Re: [keycloak-dev] Using export and import for backup and restore

On Tue, 1 Oct 2019, 10:10 Stian Thorgersen, <sthorger(a)redhat.com&gt; wrote: > With regards to backup it's not just realm config that needs backup. There > are clients, roles, groups, users, etc.. It does take a lot of users before > import/export via JSON before it will take a very long time (hours?!?). > ... it doesn't ... > It is just not a good idea. Will not scale. And would require downtime of > the SSO service during backup. > > Now to my question - shouldn't the db be installed by an operator in the > first place? Shouldn't the db operator do the backup? > > On Tue, 1 Oct 2019, 09:40 Peter Braun, <pbraun(a)redhat.com&gt; wrote: > >> That's another option we consider. We could use Volume Snapshots [1] and >>> just backup the whole Postgresql data directory. This seems to be the >>> fastest option and I believe, the Integreately Team tried that before >> >> >> For Postgres we run pg_dump on the container and then back up the >> resulting file (by uploading it to S3). But we also back up PV data and >> Kubernetes resources. >> >> In the Operator use case, all modifications should be made through the >>> Operator. That means, we could implement a simple Mutex and prevent the >>> Operator from modifying anything until the backup is complete. >>> >> >> Thats a good point. But we still expose the Admin UI. I can see use cases >> where you want the Operator to install Keycloak and set up the Realms but >> then let users self manage their Realm in the Admin UI. But even in that >> case, the Operator could just block access during export/import (by >> removing the Route or redirecting it to a 'Backup in Progress' page). >> >> If there are some guarantees (are there any?) about the structure of the >>> JSON >>> backup, we could use it for complicated migration process >>> >> >> Thats my main concern. I suppose there is no Schema the output could be >> validated against? I don't know how much the Keycloak DB schema changes but >> i reckon that unless this is a supported feature and there is some metadata >> (like schema version etc.) it's hard to use it for a reliable backup. >> >> > * It's very very slow >> >> This can be a problem. If you run regular backups this could eat into >> your availability quite a bit. >> >> >> >> On Tue, Oct 1, 2019 at 8:19 AM Sebastian Laskawiec <slaskawi(a)redhat.com > >> wrote: >> >>> On Mon, Sep 30, 2019 at 3:31 PM Stian Thorgersen <sthorger(a)redhat.com&gt; >>> wrote: >>> >>> > Export/import using JSON has a few significant disadvantages: >>> > >>> > * It's very very slow >>> > * It can not provide a consistent snapshot unless all writes are >>> stopped >>> > during the export >>> > >>> >>> I believe any of those two would be a problem. >>> >>> In the Operator use case, all modifications should be made through the >>> Operator. That means, we could implement a simple Mutex and prevent the >>> Operator from modifying anything until the backup is complete. >>> >>> >>> > >>> > With that regards I very much doubt it would be the ideal solution. >>> > >>> >>> The more I'm thinking about it, the more I'm convinced that's using >>> export/import gives us the most flexibility. >>> >>> At first, we could simplify basic configuration of a Realm (and other >>> CRDs >>> in the future as well). We would expose only basic settings and if anyone >>> wants to configure every small detail, he would need to prepare a full >>> JSON >>> and restore it - just like restoring a backup - the same mechanism. If >>> there are some guarantees (are there any?) about the structure of the >>> JSON >>> backup, we could use it for complicated migration process - like >>> Integreately, where they need to migrate off the old Keycloak Operator >>> to a >>> new one. Also, the structure remains of the JSON file remains compatible >>> across Keycloak/RHSSO versions, we could use it for migrating our >>> customers >>> from Keycloak to RHSSO. Finally, this solution doesn't tie us up to a >>> particular database and its version. During an upgrade, we can wipe the >>> database up and just restore Keycloak from a JSON file. >>> >>> >>> > >>> > One question though can't backup be performed at the DB level, and >>> then be >>> > a requirement on the DB operator rather than the Keycloak operator? >>> > >>> >>> That's another option we consider. We could use Volume Snapshots [1] and >>> just backup the whole Postgresql data directory. This seems to be the >>> fastest option and I believe, the Integreately Team tried that before >>> (Peter, David - perhaps you could tell us more about it). However, it >>> ties >>> us up to Postgresql in a specific version (as far as I know there are no >>> guarantees about migrating the data directory between Postgresql >>> versions). >>> My intuition tells me, this will be a problem in long-term. >>> >>> [1] >>> >>> https://kubernetes.io/blog/2018/10/09/introducing-volume-snapshot-alpha-f... >>> >>> >>> > >>> > On Mon, 30 Sep 2019 at 15:22, Sebastian Laskawiec < slaskawi(a)redhat.com >>> > >>> > wrote: >>> > >>> >> Hey, >>> >> >>> >> In the next few days we'll be looking into implementing backup and >>> restore >>> >> functionality for the Keycloak Operator. One of the options we are >>> >> considering, is using an export/import functionality. An Operator >>> could >>> >> export all realms into a JSON file and put it somewhere in a >>> Persistent >>> >> Volume. >>> >> >>> >> I was wondering, what do you think about this approach? Are there any >>> >> guarantees around export/import functionality (especially with the >>> regards >>> >> to its format)? Also, would it work for exporting JSON file from >>> Keycloak >>> >> and importing it to RHSSO? >>> >> >>> >> Thanks, >>> >> Sebastian >>> >> _______________________________________________ >>> >> keycloak-dev mailing list >>> >> keycloak-dev(a)lists.jboss.org >>> >> https://lists.jboss.org/mailman/listinfo/keycloak-dev >>> >> >>> > >>> _______________________________________________ >>> keycloak-dev mailing list >>> keycloak-dev(a)lists.jboss.org >>> https://lists.jboss.org/mailman/listinfo/keycloak-dev >>> >> _______________________________________________ keycloak-dev mailing list keycloak-dev(a)lists.jboss.org https://lists.jboss.org/mailman/listinfo/keycloak-dev