diff --git a/pkg/cli/cmds/server.go b/pkg/cli/cmds/server.go
index 27e62f0c20..e372162270 100644
--- a/pkg/cli/cmds/server.go
+++ b/pkg/cli/cmds/server.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ type Server struct {
 	ExtraSchedulerArgs  cli.StringSlice
 	ExtraControllerArgs cli.StringSlice
 	Rootless            bool
+	StorageEndpoint     string
 }
 
 var ServerConfig Server
@@ -137,6 +138,12 @@ func NewServerCommand(action func(*cli.Context) error) cli.Command {
 				Usage:       "(experimental) Run rootless",
 				Destination: &ServerConfig.Rootless,
 			},
+			cli.StringFlag{
+				Name:        "storage-endpoint",
+				Usage:       "Specify Mysql, Postgres, or Sqlite (default) data source name",
+				Destination: &ServerConfig.StorageEndpoint,
+				EnvVar:      "K3S_STORAGE_ENDPOINT",
+			},
 			NodeIPFlag,
 			NodeNameFlag,
 			DockerFlag,
diff --git a/pkg/cli/server/server.go b/pkg/cli/server/server.go
index 0b7b26a423..02adf5a153 100644
--- a/pkg/cli/server/server.go
+++ b/pkg/cli/server/server.go
@@ -24,7 +24,9 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/net"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/volume/csi"
 
-	_ "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3" // ensure we have sqlite
+	_ "github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql" // ensure we have mysql
+	_ "github.com/lib/pq"              // ensure we have postgres
+	_ "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3"    // ensure we have sqlite
 )
 
 func setupLogging(app *cli.Context) {
@@ -101,6 +103,7 @@ func run(app *cli.Context, cfg *cmds.Server) error {
 	serverConfig.ControlConfig.ExtraControllerArgs = cfg.ExtraControllerArgs
 	serverConfig.ControlConfig.ExtraSchedulerAPIArgs = cfg.ExtraSchedulerArgs
 	serverConfig.ControlConfig.ClusterDomain = cfg.ClusterDomain
+	serverConfig.ControlConfig.StorageEndpoint = cfg.StorageEndpoint
 
 	_, serverConfig.ControlConfig.ClusterIPRange, err = net2.ParseCIDR(cfg.ClusterCIDR)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/daemons/config/types.go b/pkg/daemons/config/types.go
index 48829ad48e..c3b1dceaa7 100644
--- a/pkg/daemons/config/types.go
+++ b/pkg/daemons/config/types.go
@@ -70,10 +70,7 @@ type Control struct {
 	KubeConfigMode        string
 	DataDir               string
 	Skips                 []string
-	ETCDEndpoints         []string
-	ETCDKeyFile           string
-	ETCDCertFile          string
-	ETCDCAFile            string
+	StorageEndpoint       string
 	NoScheduler           bool
 	ExtraAPIArgs          []string
 	ExtraControllerArgs   []string
diff --git a/pkg/daemons/control/server.go b/pkg/daemons/control/server.go
index a3f349ec69..2e3df351a9 100644
--- a/pkg/daemons/control/server.go
+++ b/pkg/daemons/control/server.go
@@ -146,18 +146,8 @@ func scheduler(cfg *config.Control, runtime *config.ControlRuntime) {
 
 func apiServer(ctx context.Context, cfg *config.Control, runtime *config.ControlRuntime) (authenticator.Request, http.Handler, error) {
 	argsMap := make(map[string]string)
-	if len(cfg.ETCDEndpoints) > 0 {
-		argsMap["storage-backend"] = "etcd3"
-		argsMap["etcd-servers"] = strings.Join(cfg.ETCDEndpoints, ",")
-		if cfg.ETCDKeyFile != "" {
-			argsMap["etcd-keyfile"] = cfg.ETCDKeyFile
-		}
-		if cfg.ETCDCAFile != "" {
-			argsMap["etcd-cafile"] = cfg.ETCDCAFile
-		}
-		if cfg.ETCDCertFile != "" {
-			argsMap["etcd-certfile"] = cfg.ETCDCertFile
-		}
+	if len(cfg.StorageEndpoint) > 0 {
+		argsMap["etcd-servers"] = cfg.StorageEndpoint
 	}
 
 	certDir := filepath.Join(cfg.DataDir, "tls/temporary-certs")