Addressing AKS Backup Limitations with CloudCasa

While Azure’s native AKS backup solution offers essential data protection features, it does have some limitations that might impact organizations with specific needs. Here’s how CloudCasa enhances AKS backup capabilities and fills in those gaps.

1. Expanded Kubernetes Version Support

• AKS Backup: Limited to Kubernetes versions 1.22 and later, which may not accommodate clusters running older Kubernetes versions.
• CloudCasa Solution: Supports a broader range of Kubernetes versions, including legacy versions and custom distributions. Additionally, through Azure Arc integration, CloudCasa extends data protection to non-AKS clusters, including Kubernetes clusters running on-premises or in other cloud environments.

2. Comprehensive Volume Support

• AKS Backup:
  • Supports only CSI driver-based Azure Disks (Standard HDD, Standard SSD, and Premium SSD).
  • No support for Azure Files, Azure Blob Storage, Premium SSD v2, or Ultra Disks.
  • Doesn’t cover in-tree volumes.
• CloudCasa Solution:
  • Supports both in-tree and CSI volumes, as well as other persistent volumes like Azure Files, Azure Blob Storage, and NFS-based volumes.
  • Enables seamless backup for Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters, supporting cross-cloud data protection for AWS EBS, Google PD, and on-premises storage options.
  • Provides flexibility to back up and restore data from diverse cloud storage environments, optimizing data protection strategies.

3. Azure Arc Integration for Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Environments

• AKS Backup: Designed primarily for AKS clusters within Azure.
• CloudCasa Solution: With Azure Arc integration, CloudCasa extends its backup and disaster recovery capabilities to Kubernetes clusters outside of AKS, including those running on-premises, at the edge (e.g. Azure Stack HCI), or in other public clouds (e.g. EKS, GKE, etc.).
  • This allows organizations to have a unified data protection strategy across all their Kubernetes clusters, regardless of where they are deployed.
  • Leverages a single pane of glass to manage backup, recovery, and disaster recovery for multi-cloud and hybrid Kubernetes environments.

4. Flexible Storage & Region Options

• AKS Backup:
  • Requires a new and empty blob container per AKS cluster.
  • Backup vault and blob container must be in the same region and subscription as the AKS cluster.
• CloudCasa Solution:
  • Supports cross-region and cross-subscription backups, making it easier to protect Kubernetes workloads across different regions and subscriptions.
  • Efficiently backs up data to Azure Blob Storage, with support for using existing storage accounts and containers, reducing setup complexity.
  • Provides advanced deduplication and compression, optimizing storage usage and reducing costs.

5. Broader Identity & Authorization Support

• AKS Backup: Limited to managed identities and does not support clusters using service principals.
• CloudCasa Solution:
  • Supports both managed identities and service principals for AKS clusters.
  • Provides seamless integration with Azure AD and Azure Arc for secure identity and access management across multi-cloud environments.

6. Enhanced Disaster Recovery & Cross-Region Restore

• AKS Backup:
  • Limited disaster recovery capabilities, available only between Azure-paired regions.
  • Recovery Point Objective (RPO) up to 36 hours for cross-region restores.
• CloudCasa Solution:
  • Offers cross-region, cross-cloud, and cross-cluster disaster recovery with no regional limitations.
  • Supports instant recovery to any cloud provider or on-premises environment, drastically reducing downtime.
  • Enables multi-cloud DR strategies, allowing AKS workloads to be restored to AWS, Google Cloud, or other Azure regions.

7. Scalability for Large Environments

• AKS Backup: Supports up to 800 namespaces per backup instance.
• CloudCasa Solution:
  • Provides unlimited scalability, supporting clusters with thousands of namespaces.
  • Features advanced RBAC and multi-tenancy, ideal for MSPs managing multiple customer environments.
  • Leverages a unified dashboard for backup and recovery management, enabling organizations to efficiently scale their Kubernetes data protection.