Containers – and container orchestration, mostly through Kubernetes – are altering the way in which enterprises develop and run functions.
Containerised architectures permit organisations to develop, deploy and decommission functions rapidly. Additionally, containerised functions are extra simply moveable between the cloud and on-premise programs. For some enterprises, that is their key benefit.
However as enterprises use containerised functions extra broadly, they’re additionally utilizing them to deal with extra important knowledge – and this data needs to be backed up.
One of many arguments in favour of containers has been that no backups are wanted, as a result of the structure is stateless and functions are sometimes designed to have a really quick working life (most function for lower than a day). Any stateful elements are spun up from the central, key-value retailer, referred to as etcd.
This works completely effectively for fast utility growth and web-based operations. However as enterprises transfer containers into the core of operations and doubtlessly use them to switch typical functions, they want the next stage of safety. This implies defending the etcd database and any knowledge saved in persistent volumes.
“Usually talking, organisations aren’t backing up Kubernetes with native instruments, if they’re backing it up in any respect,” says Brent Ellis, a senior analyst at Forrester. “Many product groups again up the etcd configuration database for his or her clusters, then they again up the first storage that the container pictures are saved in and any persistent volumes references within the yaml information.
“That is superb when you have a low diploma of complexity and Kubernetes functions which have zero or minimal state. You want utility consciousness to be able to again up an utility’s state – and seize the place in a selected step of an utility that the transformation of information was left off within the case of a catastrophe.”
That is main to 2 predominant approaches for Kubernetes backup – devoted merchandise, and broader-based backup and restoration instruments that help container environments. This can be a, under no circumstances exhaustive, overview of the market.
Kasten K10
Kasten positions its K10 software program as a purpose-built, Kubernetes knowledge administration answer. The applying runs in its personal namespace on a Kubernetes cluster, and helps all the primary cloud platforms in addition to on-premise structure. The software scans for elements that want backup, together with persistent storage volumes and databases. Customers can set their very own knowledge safety, again and catastrophe restoration (DR) insurance policies.
In 2020, backup vendor Veeam bought Kasten.io.
Portworx
Portworx was one of many first suppliers to develop persistent storage for containers, so is effectively positioned to offer backup to Kubernetes environments. It does this by means of its PX-Backup software, which it claims is “container granular and app conscious”. The software helps block, file and object in addition to cloud storage. It has storage discovery and provisioning instruments, and backup, DR, safety and migration options.
Pure Storage purchased Portworx in 2020.
Velero
Verelo is an open supply backup, restore, restoration and migration software for Kubernetes. It will possibly again up whole clusters, or elements of 1 utilizing namespaces and label selectors. The software can now additionally restore Kubernetes utility programming interface (API) teams by precedence stage. Velero was beforehand Heptio Ark.
Though Velero is open supply, it’s supported by VMWare, and the seller has various Velero resources in its Tanzu developer centre.
Crimson Hat OpenShift Container Storage
Crimson Hat – now a part of IBM – launched important Kubernetes help to its Information Companies line in 2020, changing earlier IBM choices.
Crimson Hat OpenShift Container Storage provides the seller’s knowledge safety instruments to container environments, with out, says Crimson Hat, any further expertise or infrastructure. Options embody snapshots through the container storage interface, and clones of current knowledge volumes, and help inside OpenShift APIs to revive knowledge and functions in container pods, and restoring connections between namespaces and protracted knowledge.
The toolset additionally hyperlinks to IBM’s Spectrum Shield Plus companies and to TrilioVault and Kasten K10.
NetApp Astra Information Retailer
NetApp’s Astra Information Retailer is a file service for containers and digital machines (VMs) based mostly on a typical NFS shopper. Astra is positioned round simplifying storage throughout containers and VMs and making it extra environment friendly, so it permits companies to make use of the identical storage pool and backup instruments throughout each architectures.
NetApp up to date its Astra Management software program earlier this yr to help further Kubernetes platforms, together with Rancher and neighborhood Kubernetes. It makes use of NetApp’s back-end applied sciences for knowledge safety, DR and migration.
Rancher-backup
Rancher supplies its personal backup and restore operator from v2.5 of its environment upwards. The operator must be put in within the native Kubernetes cluster, and backs up the Rancher app. Nevertheless, the Rancher UI permits etcd and cluster backups, together with snapshots. These might be saved regionally or to an S3-compatible cloud goal.
TrilioVault
Trilio positions its TrilioVault software as cloud-native knowledge safety for Kubernetes. Trilio claims to be application-centric, and has a variety of Kubernetes platform and cloud help. The software makes use of core Kubernetes APIs and the CSI framework, whereas the administration console helps utility discovery and backup and restore and DR coverage administration. The software additionally helps snapshots.
TrilioVault is licensed for a variety of deployments, together with on HPE, VMWare Tanzu and Rancher.
Cohesity
Cohesity additionally positions its Helios backup software as a cloud-native service for containers. The seller works with the three hyperscale platforms, and backs up functions’ persistent states, persistent volumes and operational metadata. Multicloud help implies that backups and restores might be throughout a variety of cloud suppliers for added resilience.
Cohesity’s cloning instruments additionally affords zero-cost clones in order that DevOps groups can use backup knowledge for utility growth.
Veritas NetBackup
Veritas’s NetBackup instruments help a variety of backup and restoration, and enterprise continuity choices for Kubernetes. In addition to normal backups, Veritas helps ransomware safety, through immutable backups on AWS S3, and Kubernetes knowledge administration with built-in catastrophe restoration. Veritas additionally says its instruments permit customers to maneuver between Kubernetes distributions for a “backup as soon as, get better from and to wherever” strategy.
Cloudcasa
Catalogic’s Cloudcasa is comparatively uncommon out there in that it operates as backup-as-a service. It supplies cluster-level restoration and free snapshots, retained for 30 days, together with a variety of paid-for choices together with Kubernetes Persistent Quantity (PV) backups. Cloudcasa helps Amazon EBS snapshots and CSI snapshots.
Kubernetes-native vs normal backup: Beware doubling-up
Selecting the perfect backup and restoration choices for Kubernetes will not be all the time easy, nevertheless, and companies could discover they want multiple software to guard their installations.
“Lots of the standalone Kubernetes native backup instruments are being acquired by DevOps groups straight,” says Forrester’s Ellis. “It’s not unusual for a purchase order of TrillioVault or Kasten to be initiated by a product staff. Extra complete backup instruments are nonetheless being bought by the CIO and their staff, and understanding the necessity for Kubernetes native backup in that a part of the organisation is just a little behind.”
CIOs must steadiness the richer performance and extra granular controls of native Kubernetes instruments with the higher enterprise-wide view of functions and knowledge supplied by general-purpose however container-aware backup instruments.
“Within the complete backup instruments, I feel Kubernetes native backup is seen as tables stakes,” says Ellis. “Nearly all enterprise-level distributors declare to have the ability to again up Kubernetes, however not all of them do it natively.”
