Kubernetes has become the de facto standard for container orchestration, but protecting stateful applications running on Kubernetes presents unique challenges. Traditional backup solutions designed for VMs and physical servers simply don’t understand Kubernetes constructs like Deployments, StatefulSets, ConfigMaps, and Persistent Volumes.
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes addresses these challenges with a purpose-built, application-centric approach to data protection.
What is Veeam Kasten?
Veeam Kasten (formerly Kasten K10) is a Kubernetes-native data management platform that provides:
- Application-centric backup - protects entire applications, not just storage volumes
- Disaster recovery - cross-cluster and cross-cloud DR capabilities
- Application mobility - migrate applications between clusters and clouds
- Ransomware protection - immutable backups and air-gapped storage
Kasten is consistently ranked as the #1 Kubernetes Data Protection solution by analyst firms including GigaOm.
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What’s New in Kasten v8.5
The latest version introduces significant capabilities for modern infrastructure:
KubeVirt VM Protection
Organizations running virtual machines on Kubernetes via KubeVirt can now protect them with the same policies used for containerized applications:
- VM-centric Protection Policies - create backup policies specifically for VMs
- VM-centric Restores - restore VMs to original or different locations
- Partial VM Restores - recover individual disks or configurations
- Native File-Level Recovery - restore individual files from VM backups
AI Workload Protection
As AI/ML workloads proliferate, Kasten v8.5 provides native support for:
- Kubeflow - backup and restore ML pipelines, notebooks, and experiments
- KubeRay - protect Ray clusters and distributed computing workloads
- Training Data - safeguard datasets used for model training
- Model Artifacts - protect trained models and checkpoints
Enterprise Enhancements
- Restore Point Validation - verify backup integrity automatically
- Azure KeyVault Integration - centralized secrets management
- SMB Storage Support - additional backup target options
- vSphere CSI Improvements - better integration
How Kasten Protects Kubernetes Applications
Application Discovery
Kasten automatically discovers applications in your Kubernetes clusters through:
- Namespace scanning
- Label-based selection
- Helm release detection
- Operator-managed resource identification
What Gets Protected
Unlike storage-level backups, Kasten captures the complete application state:
| Component | What’s Backed Up |
|---|---|
| Deployments/StatefulSets | Pod specs, replicas, strategy |
| Persistent Volumes | Data via CSI snapshots or Kanister |
| ConfigMaps | Application configuration |
| Secrets | Credentials (encrypted) |
| Services | Network configuration |
| Ingress | External access rules |
| Custom Resources | Operator-managed components |
| KubeVirt VMs | VM definitions, disks, snapshots |
| AI/ML Workloads | Kubeflow pipelines, KubeRay clusters |
Policy-Driven Automation
Kasten uses Kubernetes-native CRDs to define protection policies:
- Scheduled Backups - hourly, daily, weekly retention
- Export Policies - replicate to offsite locations
- Transform Policies - modify applications during restore
- Compliance Policies - meet regulatory requirements
Key Use Cases
Disaster Recovery
Kasten enables true DR for Kubernetes applications:
- Cross-cluster DR - replicate applications to standby clusters
- Cross-cloud DR - protect AWS workloads with Azure backup
- Cross-region DR - geographic redundancy within a cloud provider
Application Migration
Move applications between environments:
- Cloud-to-cloud migration - AWS to Azure, GCP to on-premises
- Cluster upgrades - migrate to new Kubernetes versions
- Environment promotion - dev to staging to production
DevOps Workflows
Support development and testing:
- Environment cloning - create copies for testing
- Blue-green deployments - backup before deployment
- Rollback capability - restore previous application versions
Ransomware Protection
Defend against ransomware attacks:
- Immutable backups - write-once storage targets
- Air-gapped copies - isolated backup repositories
- Point-in-time recovery - restore to pre-attack state
Kasten vs Traditional Backup Solutions
| Capability | Kasten | Traditional VM Backup | Velero |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application-aware | Yes | No | Limited |
| Kubernetes-native | Yes | No | Yes |
| KubeVirt VM Support | Yes (v8.5) | N/A | No |
| AI Workload Protection | Yes (v8.5) | No | No |
| Enterprise UI | Yes | Yes | No (CLI only) |
| Multi-cluster Management | Native | N/A | Manual |
| Immutable Backups | Yes | Varies | Depends on target |
Deployment Options
On-Premises
Deploy Kasten in your data center Kubernetes clusters:
- OpenShift
- Rancher
- Vanilla Kubernetes
Public Cloud
Native support for managed Kubernetes services:
- Amazon EKS
- Azure AKS
- Google GKE
- Oracle OKE
Hybrid and Multi-Cloud
Kasten enables unified management across environments:
- Single dashboard for all clusters
- Consistent policies across clouds
- Cross-cloud DR and migration
Getting Started
Prerequisites
- Kubernetes 1.24 or higher
- CSI-compatible storage
- Helm 3.x for deployment
Basic Installation
Kasten deploys via Helm chart into its own namespace:
helm repo add kasten https://charts.kasten.io/
helm install k10 kasten/k10 --namespace kasten-io --create-namespaceFree Tier
Kasten offers a free tier for smaller deployments:
- Up to 5 nodes
- Full feature set
- Community support
Integration with Veeam Ecosystem
While Kasten is a standalone product, it integrates with the broader Veeam Data Platform:
- Shared storage targets - export to same repositories as Veeam Backup
- Unified reporting - visibility across all Veeam products
- Consistent policies - aligned data protection strategies
Summary
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes v8.5 represents the most comprehensive Kubernetes data protection solution available:
- Application-centric - understands and protects complete applications
- KubeVirt support - protect VMs running on Kubernetes
- AI workload protection - safeguard ML infrastructure
- Enterprise-ready - multi-cluster, multi-cloud, compliance-ready
- Kubernetes-native - deploys and operates within Kubernetes
For organizations running production workloads on Kubernetes, Kasten provides the data protection foundation needed for business continuity and compliance.
Need help implementing Kasten for your Kubernetes environment? Contact us for expert deployment and configuration services.
What has to be restored in a cluster besides data
Backup in Kubernetes differs from backing up a virtual machine in one decisive way: copying the volumes is not enough to bring an application back. The object definitions, secrets, network configuration and start-up order have to come back as well — and those are spread across the cluster and change with every deployment. A data copy without that context leaves you with a volume and nothing to mount it to.
Planning for recoverability of the whole environment rather than of the data alone is what backup services cover.
Related Terms
Learn key terms related to this article in our cybersecurity glossary:
- Cloud Data Protection — Cloud data protection refers to a set of practices, technologies, and policies…
- CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management) — CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management) is a category of cloud security tools…
- Kubernetes — Kubernetes is an open platform for automating deployment, scaling, and…
- Backup — Backup, also known as a backup copy or safety copy, is the process of creating…
- Cybersecurity — Cybersecurity is a collection of techniques, processes, and practices used to…
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Explore Our Products
Solutions mentioned in this article that can help protect your organization:
- Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes — Veeam
- Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft Entra ID — Veeam
- Veeam Data Platform — Veeam
