1. Documentation
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Velero CLI tool

You can obtain the velero CLI tool by using the following options:

  • Downloading the velero CLI tool

  • Accessing the velero binary in the Velero deployment in the cluster

Downloading the Velero CLI tool

You can download and install the Velero CLI tool by following the instructions on the Velero documentation page. The page includes instructions for the following options:

  • macOS by using Homebrew

  • GitHub

  • Windows by using Chocolatey

Prerequisites

  • You have access to a Kubernetes cluster, v1.16 or later, with DNS and container networking enabled.

  • You have installed kubectl locally.

Procedure

  1. Open a browser and navigate to "Install the CLI" on the Velero website.

  2. Follow the appropriate procedure for macOS, GitHub, or Windows.

  3. Download the Velero version appropriate for your version of OADP and OKD.

OADP-Velero-OKD version relationship

OADP version Velero version OKD version

1.3.0

{velero-1.12}

4.12-4.15

1.3.1

{velero-1.12}

4.12-4.15

1.3.2

{velero-1.12}

4.12-4.15

1.3.3

{velero-1.12}

4.12-4.15

1.3.4

{velero-1.12}

4.12-4.15

1.3.5

{velero-1.12}

4.12-4.15

1.4.0

{velero-1.14}

4.14-4.18

1.4.1

{velero-1.14}

4.14-4.18

1.4.2

{velero-1.14}

4.14-4.18

1.4.3

{velero-1.14}

4.14-4.18

1.5.0

{velero-1.16}

4.19

Accessing the Velero binary in the Velero deployment in the cluster

You can use a shell command to access the Velero binary in the Velero deployment in the cluster.

Prerequisites

  • Your DataProtectionApplication custom resource has a status of Reconcile complete.

Procedure

  • Set the needed alias by using the following command:

    $ alias velero='oc -n openshift-adp exec deployment/velero -c velero -it -- ./velero'

Debugging Velero resources with the OpenShift CLI tool

You can debug a failed backup or restore by checking Velero custom resources (CRs) and the Velero pod log with the OpenShift CLI tool.

Procedure

  • Retrieve a summary of warnings and errors associated with a Backup or Restore CR by using the following oc describe command:

    $ oc describe <velero_cr> <cr_name>

  • Retrieve the Velero pod logs by using the following oc logs command:

    $ oc logs pod/<velero>

  • Specify the Velero log level in the DataProtectionApplication resource as shown in the following example.

    This option is available starting from OADP 1.0.3.
    Example Velero log level file
    apiVersion: oadp.openshift.io/v1alpha1
kind: DataProtectionApplication
metadata:
  name: velero-sample
spec:
  configuration:
    velero:
      logLevel: warning

    The following logLevel values are available:

  • trace

  • debug

  • info

  • warning

  • error

  • fatal

  • panic

    Use the info logLevel value for most logs.

Debugging Velero resources with the Velero CLI tool

You can debug Backup and Restore custom resources (CRs) and retrieve logs with the Velero CLI tool. The Velero CLI tool provides more detailed information than the OpenShift CLI tool.

Procedure

  • Use the oc exec command to run a Velero CLI command:

    $ oc -n openshift-adp exec deployment/velero -c velero -- ./velero \
  <backup_restore_cr> <command> <cr_name>
    Example oc exec command
    $ oc -n openshift-adp exec deployment/velero -c velero -- ./velero \
  backup describe 0e44ae00-5dc3-11eb-9ca8-df7e5254778b-2d8ql

  • List all Velero CLI commands by using the following velero --help option:

    $ oc -n openshift-adp exec deployment/velero -c velero -- ./velero \
  --help

  • Retrieve the logs of a Backup or Restore CR by using the following velero logs command:

    $ oc -n openshift-adp exec deployment/velero -c velero -- ./velero \
  <backup_restore_cr> logs <cr_name>
    Example velero logs command
    $ oc -n openshift-adp exec deployment/velero -c velero -- ./velero \
  restore logs ccc7c2d0-6017-11eb-afab-85d0007f5a19-x4lbf

  • Retrieve a summary of warnings and errors associated with a Backup or Restore CR by using the following velero describe command:

    $ oc -n openshift-adp exec deployment/velero -c velero -- ./velero \
  <backup_restore_cr> describe <cr_name>
    Example velero describe command
    $ oc -n openshift-adp exec deployment/velero -c velero -- ./velero \
  backup describe 0e44ae00-5dc3-11eb-9ca8-df7e5254778b-2d8ql

    The following types of restore errors and warnings are shown in the output of a velero describe request:

  • Velero: A list of messages related to the operation of Velero itself, for example, messages related to connecting to the cloud, reading a backup file, and so on

  • Cluster: A list of messages related to backing up or restoring cluster-scoped resources

  • Namespaces: A list of list of messages related to backing up or restoring resources stored in namespaces

    One or more errors in one of these categories results in a Restore operation receiving the status of PartiallyFailed and not Completed. Warnings do not lead to a change in the completion status.

    Consider the following points for these restore errors:

  • For resource-specific errors, that is, Cluster and Namespaces errors, the restore describe --details output includes a resource list that includes all resources that Velero restored. For any resource that has such an error, check if the resource is actually in the cluster.

  • If there are Velero errors but no resource-specific errors in the output of a describe command, it is possible that the restore completed without any actual problems in restoring workloads. In this case, carefully validate post-restore applications.

    For example, if the output contains PodVolumeRestore or node agent-related errors, check the status of PodVolumeRestores and DataDownloads. If none of these are failed or still running, then volume data might have been fully restored.