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Veritas launches Docker container backup in NetBackup
Docker is becoming an industry standard form of application virtualisation, and with that comes the need to back up Docker environments and data. Veritas joins CommVault and Asigra in doing so
Veritas has announced that its NetBackup backup software product is now certified to work with Docker containers.
NetBackup 8.1.2 now provides backup for Docker container data, and joins CommVault and Asigra in offering data protection for Docker.
It comes as a NetBackup client in the form of a Docker image that can protect application data on persistent storage, or using a staging area.
Different methods of protecting Docker data are offered by NetBackup.
The first is to run one NetBackup Docker client per application, in which case the two share the same lifecycle and must both be mounted to the persistent storage being used.
Alternatively, one NetBackup client can be linked to numerous Docker containers. This is easier on resources but can lack the flexibility of the one-to-one approach.
Finally, applications running in Docker can save data to a “dump volume”, from which NetBackup protects it via a standard policy.
Docker containers are a form of UNIX-based open source virtualisation that operates on top of the host OS. Containers have seen a huge upsurge in popularity, and offer a more lightweight method of application virtualisation than hypervisor-centred methods.
They are designed to provide a short-lived environment that can be spun up and down rapidly for peak workloads in web environments, for example.
Read more on containers and storage
- Containers such as those from Docker are agile, lightweight and can be short-lived, but they and their data often need to be protected. We look at the key options available.
- We look at what the big five storage array makers – Dell EMC, Hitachi, HPE, IBM and NetApp – are doing to provide persistent storage for container-based deployments.
Docker was initially designed not to have persistent storage attached, but this soon became a requirement for enterprise users and numerous storage suppliers have created Docker plugins to allow their array LUNs to provide container storage.
Along with that came the need for Docker backup.
Docker provides best practices for protection of Docker infrastructure, while the container orchestrator Kubernetes is supported with native volume by a number of storage makers and supports the Container Storage Interface.
Commvault also provides Docker protection and recovery via a virtualisation client.
Meanwhile, Asigra Cloud Backup protects Docker environments via an Agentless approach.
