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PowerProtect Data Manager also supports agentless, application-consistent backups of database applications that run as Kubernetes pods. It provides a standardized way to quiesce a supported database, back up the data from that database, and then return the database to operation.
Application templates are a bridge between a specific database environment and the Kubernetes backup architecture for the PowerProtect Data Manager. Depending on the differences between database environments, each deployment may require a different configuration file.
Application templates translate the specific configuration details and require interface steps for each database application deployment to the standard PowerProtect Data Manager backup functionality for Kubernetes.
Application templates are typically deployed from customizable YAML files that come with the CLI package. The CLI package exists on the Data Manager host at /usr/local/brs/lib/cndm/misc/ppdmctl.tar.gz and is part of the Data Manager deployment.
You can download the CLI package from the PowerProtect Data Manager UI. Select Settings > Downloads > Kubernetes.
The following figure shows the sample PostgreSQL application template:
After you deploy application templates, the agentless nature of the backups means that no special steps are required to perform an application-consistent database backup. We can now go to create a protection policy to perform application consistent backup. The PowerProtect Data Manager infrastructure detects the presence of a deployed template and follows the template instructions when backing up the namespace to which the database application belongs.
Once the backup is completed, the protection copy is made available and from looking in the Consistency column the backup copy is Application Consistent as shown in the following figure.
For more information about how to protect Kubernetes workloads with Data Manager, see the PowerProtect Data Manager Kubernetes User Guide.