Back when users of VMware Inc.’s virtual machines cried out for their own backup solution, Veeam Software Inc. answered. Now, what about containers (a virtualized method for running distributed applications)? As they go on replacing VMs in a lot of IT shops, do they need their own specialized backup and data management technology? 

They do, according to Michael Ferranti (pictured), vice president of product and corporate marketing at Portworx Inc. More specifically, it’s Kubernetes — the platform for orchestrating containers — that needs a new kind of “application-aware backup.” In the past, many companies used Kubernetes just for test and development rather than in production, but that’s changed.

“If you fast forward to today, Kubernetes is being used to tackle some of the biggest central board-level problems that enterprises face,” Ferranti said. 

Many in retail, finance, healthcare, etc., are rapidly adopting Kubernetes. But there are some big differences between it and their older infrastructure, according to Ferranti. “I think, fundamentally, data protection needs to change in a Kubernetes context,” he said.

Ferranti and Matt Kixmoeller (pictured), vice president of Pure Storage Inc., spoke with Joep Piscaer, guest host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA event. They discussed why Kubernetes demands app-aware backup, as well as why Pure Storage decided to acquire Portworx. (* Disclosure below.)

Backup built for Kubernetes and container complexity

In the past, protecting apps was closely tied to protecting machines; one app ran on one server. Now, microservices and containers might break a single app into dozens or hundreds of components spread across servers, Ferranti explained.

“It’s very difficult for any one person to understand where any of that is in a [Kubernetes] cluster at any given moment,” he stated. 

Portworx provides data protection engineered from the ground up, leveraging automation and functionality native in Kubernetes. Its app-aware backups are not machine focused; rather, they allow a team to backup a single app in a cluster, all apps in a namespace, or an entire cluster through a self-service tool. This makes the whole business of protecting and managing data in Kubernetes easier, according to Ferranti.

Pure opted to acquire Portworx in part for its comprehensive data-management stack.

“As we look to integrate our product lines, we’re looking to deliver a consistent experience for data management for Kubernetes, whatever infrastructure a customer might choose,” Kixmoeller concluded. 

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA event. (* Disclosure: Pure Storage Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Pure Storage nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE