Overview

The two ways to manage backups

Kubernetes clusters protected by Afi can be managed in two ways:

1. from the Afi portal,
2. with kubectl via Kubernetes Custom Resources.

The second option makes it possible to integrate Afi Kubernetes Backup with your GitOps pipeline.

The object model

Here are the key objects that comprise the object model in Afi Kubernetes Backup.

Resources

Each namespace in your Kubernetes cluster is presented as a resource in the Afi portal (see Service → Protection tab).

Backup policies

A backup policy is a set or rules that describes how to backup a Kubernetes namespace. In particular, a policy defines which objects should be included in a backup, the schedule to launch periodic backups, encryption, data retention and archiving settings.

Protections

Backups of a resource are enabled by applying a backup policy to a resource to be protected. A relation between a resource and its backup policy is called a protection. A single resource (namespace) can have several protections at the same time.

Archives

An archive is an entity that stores backups of a protected resource that are performed via a specific backup policy. These backups include application (namespace) configuration YAMLs and persistent volume snapshots.

Please note that, if a new backup policy is assigned to a resource, a new archive is created. Archives that correspond to different backup policies are completely independent.

A resource might also have a few archives that don't have an active backup policy. This happens if you remove a backup policy from a resource. Such archives are available for browse and recovery.