How do I deploy Elasticsearch on Kubernetes using KubeBlocks?

Install KubeBlocks via Helm, then install the Elasticsearch addon: "helm upgrade -i kb-addon-elasticsearch kubeblocks/elasticsearch -n kb-system". Create an Elasticsearch cluster by applying a Cluster resource with the desired topology (single-node, mdit, multi-node, or m-d-i-t) and replica count. KubeBlocks provisions pods, services, and PVCs automatically.

What Elasticsearch topologies does KubeBlocks support?

KubeBlocks supports four Elasticsearch topologies: single-node (all roles in one pod, for development), mdit (multiple nodes each running all roles, for scalable medium workloads without dedicated masters), multi-node (dedicated master nodes + combined data/ingest/transform nodes, for production HA), and m-d-i-t (fully separated master, data, ingest, and transform nodes, for large-scale deployments with role isolation).

What Elasticsearch versions does KubeBlocks support?

KubeBlocks supports Elasticsearch 6.8.23, 7.7.1, 7.8.1, 7.10.1, 7.10.2, 8.1.3, 8.8.2, and 8.15.5. The latest supported version is 8.15.5. Rolling upgrades within the same major series are supported; cross-major upgrades require meeting Elasticsearch compatibility prerequisites.

How does KubeBlocks handle Elasticsearch high availability?

KubeBlocks deploys dedicated master nodes (minimum 3) that use Elasticsearch cluster coordination (quorum-based) for cluster state management. Data nodes store and serve index shards with configurable replication. If a master node fails, the remaining quorum elects a new master automatically. KubeBlocks monitors cluster health and manages pod restarts.

Does KubeBlocks Elasticsearch Operator support backup and restore?

Yes. KubeBlocks supports snapshot-based backup for Elasticsearch using S3-compatible object storage (AWS S3, MinIO, etc.). Scheduled backups are supported via the BackupSchedule CRD. Restore creates a new cluster from any stored snapshot.

Can I scale my Elasticsearch cluster horizontally with KubeBlocks?

Yes. KubeBlocks supports horizontal scaling of Elasticsearch data, ingest, and transform nodes via OpsRequest. When you add data nodes, Elasticsearch automatically rebalances shards across the new nodes without re-indexing. The cluster remains available throughout; a brief rebalancing phase may cause minor latency variation.

Is the KubeBlocks Elasticsearch Operator open source?

Yes. KubeBlocks is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license at https://github.com/apecloud/kubeblocks. The Elasticsearch addon is available at https://github.com/apecloud/kubeblocks-addons. An Enterprise edition adds a web management UI and dedicated support.

The Production-Grade Elasticsearch Operator for Kubernetes | KubeBlocks

Open Source · Production-Grade · CNCF Landscape

KubeBlocks Elasticsearch Operator for Kubernetes

Deploy production-grade Elasticsearch clusters in minutes. Multi-node HA, snapshot backup, horizontal scaling, and full Day-2 operations via a single operator.

Try Playground Free →Read the Docs

4

Topologies

100%

Open Source

Deploy Elasticsearch in 4 steps

Install KubeBlocks

# Add Helm repo
helm repo add kubeblocks https://apecloud.github.io/helm-charts
helm repo update

# Install KubeBlocks
helm install kubeblocks kubeblocks/kubeblocks \
  --namespace kb-system --create-namespace

Install Elasticsearch Addon

helm upgrade -i kb-addon-elasticsearch kubeblocks/elasticsearch \
  -n kb-system

Create an Elasticsearch Cluster

apiVersion: apps.kubeblocks.io/v1
kind: Cluster
metadata:
  name: es-cluster
  namespace: demo
spec:
  terminationPolicy: Delete
  clusterDef: elasticsearch
  topology: multi-node
  componentSpecs:
    - name: master
      replicas: 3
    - name: dit
      replicas: 2

Cluster is Ready

$ kubectl get cluster es-cluster -n demo
NAME         CLUSTER-DEF       TOPOLOGY     STATUS    AGE
es-cluster   elasticsearch     multi-node   Running   3m

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State Grid

BONC Cloud

China Mobile Cloud

China Telecom Cloud

Tencent

Xiaomi

Ping An

VIP.com

Kwai

Tiger Brokers

CITIC Securities

SealOS

FastGPT

KubeSphere

Momenta

360

Tilaa

Olares

Changan Automobile

State Grid

Elasticsearch Topologies

Every Elasticsearch Topology. One Operator.

From a single-node dev instance to a fully role-separated production cluster — choose the topology that fits your workload.

A single Elasticsearch pod with all roles enabled (master, data, ingest, transform). Ideal for development, local testing, and small-scale workloads where high availability is not required.

