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Getting Started with OSO Kafka Backup

Welcome to OSO Kafka Backup! This section will help you get up and running quickly.

Overview

OSO Kafka Backup is a high-performance backup and restore tool for Apache Kafka. It supports:

  • Multiple storage backends: S3, Azure Blob, GCS, and local filesystem
  • Point-in-time recovery (PITR): Restore to any millisecond within your backup window
  • Zero downtime: No need to stop brokers or consumers
  • High throughput: 100+ MB/s per partition
  • Compression: Zstd (default), LZ4, or no compression

Learning Path

1. Quick Start (5 minutes)

If you want to see Kafka Backup in action immediately:

5-Minute Quickstart - Run your first backup with Docker

2. Understand the CLI

Learn the command-line interface and available commands:

CLI Basics - Commands, flags, and options

3. Your First Production Backup

Follow a detailed walkthrough of backing up and restoring a Kafka topic:

First Backup Tutorial - Step-by-step guide

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  • Kafka cluster: Apache Kafka 2.0+, Confluent Platform, or Amazon MSK
  • Storage: S3 bucket, Azure container, GCS bucket, or local disk space
  • Credentials: Kafka connection details and cloud storage credentials

Installation Methods

OSO Kafka Backup can be installed in several ways:

MethodBest ForGuide
BinaryBare metal servers, local developmentBare Metal
DockerContainerized environments, quick testingDocker
KubernetesProduction K8s clusters, GitOps workflowsKubernetes
HelmK8s with operator-based managementOperator Install

Quick Installation

macOS / Linux

# Download the latest release
curl -L https://github.com/osodevops/kafka-backup/releases/latest/download/kafka-backup-linux-amd64.tar.gz | tar xz

# Move to PATH
sudo mv kafka-backup /usr/local/bin/

# Verify installation
kafka-backup --help

Docker

# Pull the image
docker pull ghcr.io/osodevops/kafka-backup:latest

# Verify
docker run --rm ghcr.io/osodevops/kafka-backup:latest --help

Kubernetes Operator

# Add the Helm repository
helm repo add oso https://osodevops.github.io/kafka-backup

# Install the operator
helm install kafka-backup-operator oso/kafka-backup-operator \
-n kafka-backup-operator \
--create-namespace

What's Next?

  1. Quickstart - Run your first backup in 5 minutes
  2. CLI Basics - Learn all available commands
  3. First Backup - Detailed backup tutorial
  4. Deployment Guide - Production deployment options