CLUSTER USER GUIDE
Prepare separate source, target and acceptance checks for Rancher management restore, RKE2/K3s cluster recovery and downstream application recovery.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Rancher operator restore, distribution-specific etcd recovery and EraBackup PVC restore are different operations. This guide plans topology and acceptance; it is not an instruction to overwrite live management/etcd or automatically recover all clusters.
Screenshots were captured from the actual lab interface on 16 October 2026. The interface is in English; explanations follow your selected language. Resource names, dates and settings are examples; use values for your own environment.
Validation limit: no live Rancher management or downstream restore was tested. Shared EraBackup catalog screens are not labeled as Rancher operator output or evidence of successful Rancher-specific recovery.
Determine whether the record is Rancher operator output, a node/etcd record or a downstream PVC/database backup. Each has a different source, release and target. Do not use a backup from the wrong layer for management recovery.
The protection layer matches the recovery method.
Use the restore/migration procedure for the installed Rancher release when recovering operator output. Prepare the target local cluster, release compatibility, storage and any required encryption material. A Kubernetes entry in EraBackup does not automatically perform an operator restore.
Management recovery has a separate scope and owner.
Find the correct downstream source and method in Home → Backups. Inspect item and point through Action → Restore. An RKE2 name, job name or Kubernates label alone does not prove that Rancher manages the source.
The actual downstream source and point are identified.
For a validated PVC workflow assess an isolated namespace/storage target through Different Location if offered. If an ETCD/RKE2 record offers only Original Location, do not proceed simply to test; use a distribution-specific specialist plan. Do not assume the RKE2 workflow applies to a K3s target.
The workload target is separated from control-plane risk.
Compare source/backup ID, target context, namespace, storage and application dependencies. Keep management and workload access distinct. Use the final restore only for an approved isolated application target and validated method; management recovery remains in its own procedure.
The approved target and dependency order are recorded.
Assess Rancher management access and downstream connection state separately from Pod/PVC and application data acceptance. A cluster appearing in the console does not prove its data was recovered. Avoid repeatedly resubmitting failed recovery to the same target.
Management visibility and data health are assessed separately.
Separately validate management login, downstream resource health, test file/database queries and dependency access. Record releases, backup ID, target and duration. Successful management backup is not downstream data recovery or complete Rancher DR success.
Actual results are documented for each layer.
COMMON QUESTIONS
No. Downstream application data and dependencies require separate acceptance.
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES
Install EraBackup Master: operating system readiness, package integrity, terminal installer, TLS, licensing, repository and service validation.
Open guide
02Use EraBackup Create Policy to select source, storage, clients, retention and schedule, then validate the first full backup and recovery point.
Open guide03Select a recovery point in EraBackup, use the RESTORE wizard, review target mappings and Summary, and validate data in an isolated target.
Open guide04Prepare VMware backup step by step, from vCenter connectivity and test VM selection to HotAdd prerequisites and the full/CBT chain.
Open guide05Plan VMware recovery point selection, target vSphere resources and datastore checks, then validate recovery in a new isolated VM.
Open guide06Plan OpenShift Virtualization/KubeVirt VM backups with namespace, CSI, RBAC and repository prerequisites; assess database profiles separately.
Open guide07Plan the OpenShift recovery point, target namespace, new VM name and StorageClass; distinguish VM/PVC recovery from database restore.
Open guide08Prepare agent-based database policies and OpenShift PostgreSQL/MySQL logical streaming separately; check source, method, retention and initial backup acceptance.
Open guide09Prepare recovery point, target database, credential reference and final acceptance checks according to the engine and backup method.
Open guide010Prepare the Exchange agent, registered instance, database selection and backup acceptance plan. Check which release validates DAG, database and mailbox objectives.
Open guide011Inspect the Exchange catalog item, recovery point and mailbox selection screen; distinguish a UI preview from an actually completed recovery operation.
Open guide012Prepare the AD agent, domain controller source, policy selection and catalog acceptance; distinguish object recovery from System State and forest recovery objectives.
Open guide013Prepare the AD catalog point, object identity, attribute difference and scoped restore delegation; assess Recycle Bin and System State objectives separately.
