Catalogic builds out CloudCasa with cloud database support
Catalogic has added support for AWS RDS to its CloudCasa Kubernetes backup-as-a-service platform, citing overlap between customers who need container backup and cloud database backup.
Catalogic has updated its CloudCasa platform by adding support for AWS Relational Database Service.
CloudCasa, which entered beta in November 2020, is Catalogic's Kubernetes backup-as-a-service platform. It now allows customers to back up AWS RDS databases as well. CloudCasa will support all six RDS database engines: Amazon Aurora, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle Database and SQL Server. Catalogic said it will be adding support for other cloud databases such as Microsoft Azure SQL and Google Cloud SQL in the future.
CloudCasa also gained SUSE Rancher Ready Status and is now available through SUSE Rancher Apps & Marketplace. Previously, customers could only get CloudCasa through Catalogic's Cloudcasa.io site.
There is significant overlap between Kubernetes users and AWS RDS users, according to Catalogic COO Sathya Sankaran, so it made sense to extend CloudCasa's coverage to cloud databases. CloudCasa itself runs as a container in Amazon EKS and uses RDS and DocumentDB, Sankaran added. CloudCasa's RDS backup capabilities started as a way for the platform to protect its own workloads.
"The majority of Kubernetes users use RDS as their database right now. We saw an obvious gap," Sankaran said.
Data protection vendors Rubrik and Clumio can back up AWS RDS databases, and customers looking for Kubernetes backup can turn to Kasten (acquired by Veeam) or Trilio. Commvault's core data protection software supports RDS, and its Metallic SaaS platform protects Kubernetes. Sankaran said CloudCasa is differentiated from competing data protection products in that it allows customers to protect both environments using the same product.
Catalogic normally sells software products tailored to backup administrators, but CloudCasa was built specifically as a service aimed at DevOps personnel who work directly with Kubernetes.
"It's marketed at DevOps -- people who have never managed a backup product," Sankaran said.
CloudCasa is now available on SUSE Rancher marketplace
Targeting the DevOps crowd
CloudCasa takes container storage interface (CSI), and now, database snapshots, and stores them in an AWS object storage environment under Catalogic's control. It is free, and customers can protect as many nodes, clusters or databases as they want, but the snapshots have a max retention of 30 days. Catalogic will roll out paid premium services for CloudCasa later this year, but container and database snapshots will always be free, Sankaran said.
Developers are definitely setting the tone in terms of driving enterprises' adoption of containers, so it's smart to look to get in with this crowd.
Krista MacomberSenior analyst, Evaluator Group
Some of the premium features that will be added to CloudCasa include air-gapped backups for persistent volumes, longer retention times and the ability to store backups in customers' object storage of choice. Sankaran said some of these features will be available in CloudCasa's next release, which will be around June or July this year. Catalogic is prioritizing these features because customers nowadays are more concerned about defending against ransomware than preventing downtime, Sankaran added. There is growing interest in protecting data via SaaS and the usage of containers, and CloudCasa is targeting the intersection of both trends, said Krista Macomber, senior analyst at Evaluator Group.
However, the container market is still fairly nascent, so it's hard to predict what usage patterns will become trends. It's also too early to predict if there is a logical overlap between Kubernetes backup and cloud database backup, though Catalogic protecting both with one product can't hurt, Macomber said.
Because CloudCasa is protecting both Kubernetes and RDS, there is now a long list of vendors it competes against, including Druva, Portworx and Zerto, Macomber said. With so many incumbent vendors, it is unlikely Catalogic can convert existing customers from backup software they've likely been using for years.
Therefore, it's absolutely the right call to be targeting developers, Macomber said. Container best practices and use cases will ultimately be dictated by developers rather than backup administrators, and Catalogic is enticing them with a product that scales automatically and is free of charge to get started.
"Developers are definitely setting the tone in terms of driving enterprises' adoption of containers, so it's smart to look to get in with this crowd," Macomber said.
