KubeVirt VM Backup & Restore
Reference for automatic VM detection, consistent backup, restore options, and file-level recovery.
OpenShift Virtualization Backup
Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization
Protect VMs on Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization with CloudCasa by Catalogic — agentless, application-consistent backup, granular file-level restore, and cross-cluster mobility.
CloudCasa by Catalogic is purpose-built for Kubernetes and cloud-native data protection. Because OpenShift Virtualization runs VMs as KubeVirt workloads on OpenShift, CloudCasa protects those VMs the same way it protects the rest of the cluster — no separate VM backup product to license or manage.
Backup and recovery for OpenShift Virtualization
CloudCasa detects and protects the virtual machines running on your OpenShift Virtualization clusters automatically — alongside the containerized applications and Kubernetes resources in the same cluster.
Automatic VM detection
KubeVirt VMs are discovered automatically with no per-VM configuration. Back up an entire cluster, or select individual VMs by name, namespace, or label.
Application-consistent backups
With the QEMU Guest Agent installed, CloudCasa uses freeze and unfreeze hooks to quiesce I/O so VM disk state is consistent at the moment of backup.
Granular file-level restore
Browse the filesystem inside a backed-up VM and restore individual files — without deploying any per-VM agent — using the Recovery Point File Browser.
CloudCasa by Catalogic
One platform for OpenShift containers and VMs
OpenShift Virtualization lets teams run VMs next to containers on the same platform. CloudCasa protects both from a single SaaS control plane, so backup, recovery, and migration follow the same policies whether a workload is a container or a VM.
- Agentless, SaaS-managed protection — no per-VM backup agents to deploy
- Whole-cluster backup captures VMs, PVCs, and Kubernetes resources together
- Centralized policy, scheduling, and retention across every cluster
- Deploys to OpenShift with a standard Helm chart
How CloudCasa protects OpenShift VMs
Flexible backup selection
Protect the whole cluster — the recommended approach — or scope backups to specific VMs, namespaces, or labels to match RPO and retention requirements.
Controlled VM restores
On restore, choose a run strategy (Always, RerunOnFailure, Once, Manual, or Halted), clear MAC addresses to avoid network conflicts, and generate new firmware UUIDs where needed.
Migration and mobility
Move VMs and their data between clusters and across clouds, including managed OpenShift services such as ROSA and ARO, for cluster upgrades and hybrid-cloud strategies.
Cyber resilience
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and CloudCasa supports recovery from ransomware events so you can restore VMs and cluster resources to a clean point in time.
Application-consistent VM backup
Filesystem-consistent backups keep VM disk images reliable and restorable.
- Install the QEMU Guest Agent on VMs to enable freeze/unfreeze quiescing
- CloudCasa syncs VM state before snapshot during backup, migration, and replication jobs
- VMs still back up without the Guest Agent, but without consistency guarantees
Granular file-level restore
Recover a single file or a full VM from the same recovery point.
- Mount a VM filesystem image from any recovery point in the File Browser
- Select and download individual files, directly or as a zip archive
- No per-VM agent is required for file-level recovery
- Restore complete VMs when a full rebuild is needed
OpenShift Virtualization support
CloudCasa protects VMs on KubeVirt-based platforms, including Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization. Confirm the current versions against the CloudCasa documentation before planning production protection.
| Component | Verified support |
|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization | Tested with OpenShift Virtualization 4.16.10 |
| KubeVirt | v1.0.0 and above |
| CDI (Containerized Data Importer) | v1.57.0 and above |
| Deployment | CloudCasa agent installed on OpenShift via Helm chart |
KubeVirt and CDI must be present on the target cluster before a VM restore. CDI is not required when the restored VMs do not consume virtual disks.
Supported versions change over time. Always verify the current compatibility details in the CloudCasa User's Guide.
Common OpenShift Virtualization use cases
Protect production VMs
Back up business-critical VMs running on OpenShift Virtualization with scheduled, application-consistent recovery points.
Cluster upgrades and rebuilds
Recover VMs and cluster resources when migrating to a new OpenShift version or rebuilding a cluster after failure.
Hybrid and multi-cloud
Migrate VMs between on-premises OpenShift and managed cloud services such as ROSA and ARO as part of a hybrid strategy.
Accidental deletion
Restore an individual file from inside a VM without rolling back the entire machine.
Ransomware recovery
Roll VMs back to a clean recovery point with encryption and immutable backup data reducing exposure.
Unified data protection
Manage backup for VMs and containerized applications under one set of policies and one console.
OpenShift Virtualization backup FAQ
Does CloudCasa back up OpenShift Virtualization VMs?
Yes. CloudCasa backs up, restores, and migrates VMs running on KubeVirt-based platforms, including Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization. VM detection is automatic, and VMs are protected alongside the containers and Kubernetes resources in the same cluster.
Do I need a separate agent inside each VM?
No. CloudCasa protects VMs at the cluster level and does not require a per-VM backup agent. The CloudCasa agent is installed once on the OpenShift cluster using a Helm chart. Installing the QEMU Guest Agent on VMs is recommended so CloudCasa can take application-consistent, quiesced backups, but it is optional.
Can I restore individual files from a VM backup?
Yes. CloudCasa provides file-level restore from within backed-up VM filesystems using the Recovery Point File Browser. You can mount a VM filesystem image from a recovery point and download individual files without restoring the whole VM and without any per-VM agent.
What restore options are available for VMs?
On restore, you can set the VM run strategy (Always, RerunOnFailure, Once, Manual, or Halted, or reuse the strategy from the backup), clear MAC addresses to prevent network conflicts, and generate new firmware UUIDs to avoid licensing or management-tool conflicts.
Can CloudCasa migrate VMs between clusters or clouds?
Yes. CloudCasa supports moving VMs and their data across clusters and clouds, including managed OpenShift services such as ROSA and ARO, which is useful for cluster upgrades and hybrid-cloud deployments.
Does this use DPX?
No. VM protection for OpenShift Virtualization is delivered by CloudCasa, Catalogic's Kubernetes and cloud-native data protection platform. DPX focuses on enterprise workloads such as physical and virtualized servers, VMware, Hyper-V, and Bare Metal Recovery.
Ready to protect OpenShift Virtualization?
CloudCasa by Catalogic protects the VMs and cluster resources on your OpenShift Virtualization environment from a single SaaS platform. Start in minutes or talk to Catalogic about your requirements.
OpenShift Virtualization resources
Documentation for teams planning or operating CloudCasa protection for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.
VM Backup and Restore Guide
Step-by-step guide to backing up and restoring VMs on Kubernetes and OpenShift Virtualization.
Install on OpenShift with Helm
Deploy the CloudCasa agent to an OpenShift cluster using the Helm chart.
VM Backup for KubeVirt & OpenShift
Overview of CloudCasa VM backup and recovery for OpenShift Virtualization, SUSE Harvester, and Rancher.
Protect your OpenShift Virtualization VMs with CloudCasa
Talk to Catalogic about protecting Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, or start protecting VMs and cluster resources in minutes with CloudCasa's SaaS platform.
Explore CloudCasa