Open guide014Prepare EraBackup Kubernetes agent policies, PVC/Pod selection and node/control-plane methods for your distribution; plan catalog and isolated restore acceptance together.
Open guide015Inspect Kubernetes catalog records, PVC targets and control-plane recovery limits separately; verify source/namespace mapping and application acceptance.
Open guide016Separate Rancher local management, RKE2/K3s and downstream application scope; distinguish the EraBackup agent method from Rancher’s own backup operator.
Open guide017Prepare separate source, target and acceptance checks for Rancher management restore, RKE2/K3s cluster recovery and downstream application recovery.
Open guide018Prepare OpenStack backup from VM, Cinder disk, project and consistency profile through the Full/incremental chain.
Open guide019Plan OpenStack VM restore with recovery point, disk chain, metadata and target project/network mappings.
Open guide020Prepare Safir Bulut backup from VM, Cinder disk, project and consistency profile through the Full/incremental chain.
Open guide021Plan Safir Bulut VM restore with recovery point, disk chain, metadata and target project/network mappings.
Open guide022Prepare Hyper-V backup with source connection, VM/disk selection, retention and initial acceptance checks.
Open guide023Plan recovery point, disk chain and Hyper-V targets within the scope exposed by the source template.
Open guide024Prepare Proxmox backup with source connection, VM/disk selection, retention and initial acceptance checks.
Open guide025Plan recovery point, disk chain and Proxmox targets within the scope exposed by the source template.
Open guide026KVM Backup Preparation Guide: assess releases, source access and validated target scope.
Open guide027KVM Restore Preparation Guide: assess releases, source access and validated target scope.
Open guide028Sangfor Backup Preparation Guide: assess releases, source access and validated target scope.
Open guide029Sangfor Restore Preparation Guide: assess releases, source access and validated target scope.
Open guide030Prepare file and folder selection, agent access, repository, retention and initial acceptance for Windows servers step by step.
Open guide031Prepare recovery points, file selection, target paths and data acceptance for Windows servers step by step.
Open guide032Prepare file and folder selection, agent access, repository, retention and initial acceptance for Linux servers step by step.
Open guide033Prepare recovery points, file selection, target paths and data acceptance for Linux servers step by step.
Open guide034Prepare Windows Bare Metal image backup with agent access, disk scope, boot dependencies and a recovery test.
Open guide035Prepare Windows Bare Metal image recovery points, destination disks, recovery environment and boot/data acceptance.
Open guide036Prepare Linux Bare Metal image backup with agent access, disk scope, boot dependencies and a recovery test.
Open guide037Prepare Linux Bare Metal image recovery points, destination disks, recovery environment and boot/data acceptance.
Open guide038Prepare replication acceptance with site mappings, the first Full seed, incremental generations and a verified checkpoint.
Open guide039Prepare service recovery with checkpoint selection, isolated testing, fencing, controlled failover and failback planning.
Open guide040Prepare source/destination roles, Storage Policy scope and data acceptance for NAS.
Open guide041Prepare catalogs, recovery chains, destination effects and file acceptance for NAS.
Open guide042Prepare source/destination roles, Storage Policy scope and data acceptance for S3-Compatible Object Storage.
Open guide043Prepare catalogs, recovery chains, destination effects and file acceptance for S3-Compatible Object Storage.
Open guide044Prepare SQL Server agent access, instance/database selection, method and initial backup acceptance.
Open guide045Prepare SQL Server recovery points, chains, destination instances and application acceptance step by step.
Open guide046Prepare Oracle agent access, instance/database selection, method and initial backup acceptance.
Open guide047Prepare Oracle recovery points, chains, destination instances and application acceptance step by step.
Open guide048Validate PostgreSQL methods, instance/database scope and initial data acceptance.
Open guide049Validate PostgreSQL methods, instance/database scope and destination chains.
Open guide050Validate MySQL methods, instance/database scope and initial data acceptance.
Open guide051Validate MySQL methods, instance/database scope and destination chains.
Open guide052Prepare MariaDB instances, methods, data scope and initial acceptance.
