NetApp is offering its latest update for Astra Control, now enhanced to support cloud block storage providers (Microsoft Azure Disk Storage and Google Persistent Disk) and new Kubernetes platforms (Rancher Kubernetes Engine and community Kubernetes).
Astra Data Store is also now available as a preview and provides native files services for Kubernetes and VMware deployments.
“NetApp continues to enhance our family of Astra products to support our customers as they develop, deploy, run, and scale business critical applications on Kubernetes,” said Ronen Schwartz, GM/SVP, cloud volumes at NetApp. “This update of Astra Control and Astra Data Store demonstrates our ongoing commitment to provide richer data management features, and broad support for Kubernetes platforms and public cloud storage providers that our customers have requested.”
Astra Control is an application-aware data management solution that protects, recovers, and moves data-rich Kubernetes workloads in both public clouds and on-premises.
It enables data protection, disaster recovery, and migration for Kubernetes workloads by leveraging NetApp’s data management technology for snapshots, backups, replication, and cloning.
Astra Control has two variants — Astra Control Service (ACS) and Astra Control Centre (ACC). Astra Control Service is a managed service operated by NetApp, while Astra Control Centre offers the same data management functionality that is delivered to customers, packaged as a self-managed software suite.
This update of Astra Control delivers key application-aware data management features and expands support for storage providers and Kubernetes platforms that customers have requested.
Support for applications deployed using OperatorsAstra Control now allows users to protect and move applications that are deployed and managed using Kubernetes Operators, in addition to supporting applications deployed using Helm and Labels.
With support for Operator-deployed apps, users can now manage a broader set of applications that use this design pattern with a user experience that is consistent with apps deployed using Helm and Labels.
Astra Control automatically discovers the Operator-deployed applications, along with their custom resources and the associated controllers.
With Astra Control, users can now restore a Kubernetes application from an existing snapshot or a backup within the original namespace where the application resides.
This feature allows users to easily restore K8s applications in place (in the same namespace within the same cluster). Users can quickly recover from service disruption scenarios like accidental or malicious data corruption or deletion, a failed application upgrade, and other similar issues.
This operation allows Astra Control Service to now support Azure Disk Storage in addition to Azure NetApp Files on Azure and Google Persistent Disks in addition to Cloud Volumes Service on Google Cloud. Users can now protect, recover, and move existing and new applications that are backed by Azure Disk Storage or Google Persistent Disks, as long as they are accessed using the respective CSI drivers with support for snapshots and cloning functionality.
Support for these two block storage providers also enables complete application-data management for applications that use a combination of file and block storage, like Azure Disk Storage and Azure NetApp Files on Azure or Google Persistent Disks and Cloud Volumes Service in Google Cloud.
