ArangoDB StatefulSet for Kubernetes

Run arangodb as a statefulset in the cluster. Uses volume mount to persist the database.

This repository provides Kubernetes manifests for running ArangoDB as a StatefulSet within a Kubernetes cluster. The deployment uses persistent volume mounts to ensure database data is retained across pod restarts, rescheduling, and node failures—making it suitable for development, testing, and production environments.

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Overview

ArangoDB is a native multi-model database supporting:

• Document
• Graph
• Key/value

This StatefulSet-based deployment enables:

• Stable network identities for each ArangoDB pod
• Persistent storage using Kubernetes volumes
• Predictable pod startup and shutdown ordering
• Compatibility with Kubernetes-native operations

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Architecture

• Workload Type: StatefulSet
• Storage: PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) per pod
• Networking: Stable DNS names via headless service
• Data Persistence: Volume-mounted ArangoDB data directory

Prerequisites

• Kubernetes 1.22+
• kubectl configured for your cluster
• A default StorageClass (or one explicitly defined)
• Persistent volumes supported by your environment

Deployment

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/pdvd-arangodb/arangodb-statefulset.git
cd arangodb-statefulset

2. Create required resources

Apply configuration and secrets first:

kubectl apply -f configmap.yaml
kubectl apply -f secret.yaml

3. Deploy the StatefulSet

kubectl apply -f service.yaml
kubectl apply -f statefulset.yaml

4. Verify Deployment

kubectl get pods
kubectl get pvc
kubectl get svc

You should see pods similar to:

arangodb-0   Running
arangodb-1   Running
arangodb-2   Running

Accessing ArangoDB

Port-forward (local access)

kubectl port-forward svc/arangodb 8529:8529

Then open: http://localhost:8529

Service	Port
Web UI / API	8529
Cluster Internal	8529

Persistent Storage

Each ArangoDB pod receives its own persistent volume:

• Data path:

/var/lib/arangodb3

• Storage behavior:

  • Data persists if pods restart
  • Data persists if pods move nodes
  • Data remains until PVC is deleted

To Remove All Data

kubectl delete pvc -l app=arangodb

Scaling

To scale the StatefulSet:

kubectl scale statefulset arangodb --replicas=3

StatefulSets ensure:

• Ordered pod creation
• Ordered termination
• Stable identity per instance

Configuration

Configuration options can be modified through:

• ConfigMap – ArangoDB settings
• Secrets – root password, JWT secrets
• StatefulSet – resources, volume size, replica count

Common settings include:

• Memory limits
• Storage size
• Authentication mode
• Cluster vs single-server mode
• Production Considerations

For production environments, consider:

• Enabling ArangoDB cluster mode
• Using separate Agency, DBServer, and Coordinator roles
• Setting resource requests and limits
• Configuring backups
• Enabling TLS
• Restricting network access via NetworkPolicies
• Monitoring with Prometheus exporters

Compatibility

Tested with:

• Kubernetes (EKS, GKE, AKS, k3s)
• CSI-backed persistent volumes
• ArangoDB 3.x

References

https://www.arangodb.com/docs/ https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/workloads/controllers/statefulset/ https://www.arangodb.com/docs/stable/deployment-kubernetes.html

Community

• Website: https://ortelius.io
• GitHub: https://github.com/ortelius
• Discord: https://discord.gg/ortelius

Maintained by the Ortelius open-source community.