Backups, and the restore tests that prove they work
Cluster state, persistent volumes, databases and server data on a schedule, with automated restore verification so recovery time is a measured number rather than a hope.
What is Backups?
DevOpsArk backups is the module that schedules and verifies backups of Kubernetes cluster state, persistent volumes, databases and server data, and proves recoverability through automated restore testing.
What Backups is for
The conditions this module removes. If none of these are familiar, you probably do not need it yet.
- Backups run, and nobody has restored one in eighteen months.
- Cluster state is backed up but the persistent volumes are not, so the restore produces empty pods.
- Recovery time objective is a number in a policy document with no measurement behind it.
- Backup coverage is per team, so some namespaces are protected and nobody knows which.
- Retention does not match the compliance requirement because the two were configured by different people.
Backups are defined as policies scoped to clusters, namespaces, workloads or servers, so coverage is declared once and applied to anything matching, including workloads created later. Each run captures what recovery actually needs: Kubernetes resource definitions, persistent volume snapshots, database dumps taken with the right consistency guarantees, and server file sets. Restore testing runs on its own schedule into an isolated target, verifies that the restored workload starts and passes its health check, and records how long the restore took. That measurement becomes the recovery time you can quote. Coverage reporting shows which namespaces and volumes are protected and which are not, so a gap is a visible item rather than a discovery made during an outage.
What Backups does
The 7 capabilities that make up Backups.
Policy-based coverage
Scope backup policies to clusters, namespaces, labels or servers so new workloads inherit protection automatically.
Volume and database consistency
Persistent volume snapshots and database dumps taken with the consistency guarantees each engine requires.
Automated restore testing
Scheduled restores into an isolated target, verified by health check, with the elapsed time recorded.
Measured RTO and RPO
Recovery time and recovery point are reported from actual test results rather than from policy statements.
Coverage reporting
See which namespaces, volumes and servers are protected and which are not, across every cluster.
Immutable, encrypted storage
Backups written to immutable object storage with encryption at rest and separate credentials from production.
Cross-region and cross-account copies
Copies placed in a different region or account so a single-account compromise does not take the backups with it.
How Backups fits together
Outcomes
- Recovery is proven on a schedule instead of assumed until it fails.
- Recovery time objectives are backed by measurements.
- Coverage gaps are visible before they matter.
- Backups survive an incident that affects the production account.
- Compliance retention is configured with the backup, not separately from it.
Using Backups, step by step
The path from connecting a source to getting value, in the order it happens.
- 1Define policy
Scope by cluster, namespace, label or server, with schedule and retention.
- 2Capture
Resources, volumes, databases and file sets are captured with the right consistency guarantees.
- 3Store immutably
Copies are encrypted and written to immutable storage, including a cross-region copy.
- 4Test the restore
A scheduled restore into an isolated target is verified by health check and timed.
- 5Report coverage
Protected and unprotected resources are reported continuously.
Where teams apply Backups
Prove the disaster recovery plan
Run scheduled restore tests and quote measured recovery times rather than target ones.
Guarantee coverage for new namespaces
Label-scoped policies protect workloads created after the policy was written.
Meet a retention requirement
Configure retention alongside the backup and evidence it from the same record.
Survive account compromise
Keep immutable copies in a separate account and region with distinct credentials.
What Backups works with
Named integrations link to their own page. The rest are supported runtimes and formats.
Backups: frequently asked questions
The 7 questions teams ask most often before adopting Backups.
Kubernetes resource definitions and cluster state, persistent volumes via CSI snapshots, databases with engine-appropriate consistency, and file sets on managed servers.
A backup that has never been restored is an untested assumption. Restore testing verifies that the captured data actually produces a working workload and measures how long recovery takes, which turns a recovery time objective into a number you can defend.
Recovery time objective is how long recovery is allowed to take. Recovery point objective is how much recent data you can afford to lose. DevOpsArk reports both from measured restore tests rather than from the policy document.
In immutable, encrypted object storage, with an optional copy in a separate region and cloud account using separate credentials so a production-account compromise does not reach them.
Coverage reporting lists protected and unprotected namespaces, volumes and servers across every cluster, so the gap is a visible work item rather than an assumption.
Yes. Policies are scoped by cluster, namespace or label, so anything matching the scope is protected from creation without a per-workload configuration step.
Yes. Existing Velero-based backups can be read and reported on, and DevOpsArk can orchestrate Velero rather than replacing it where teams have already standardised on it.
See Backups against your own environment
A 30-minute walkthrough with a platform engineer, not a sales deck. Bring a cluster and a problem.