Backup and Restore process: lab exercise only for backup

StefanDiaconu

Hello,

Is it possible to add also an exercise for restore process in the lab exercises? Those 2 are important topics and the September 2024 course version there is only an exercise lab for kubernetes etcd backup and for etcd restore is missing(there is only a link to Kuberenetes official documentation, but the restore process depends on the specific configuration - so in our case, while following the LFS258 training, there should be done specific manipulations like closing the API server on static pods and restoring the snapshot without having an active etcd database - which is not quite simple). The exam will review both processes, backup and restore, so it is a course defect to not include also a restore lab exercise.

chrispokorni

Hi @StefanDiaconu,

Both the Sept 2024 release and the latest March 2025 release include the exercise on etcd snapshot. As the etcd project evolves at its own pace, the etcd recovery is also changing, and in time it was considered a slightly unstable feature. The snapshot process, however, has been stable since before it was introduced as a lab exercise, and the course itself aims to focus on features that show stability over time.

This is not the only topic where references are made to the official Kubernetes documentation. Learners are strongly encouraged to inspect the docs to become familiar with features, topics, examples, useful while taking the certification exam and in daily Kubernetes activities. I can personally vouch for this approach, as I generally find documentations to be great learning tools especially when paired with a structured training courses.

As far as adding the suggested exercise I cannot speak for the course authors and maintainers, as there are additional factors considered about a topic or content to be added, or removed.

Regards,
-Chris

StefanDiaconu

What I can say is that I struggled more than a week to restore the backup snapshot, broking several times the installed cluster until I saw that my static pods should be off and the etcdctl commands are passed over a sandbox image deployment. It was frustrating to not know what I was doing wrong - restoring etcd with running static etcd pod.