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Astra Family

Learn about Astra Control

Contributors amgrissino netapp-mwallis

Astra Control is a Kubernetes application data lifecycle management solution that simplifies operations for stateful applications, and helps you store, protect, and move your Kubernetes workloads across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Capabilities

Astra Control offers critical capabilities for Kubernetes application data lifecycle management:

Store:

  • Dynamic storage provisioning for containerized workloads

  • In-flight encryption of data from container to persistent volumes

  • Cross-region, cross-zone replication

Protect:

  • Automated discovery and application-aware protection of an entire application and its data

  • Instant recovery of an application from any snapshot version based on your organization's needs

  • Fast failover across zones, regions and cloud providers

Move:

  • Complete application and data mobility within and between Kubernetes clusters and clouds

  • Instant clones of entire applications and data

  • One click migration of applications through consistent web UI and API

Architecture

The architecture of Astra Control enables it to provide advanced data management capabilities that enhance both the functionality and availability of Kubernetes applications, simplifies the management, protection, and movement of containerized workloads across public clouds and on-prem environments, and provides automation capabilities through its REST API and SDK, enabling programmatic access for seamless integration with existing workflows.

Astra Control is Kubernetes-native, enabling data protection workflows that utilize custom resources while staying backward-compatible with the existing API and SDK. Kubernetes-native data protection offers significant advantages; by seamlessly integrating with Kubernetes APIs and resources, data protection can become an inherent part of the application lifecycle through an organization's existing CI/CD and/or GitOps tools.

Astra Control architecture

Astra Control is built on four complementary components:

  • Astra Control: Astra Control is the centralized management service for all managed clusters, providing orchestrated workloads for application protection and mobility in the cloud and on-premises as well as the following capabilities:

    • Combined view of multiple clusters and clouds

    • Protection of orchestrated workflows

    • Granular resource visualization and selection

  • Astra Connector: Astra Connector teams with Astra Control to provide a secure connection to each managed cluster, offering local execution of scheduled operations regardless of connection status as well as the following capabilities:

    • Local execution of scheduled operations regardless of connection status

    • Local operations that distribute and optimize system resource usage of Astra across clusters

    • Local installation that enables least privilege access to the cluster for improved security

  • Astra Control Provisioner: Astra Control Provisioner delivers core CSI provisioning functionality and advanced storage management capabilities for added security and disaster recovery configuration, as well as the following capabilities:

    • Dynamic storage provisioning for containerized workloads

    • Advanced storage management:

      • In-flight encryption of data from container to PV

      • SnapMirror Cloud functionality with cross-region, cross-zone replication

  • Astra Custom resources: Custom resources used on each cluster provide a Kubernetes-native approach to running operations locally, simplifying integration with other Kubernetes-friendly tooling and automation as well as providing the following capabilities:

    • Direct ecosystem tool integration and automation workflows

    • Lower-level primitives that enable custom workflows

Deployment models

Astra Control is available in two deployment models.

Astra deployment  models

  • Astra Control Service: A NetApp-managed service that provides application-aware data management of Kubernetes clusters in multiple cloud provider environments as well as self-managed Kubernetes clusters.

  • Astra Control Center: Self-managed software that provides application-aware data management of Kubernetes clusters running in your on-premises environment. Astra Control Center can also be installed on multiple cloud provider environments with a NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP storage backend.

Astra Control Service Astra Control Center

How is it offered?

As a fully managed cloud service from NetApp

As software that you can download, install, and manage

Where is it hosted?

On a public cloud of NetApp's choice

On your own Kubernetes cluster

How is it updated?

Managed by NetApp

You manage any updates

What are the supported Kubernetes distributions?

  • Cloud providers

    • Amazon Web Services

      • Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)

    • Google Cloud

      • Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)

    • Microsoft Azure

      • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

  • Self-managed clusters

    • Kubernetes (Upstream)

    • Rancher Kubernetes Engine (RKE)

    • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform

  • On-premise clusters

    • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform on-premise

  • Azure Kubernetes Service on Azure Stack HCI

  • Google Anthos

  • Kubernetes (Upstream)

  • Rancher Kubernetes Engine (RKE)

  • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform

What are the supported storage backends?