Configure PVC snapshots

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for configuring and using Persistent Volume Claim (PVC) Snapshots with Percona Operator for MongoDB.

For a high-level explanation of PVC snapshots, see PVC snapshot support.

Amazon EKS users

If you run your cluster on Amazon EKS, refer to the Add a VolumeSnapshotClass on EKS section. EKS requires specific addons, a gp3 storage class, and a matching VolumeSnapshotClass before you can use PVC snapshots.

Prerequisites

Before you use PVC snapshots, verify the following:

1. Your Kubernetes cluster must run a CSI driver that supports Volume Snapshots. Examples:

   • Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE): pd.csi.storage.gke.io
   • Amazon EKS: ebs.csi.aws.com
   • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS): disk.csi.azure.com

   Check what driver you have:

   kubectl get csidriver
   

2. Your Kubernetes cluster must have VolumeSnapshot CRDs installed. Most managed Kubernetes providers include these by default. Verify by running:

   kubectl get crd | grep volumesnapshot
   

   Expected output

   volumesnapshotclasses.snapshot.storage.k8s.io
   

3. At least one VolumeSnapshotClass must exist and be compatible with the storage class used by your MongoDB data volumes. Check it with:

   kubectl get volumesnapshotclasses
   

   If you don’t have one, you can add it yourself. Refer to the Add a VolumeSnapshotClass section.

4. To use PVC snapshots, you must run the Operator version 1.23.0 or later.

Before you start

1. Clone the Operator repository to be able to edit manifests:

   git clone -b v1.23.0 https://github.com/percona/percona-server-mongodb-operator
   cd percona-server-mongodb-operator
   

2. Export your cluster namespace:

   export NAMESPACE=<namespace>
   

Add a VolumeSnapshotClass

If your cluster has no suitable VolumeSnapshotClass, create one for your platform.

1. Create a VolumeSnapshotClass configuration file with the following configuration:

   Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)OpenShift

   volume-snapshot-class.yaml

   apiVersion: snapshot.storage.k8s.io/v1
   kind: VolumeSnapshotClass
   metadata:
     name: gke-snapshot-class
   driver: pd.csi.storage.gke.io
   deletionPolicy: Delete
   

   volume-snapshot-class.yaml

   apiVersion: snapshot.storage.k8s.io/v1
   kind: VolumeSnapshotClass
   metadata:
     name: aks-snapshot-class
   driver: disk.csi.azure.com
   deletionPolicy: Delete
   

   volume-snapshot-class.yaml

   apiVersion: snapshot.storage.k8s.io/v1
   kind: VolumeSnapshotClass
   metadata:
     name: openshift-snapshot-class
   driver: ebs.csi.aws.com   # use the driver that matches your storage class
   deletionPolicy: Delete
   

2. Create the VolumeSnapshotClass resource:

   kubectl apply -f volume-snapshot-class.yaml
   

3. Verify that the VolumeSnapshotClass resource is created:

   kubectl get volumesnapshotclasses
   

   Sample output

   NAME                 DRIVER                  DELETIONPOLICY   AGE
   gke-snapshot-class   pd.csi.storage.gke.io   Delete           42s
   

Add a VolumeSnapshotClass on EKS

1. Before you start, ensure you have the following:

   • An EKS cluster (or plan to create one)
   • kubectl configured to access your cluster
   • The AWS CLI installed and configured

2. Enable required EKS addons. EKS requires two addons for volume snapshots: the Amazon EBS CSI driver and the snapshot controller. You can enable them when you create the cluster or add them to an existing cluster.

   At cluster creationOn existing cluster

   If you deploy the cluster with eksctl or a similar tool, include these addons in your cluster configuration:

   addons:
     - name: aws-ebs-csi-driver
       wellKnownPolicies:
         ebsCSIController: true
     - name: snapshot-controller
   nodeGroups:
     - name: ng-1
       desiredCapacity: 3
       minSize: 3
       maxSize: 3
   

   If your cluster already exists, enable the addons with the AWS CLI. Replace with the name of your EKS cluster in the following commands:

   aws eks create-addon \
     --cluster-name <CLUSTER_NAME> \
     --addon-name aws-ebs-csi-driver \
     --resolve-conflicts OVERWRITE
   
   aws eks create-addon \
     --cluster-name <CLUSTER_NAME> \
     --addon-name snapshot-controller
   

3. Create a gp3 storage class. Since the default gp2 storage class on EKS doesn’t support volume snapshots, you must use gp3 instead.

   • Create the storage class configuration file:

     ebs-gp3-storage-class.yaml

     apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
     kind: StorageClass
     metadata:
       name: ebs-csi-gp3
     provisioner: ebs.csi.aws.com
     volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
     allowVolumeExpansion: true
     parameters:
       type: gp3
     

   • Apply the configuration to create the StorageClass:

   kubectl apply -f ebs-gp3-storage-class.yaml
   

4. Now you are ready to create the VolumeSnapshotClass.

   Here’s the example configuration file:

   ebs-gp3-snapshot-class.yaml

   apiVersion: snapshot.storage.k8s.io/v1
   kind: VolumeSnapshotClass
   metadata:
     name: ebs-csi-gp3
   driver: ebs.csi.aws.com
   deletionPolicy: Delete
   

   Apply it with:

   kubectl apply -f ebs-gp3-snapshot-class.yaml
   

   Expected output

   volumesnapshotclass.snapshot.storage.k8s.io/ebs-csi-gp3 created
   

Next steps

Use PVC snapshots for backups and restores

---

Last update: July 23, 2026
Created: July 23, 2026