@Rocky We are running StarRocks in a shared-nothing architecture on Kubernetes (FE and BE as StatefulSets), and I’m trying to validate our disaster recovery approach—specifically around full backup and restore. From the documentation, I understand that BACKUP/RESTORE provides logical backups (DB/table-level snapshots to S3/MinIO), not a full cluster-level backup. My main questions are around full cluster recovery: In a complete cluster loss scenario (all FE and BE nodes gone), what is the recommended restore approach? Should we recreate a fresh cluster and then run RESTORE from the backup repository? Or is there a supported way to restore FE + BE state (e.g., via PV snapshots)? Does BACKUP include all necessary metadata to rebuild the cluster schema and objects? Or do we still need to separately back up and restore FE metadata (meta_dir)? For shared-nothing deployments on Kubernetes, what is the recommended production DR pattern? BACKUP to object storage + restore into new cluster? Or combining BACKUP with Kubernetes volume snapshots? Is there any documented or recommended way to achieve something close to a “full cluster backup” (FE + BE), or is the expectation to rely on logical backup + cluster re-provisioning?

In a StarRocks shared-nothing architecture (the classic FE/BE deployment), achieving a true "full cluster backup" requires a multi-layered approach because the built-in

BACKUP

command is focused on data objects rather than system-wide configuration. Here is the breakdown for your disaster recovery (DR) validation: 1. Recommended Restore Approach In a complete loss scenario, the recommended approach is a hybrid of cluster re-provisioning and state restoration: * Step 1: Re-provision the Kubernetes infrastructure (Operator, Secrets, and StarRocks StatefulSets). * Step 2: FE State Recovery. Restore the FE metadata (

meta_dir

) from a PV snapshot (e.g., using Velero or cloud-native storage snapshots). This is the only way to recover users, privileges, resource groups, and the internal state of the cluster (BDBJE logs). * Step 3: Data Recovery. Run the

RESTORE

command from your S3/MinIO repository to pull the actual table data back into the BEs. 2. Does

BACKUP

include all necessary metadata? No, it is not a "system backup." * Included: Table schemas, partition definitions, view definitions, UDFs (v3.4+), and the actual data (snapshots of tablets). * NOT Included: User accounts, RBAC (privileges/roles), Resource Groups, and Colocate Join groups. * Conclusion: You must separately back up the FE

meta_dir

if you want to avoid manually re-creating users and re-granting permissions. 3. Production DR Pattern for K8s Shared-Nothing For a production-grade DR on Kubernetes, the standard pattern is: 1. Logical BACKUP (to Object Storage): Regularly schedule

BACKUP

tasks for your critical databases/tables to S3/MinIO. This is your primary source for data integrity and cross-cluster migration. 2. FE Volume Snapshots: Use a tool like Velero or your storage provider’s snapshotting capability to snapshot the FE PVs (specifically the

meta

volume). _ _Note:* Snapshots of BE PVs in shared-nothing are often avoided because they are difficult to keep consistent across multiple replicas during high-load periods. Logical

RESTORE

is the preferred way to rebuild BE data. 3. Metadata DDL Export (Secondary): As a fallback, many users periodically export DDLs for all users and grants (

SHOW CREATE USER

,

SHOW GRANTS

) to a Git repository or S3. 4. Is there a "Full Cluster Backup" command? * Shared-Nothing: There is no single command. You rely on the Hybrid approach (Logical Backup + PV Snapshots). * Shared-Data (Cloud-Native): StarRocks 3.4.2+ introduced Cluster Snapshot, which does back up everything (data + FE metadata) to object storage. However, this is only available for shared-data architecture (using CN nodes and centralized storage). It cannot be used in your shared-nothing BE setup. Summary Checklist for your DR Plan: Component | Recovery Mechanism | Why? Users/Privileges | FE PV Snapshot (or DDL Export) | Not covered by

BACKUP

. Table Schema |

BACKUP

or FE Snapshot | Both contain it;

RESTORE

recreates it automatically. Data (BE) |

RESTORE

from S3 | Safest way to ensure consistency in shared-nothing. FE Metadata | FE PV Snapshot | Essential to recover the BDBJE cluster ID and edit logs. Important Note on FE Restore: If you restore an FE

meta_dir

to a new environment with different IPs or a fresh cluster, you may need to start the first FE node with the configuration

bdbje_reset_election_group = true

to allow it to elect itself as a new Leader and bypass the old node list. References • sql-reference/sql-statements/backup_restore/RESTORE.md • administration/user_privs/authorization/privilege_item.md • administration/management/Backup_and_restore.md