✓

All roles in one pod (master + data + ingest + transform)

✓

Minimal resource footprint — single CPU/memory allocation

✓

REST API on :9200 and transport on :9300

✓

Prometheus metrics via elasticsearch-exporter sidecar

✓

Easy to upgrade to multi-node without data loss

Dev / Test

No HA

Fast Setup

Application / Client

REST es-cluster-mdit-http:9200

REST :9200

es-cluster-mdit-http

ClusterIP · :9200 · all pods

single pod

mdit-0All Roles

masterdataingesttransform

🔍elasticsearch:9200 · :9300

⚙️es-agent:8080

📊exporter:9114

💾 PVC data · 20Gi

No HA — single pod failure means cluster unavailable · recommended for development only

All-Roles Node

Client Traffic

Persistent Storage

Comparison

How KubeBlocks Compares to Other Elasticsearch Options

Feature	KubeBlocks	ECK (Elastic)	Bitnami Helm Chart
Kubernetes-native CRD API	✓	✓	✗
Single-node / multi-node topologies	✓	✓	~
Fully separated role topology (m-d-i-t)	✓	✓	✗
Horizontal scaling (data nodes)	✓	✓	~
Vertical scaling (CPU/memory)	✓	✓	~
PVC volume expansion	✓	~	~
Dynamic parameter reconfiguration	✓	~	✗
Rolling version upgrade	✓	✓	~
Snapshot backup & restore	✓	~	~
Prometheus metrics	✓	✓	✓
Kibana integration	✓	✓	~
Stop / start cluster	✓	✗	✗
Open Source	✓	~Elastic License 2.0 — not OSI open source.	✓
Cluster management web UI	Enterprise	~	✗

✓ = Supported · ~ = Partial / Limited · ✗ = Not supported

Enterpriseindicates a capability available in KubeBlocks Enterprise, not the open-source distribution. Contact us for licensing →

Based on publicly available documentation. Features may vary by version.

Capabilities

Built for Production Elasticsearch

KubeBlocks automates the hardest parts of running Elasticsearch on Kubernetes — so your team doesn't have to.

📸

Snapshot Backup & Restore

Scheduled snapshot backups to S3-compatible object storage. Restore a full cluster to any stored snapshot in minutes.

S3 Repository

Backup Timeline

Snapshot

00:00

Snapshot

08:00

Snapshot

16:00

Restore Target

20:35

📦

1. Load SnapshotRestore from nearest snapshot in S3 repository

→

⚙️

2. Restore IndicesRecover index data and shard assignments

→

✅

3. Cluster ReadyNew cluster started, master elected, shards green

✓ S3-Compatible Storage

Day-2 Operations

Every Operation Declared as a Kubernetes Resource

No SSH into pods, no shell scripts. Submit an OpsRequest and KubeBlocks handles the rest.

High Availability & Scaling

✓

Horizontal Scaling

Scale data, ingest, or transform node counts online without re-indexing. Cluster remains available throughout with minimal rebalancing overhead.

✓

Vertical Scaling

Resize CPU and memory on any role group with a rolling strategy that keeps the cluster available.

✓

Volume Expansion

Expand data node PVCs to increase index storage capacity without pod restarts.

✓

Rolling Restart

Controlled pod restarts with quorum-aware sequencing — master quorum is never broken.

✓

Stop / Start

Suspend clusters to eliminate compute cost; resume with full cluster state.

Configuration, Security & Observability

✓

Dynamic Configuration

Tune Elasticsearch parameters via OpsRequest — heap size, thread pool, circuit breakers.

✓

Version Upgrade

Rolling upgrades within the same major series with health checks. Cross-major upgrades supported when Elasticsearch compatibility prerequisites are met.

✓

Prometheus Metrics

Per-node metrics via elasticsearch-exporter on :9114 for Grafana dashboards.

✓

Backup & Restore

Snapshot-based physical backups to S3-compatible storage; restore from any snapshot.

✓

Expose via LoadBalancer

Enable external REST access for Kibana, Logstash, or application clients outside the cluster.

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Also on KubeBlocks

Apache Kafka Operator for Kubernetes →

Kafka and Elasticsearch are often deployed together as the ELK-style log pipeline backbone. KubeBlocks manages both with a single operator and unified Day-2 operations.

Get Started

Get Started with KubeBlocks Elasticsearch Operator, Risk-Free.

Open source and production-ready. Enterprise customers get dedicated onboarding, migration support, and SLA guarantees.

Try Playground Free →Talk to the Team

✓Open Source

✓Elasticsearch & 35+ other engines

✓Production-grade HA

✓No vendor lock-in

# Add Helm repo helm repo add kubeblocks https://apecloud.github.io/helm-charts helm repo update # Install KubeBlocks helm install kubeblocks kubeblocks/kubeblocks \ --namespace kb-system --create-namespace

apiVersion: apps.kubeblocks.io/v1 kind: Cluster metadata: name: es-cluster namespace: demo spec: terminationPolicy: Delete clusterDef: elasticsearch topology: multi-node componentSpecs: - name: master replicas: 3 - name: dit replicas: 2

Feature

KubeBlocks

ECK (Elastic)

Bitnami Helm Chart

Kubernetes-native CRD API

✓

✗

Single-node / multi-node topologies

✓

Fully separated role topology (m-d-i-t)

✓

✗

Horizontal scaling (data nodes)

✓

Vertical scaling (CPU/memory)

✓

PVC volume expansion

✓

Dynamic parameter reconfiguration

✓

✗

Rolling version upgrade

✓

Snapshot backup & restore

✓

Prometheus metrics

✓

Kibana integration

✓

Stop / start cluster

✓

✗

Open Source

✓

~Elastic License 2.0 — not OSI open source.

✓

Cluster management web UI

Enterprise

✗