Open guide053Prepare MariaDB recovery points, log chains and validated destination effects.
Open guide054Prepare MongoDB instances, methods, data scope and initial acceptance.
Open guide055Prepare MongoDB recovery points, log chains and validated destination effects.
Open guide056Prepare DB2 instance, database/tablespace, methods and initial backup acceptance.
Open guide057Prepare DB2 instance, database/tablespace, recovery chains and destination acceptance.
Open guide058Use repository identity, HTTPS access, capacity and verified data acceptance to prepare installation.
Open guide059Use repository identity, HTTPS access, capacity and verified data acceptance to manage storage operations.
Open guide060Prepare scope, state verification and operational acceptance for monitoring step by step.
Open guide061Prepare scope, state verification and operational acceptance for reporting step by step.
Open guide062Prepare scope, state verification and operational acceptance for notification management step by step.
Open guide063Validate identity, role/group and tenant/resource boundaries for user management.
Open guide064Validate identity, role/group and tenant/resource boundaries for role management.
Open guide065Validate identity, role/group and tenant/resource boundaries for permission management.
Open guide066Validate LDAP connectivity, directory users and tenant/role mappings separately.
Open guide067Assess email OTP, expiry and sign-in-path exceptions through an acceptance plan.
Open guide068Assess symptoms, job identity, services and data acceptance step by step to diagnose issues.
Open guide069Assess symptoms, job identity, services and data acceptance using timelines and redacted logs.
Open guide070Prepare identity, package/scope and post-action acceptance for license management.
Open guide071Prepare identity, package/scope and post-action acceptance for version upgrade.
Open guide072Plan source, method, capacity and data acceptance together for backup scheduling.
Open guide073Plan source, method, capacity and data acceptance together for retention policies.
Open guide074Assess deduplication layers, policy selections and measured data acceptance separately.
Open guide075Assess compression layers, policy selections and measured data acceptance separately.
Open guide076Assess encryption layers, release support, key ownership and restore acceptance step by step.
Open guide077Validate the WORM option, repository requirements, protection period and catalog evidence separately.
Open guide078Assess job records, recovery chains and isolated restores using measurable acceptance steps.
Open guide079Review hash comparisons, repository chains and backend verification limits step by step.
Open guide080Manage transfer scheduling, concurrency and network impact through measurable steps.
Open guide081Assess source, network, repository and concurrency effects through controlled comparisons.
Open guide082Prepare Windows and Linux components, secure enrollment requirements and initial connectivity acceptance step by step.
Open guide083Manage agent inventory, connectivity health, updates and retirement conditions through controlled steps.
Open guide084Prepare integration requirements, the support process and secure test acceptance without exposing technical secrets.
Open guide085Combine scheduled jobs, error behavior, monitoring and rollback in a secure automation plan.
Open guide086Prepare event scope, time correlation and secure evidence sharing step by step.
Open guide087Assess access, updates, data protection and incident handling without publishing sensitive configuration.
Open guide088Plan site roles, data copies, connectivity impact and recovery acceptance through controlled steps.
Open guide089Assess inventory, access boundaries, job tracking and centralized operational acceptance step by step.
Open guide090Assess archival needs, target support, data scope and recovery requirements step by step.
Open guide091Plan retention needs, chain dependencies, continued access and periodic recovery acceptance.
Open guide092Assess tenant separation, resource ownership and access boundaries through controlled acceptance.
Open guide093Plan tenant onboarding, user/resource mappings and retirement acceptance safely.
Open guide094Assess data volume, change rate, retention chains and safe capacity headroom together.
Open guide095Measure storage and processing load separately to prepare supported expansion and acceptance plans.
Open guide096Assess service dependencies, support scope and controlled failover acceptance separately.
Open guide097Assess access traffic, health checks and job concurrency against the supported architecture.
Open guideTALK TO THE TECHNICAL TEAM
Share your workloads and recovery objectives. Let’s define the technical scope together.
MEET ERABACKUP
Share your workloads to start a demo and technical scope discussion.
Your requirements have been recorded for technical assessment.
