How to Create EBS CSI Volume Snapshots in Amazon EKS

Learn how to create and restore EBS CSI volume snapshots in Amazon EKS. This step-by-step guide walks you through CRD installation, snapshot creation, IAM setup, and restoring data from snapshots.

Shilpa H K

2/10/20265 min read

How to Create EBS CSI Volume Snapshots in Amazon EKS

EKS EBS CSI snapshot

Creating snapshots of your persistent volumes in Amazon EKS using the EBS CSI driver is an essential step for data backup and disaster recovery. In this guide, we'll walk you through the complete process—from installing snapshot CRDs to restoring data into a new pod.

What Is an EBS CSI Volume Snapshot?

A Volume Snapshot is a point-in-time copy of your PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) in Kubernetes. Using the EBS Container Storage Interface (CSI) driver, you can:

Backup critical application data
Restore PVCs quickly
Enable disaster recovery for stateful workloads in EKS

Snapshots integrate with AWS EBS, making it easy to manage volume backups without manual intervention.

For an overview of how volume snapshots work in EKS, see the Kubernetes Volume Snapshot Documentation.

For teams managing production Kubernetes workloads, platforms like nife’s AWS EKS cluster management solution help simplify cluster operations, storage lifecycle management, and backup strategies at scale.

Step 1 — Install Volume Snapshot CRDs

Install EBS CSI Snapshot Components First, install the Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) for Kubernetes volume snapshots:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-csi/external-snapshotter/v6.3.0/client/config/crd/snapshot.storage.k8s.io_volumesnapshotclasses.yaml
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-csi/external-snapshotter/v6.3.0/client/config/crd/snapshot.storage.k8s.io_volumesnapshotcontents.yaml
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-csi/external-snapshotter/v6.3.0/client/config/crd/snapshot.storage.k8s.io_volumesnapshots.yaml

Verify installation:

kubectl get crd | grep volumesnapshot

Step 2 — Install Snapshot Controller

Install the snapshot controller, which manages snapshot creation and readiness:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-csi/external-snapshotter/v6.3.0/deploy/kubernetes/snapshot-controller/setup-snapshot-controller.yaml
kubectl get pods -n kube-system | grep snapshot

Step 3 — Create VolumeSnapshotClass (AWS EBS)

Create a file named ebs-snapshot-class.yaml:

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

Apply the class: This defines how your snapshots will be created and deleted.

kubectl apply -f ebs-snapshot-class.yaml
kubectl get volumesnapshotclass

Step 4 — Ensure IAM Permissions for CSI Driver

The EBS CSI driver IAM role must allow snapshot operations:

{
  "Effect": "Allow",
  "Action": [
    "ec2:CreateSnapshot",
    "ec2:DeleteSnapshot",
    "ec2:DescribeSnapshots",
    "ec2:CreateTags",
    "ec2:DescribeVolumes"
  ],
  "Resource": "*"
}

Step 5 — Create a Test PVC and Pod

Create a test PVC (test-pvc.yaml):

apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: snapshot-test-pvc
  namespace: htto
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  storageClassName: ebs-csi
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 1Gi

Apply the PVC:

kubectl apply -f test-pvc.yaml
kubectl get pv -o yaml | grep ebs.csi.aws.com

Create a test pod (test-pod.yaml) to write data:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: snapshot-test-pod
  namespace: htto
spec:
  containers:
  - name: app
    image: busybox
    command: ["sh", "-c", "sleep 3600"]
    volumeMounts:
    - mountPath: /data
      name: data
  volumes:
  - name: data
    persistentVolumeClaim:
      claimName: snapshot-test-pvc

Apply the pod:

kubectl apply -f test-pod.yaml
kubectl get pvc snapshot-test-pvc -n htto

Step 6 — Write Data Into the Volume

kubectl exec -it snapshot-test-pod -n htto -- sh
echo "hello snapshot" > /data/testfile.txt
exit

Step 7 — Create a Volume Snapshot

Create and Manage EBS CSI Volume Snapshots Create snapshot.yaml:

apiVersion: snapshot.storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: VolumeSnapshot
metadata:
  name: snapshot-test
  namespace: htto
spec:
  volumeSnapshotClassName: ebs-snapshot-class
  source:
    persistentVolumeClaimName: snapshot-test-pvc

Once snapshots are successfully created, organizations often integrate them into a broader cloud management workflow.

Solutions like nife’s hybrid cloud platform enable centralized visibility across Kubernetes clusters, cloud providers, and storage resources.

Apply the snapshot:

kubectl apply -f snapshot.yaml
kubectl get volumesnapshot -n htto
kubectl describe volumesnapshot snapshot-test -n htto

If Ready To Use is false, ensure the csi-snapshotter container is running in your EBS CSI controller. Upgrading the Helm release often resolves this:

helm repo update
helm upgrade aws-ebs-csi-driver aws-ebs-csi-driver/aws-ebs-csi-driver \
  -n kube-system \
--set controller.serviceAccount.annotations."eks\.amazonaws\.com/role-arn"=arn:aws:iam::814979595605:role/AmazonEKS_EBS_CSI_DriverRole   dont use like this
arn:aws:iam::<YOUR_AWS_ACCOUNT_ID>:role/AmazonEKS_EBS_CSI_DriverRole

Step 8 — Restore PVC from Snapshot

Restore Snapshot to New Pod Create restore-pvc.yaml:

apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: restore-pvc
  namespace: htto
spec:
  storageClassName: ebs-csi
  dataSource:
    name: snapshot-test
    kind: VolumeSnapshot
    apiGroup: snapshot.storage.k8s.io
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 1Gi

Apply it:

kubectl apply -f restore-pvc.yaml

Create a pod (restore-test.yaml) using the restored PVC:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: restore-test
  namespace: htto
spec:
  containers:
    - name: app
      image: nginx
      volumeMounts:
        - mountPath: "/data"
          name: restored-vol
  volumes:
    - name: restored-vol
      persistentVolumeClaim:
        claimName: restore-pvc

Verify your data is restored:

kubectl exec -it restore-test -n htto -- cat /data/testfile.txt

You should see:

hello snapshot

The restore PVC size must be equal or larger than the snapshot size.

Best Practices for EKS Volume Snapshots

Use Retain as the deletionPolicy for production snapshots to prevent accidental data loss.
Encrypt EBS volumes using AWS KMS to ensure data security and compliance.
Automate snapshot creation using tools like Velero or Kubernetes CronJobs.
Regularly test snapshot restores in staging environments to validate backup reliability.
Store snapshot metadata for auditing, compliance, and troubleshooting purposes.

Reference

Refer to the AWS EKS EBS CSI Driver Documentation for setup and configuration details.

Key Takeaways

Volume snapshots allow point-in-time backups of your PVCs in EKS.
The EBS CSI driver must include csi-snapshotter for snapshot functionality.
Always ensure IAM permissions are correctly configured.
Snapshots can be restored into new PVCs and pods, making them essential for backup and recovery.

For production-ready storage and backup recommendations, see the AWS EBS CSI Driver GitHub Repository.

For teams looking to implement this in production, explore nife.io solutions.

For more on EKS storage best practices, check AWS-EKS-EBS-CSI Documentation.

If you're operating multiple Kubernetes clusters across regions or cloud providers, nife.io’s solutions can help with unify EKS management, automate backups, and enhance observability across environments.

Deploy on Nife

Ready to deploy? Check out the Nife documentation:

EKS EBS Kubernetes CSI Volume Snapshot Cloud Storage

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