass.yaml`** (`VolumeSnapshotClass` **`longhorn-velero`**, driver **`driver.longhorn.io`**, Velero label). It is included in **`clusters/noble/bootstrap/kustomization.yaml`** (same apply as other bootstrap YAML). For non-Longhorn drivers, add a class with **`velero.io/csi-volumesnapshot-class: "true"`** (see [Velero CSI](https://velero.io/docs/main/csi/)).

4. **S3-compatible** endpoint (MinIO, VersityGW, AWS, etc.) and a **bucket**.

## Credentials Secret

Velero expects **`velero/velero-cloud-credentials`**, key **`cloud`**, in **INI** form for the AWS plugin:

```ini
[default]
aws_access_key_id=<key>
aws_secret_access_key=<secret>
```

Create manually:

```bash
kubectl -n velero create secret generic velero-cloud-credentials \
  --from-literal=cloud="$(printf '[default]\naws_access_key_id=%s\naws_secret_access_key=%s\n' "$KEY" "$SECRET")"
```

Or let **Ansible** create it from **`.env`** (`NOBLE_VELERO_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID`, `NOBLE_VELERO_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`) or from extra-vars **`noble_velero_aws_access_key_id`** / **`noble_velero_aws_secret_access_key`**.

## Apply (Ansible)

1. Copy **`.env.sample`** → **`.env`** at the **repository root** and set at least:
   - **`NOBLE_VELERO_S3_BUCKET`** — object bucket name
   - **`NOBLE_VELERO_S3_URL`** — S3 API base URL (e.g. `https://minio.lan:9000` or your VersityGW/MinIO endpoint)
   - **`NOBLE_VELERO_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID`** / **`NOBLE_VELERO_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`** — credentials the AWS plugin uses (S3-compatible access key style)

2. Enable the role: set **`noble_velero_install: true`** in **`ansible/group_vars/all.yml`**, **or** pass **`-e noble_velero_install=true`** on the command line.

3. Run from **`ansible/`** (adjust **`KUBECONFIG`** to your cluster admin kubeconfig):

```bash
cd ansible
export KUBECONFIG=/absolute/path/to/home-server/talos/kubeconfig

# Velero only (after helm repos; skips other roles unless their tags match — use full playbook if unsure)
ansible-playbook playbooks/noble.yml --tags repos,velero -e noble_velero_install=true
```

If **`NOBLE_VELERO_S3_BUCKET`** / **`NOBLE_VELERO_S3_URL`** are not in **`.env`**, pass them explicitly:

```bash
ansible-playbook playbooks/noble.yml --tags repos,velero -e noble_velero_install=true \
  -e noble_velero_s3_bucket=my-bucket \
  -e noble_velero_s3_url=https://s3.example.com:9000
```

Full platform run (includes Velero when **`noble_velero_install`** is true in **`group_vars`**):

```bash
ansible-playbook playbooks/noble.yml
```

## Install (Ansible) — details

1. Set **`noble_velero_install: true`** in **`ansible/group_vars/all.yml`** (or pass **`-e noble_velero_install=true`**).
2. Set **`noble_velero_s3_bucket`** and **`noble_velero_s3_url`** via **`.env`** (**`NOBLE_VELERO_S3_*`**) or **`group_vars`** or **`-e`**. Extra-vars override **`.env`**. Optional: **`noble_velero_s3_region`**, **`noble_velero_s3_prefix`**, **`noble_velero_s3_force_path_style`** (defaults match `values.yaml`).
3. Run **`ansible/playbooks/noble.yml`** (Velero runs after **`noble_platform`**).

Example without **`.env`** (all on the CLI):

```bash
cd ansible
ansible-playbook playbooks/noble.yml --tags velero \
  -e noble_velero_install=true \
  -e noble_velero_s3_bucket=noble-velero \
  -e noble_velero_s3_url=https://minio.lan:9000 \
  -e noble_velero_aws_access_key_id="$KEY" \
  -e noble_velero_aws_secret_access_key="$SECRET"
```

The **`clusters/noble/bootstrap/kustomization.yaml`** applies **`velero/namespace.yaml`** with the rest of the bootstrap namespaces (so **`velero`** exists before Helm).

## Install (Helm only)

From repo root:

```bash
kubectl apply -f clusters/noble/bootstrap/velero/namespace.yaml
# Create velero-cloud-credentials (see above), then:
helm repo add vmware-tanzu https://vmware-tanzu.github.io/helm-charts && helm repo update
helm upgrade --install velero vmware-tanzu/velero -n velero --version 12.0.0 \
  -f clusters/noble/bootstrap/velero/values.yaml \
  --set-string configuration.backupStorageLocation[0].bucket=YOUR_BUCKET \
  --set-string configuration.backupStorageLocation[0].config.s3Url=https://YOUR-S3-ENDPOINT \
  --wait
```

Edit **`values.yaml`** defaults (bucket placeholder, `s3Url`) or override with **`--set-string`** as above.

## Quick checks

```bash
kubectl -n velero get pods,backupstoragelocation,volumesnapshotlocation
velero backup create test --wait
```

(`velero` CLI: install from [Velero releases](https://github.com/vmware-tanzu/velero/releases).)