Cluster DR, not Kafka backup
Velero is a strong, open source tool for backing up Kubernetes: it captures API resources and takes volume snapshots for whole-cluster disaster recovery and migration. But a volume snapshot of a broker is not a consistent, offset-aware backup of your topics. Here is where the two fit — and why teams running Kafka on Kubernetes usually run both.
Two different layers
Velero backs up the Kubernetes layer: API objects (StatefulSets, PVCs, ConfigMaps, operator CRDs) and the persistent volumes behind them, using cloud volume snapshots. It is the right tool for rebuilding a namespace or a whole cluster, and for migrating workloads between clusters.
OSO Kafka Backup backs up the data layer: topic records, consumer group offsets, and topic configuration, written to object storage (S3, Azure Blob, GCS) or local disk, and restored — to the same cluster or a different one — with millisecond precision. See the disaster recovery use cases for the failure scenarios each covers.
The critical difference is consistency. A Velero volume snapshot captures broker disk state at the block level. It does not coordinate a consistent cut across partitions or preserve consumer group offsets as a logical unit, and it cannot restore a single topic to the moment before a bad deploy. A Kafka-aware backup can. Velero, meanwhile, protects everything around Kafka that a logical backup does not — the operator and its CRDs included.
| Feature | OSO Kafka Backup | Velero |
|---|---|---|
| Backup layer | Kafka data (topics, offsets) | K8s resources + volumes |
| Kafka-aware / offset-consistent | Yes | No |
| Point-in-time topic recovery | Yes | No |
| Cross-cluster topic restore + remap | Yes | No |
| Runs outside Kubernetes | Any Kafka | Kubernetes only |
| Storage backends | S3, Azure, GCS, local | Object storage snapshots |
| Compression | Zstd, LZ4 | Snapshot-native |
| Best for | Logical Kafka data protection | Whole-cluster DR |
| Licensing | Open source (MIT) | Open source (Apache 2.0) |
When to choose which
Choose OSO Kafka Backup when you need point-in-time recovery of topic data, offset- consistent restores, cross-cluster migration, or backups that work whether or not Kafka runs on Kubernetes.
Choose Velero when you need to back up and restore the Kubernetes objects and volumes themselves — rebuilding a namespace, recovering the control plane, or migrating a cluster.
Run both when you operate Kafka on Kubernetes. Velero rebuilds the cluster and its volumes; OSO Kafka Backup restores logically consistent topic data and offsets on top. They protect different layers — see the full alternatives comparison for how offload and replication approaches fit alongside them.
Frequently asked questions
Can Velero back up Kafka topics?
Not at the topic level. Velero snapshots the persistent volumes behind your brokers, which is block-level broker state, not a consistent set of topic records and consumer group offsets. It cannot restore a single topic to a precise point in time, which is what recovery from a bad deploy or accidental delete needs.
Is a volume snapshot the same as a Kafka backup?
No. A volume snapshot captures a broker disk at a moment, but it does not coordinate a consistent cut across partitions or preserve consumer group offsets as a logical unit. A Kafka-aware backup captures topic records, offsets, and configuration together so a restore is consistent.
Should I use Velero and OSO Kafka Backup together?
Often, yes. If you run Kafka on Kubernetes, Velero backs up the StatefulSets, PVCs, ConfigMaps, and operator CRDs, while OSO Kafka Backup captures offset-consistent topic data. Velero rebuilds the cluster; OSO Kafka Backup restores the data on top.
Does OSO Kafka Backup require Kubernetes like Velero does?
No. Velero is Kubernetes-only. OSO Kafka Backup connects to any Kafka cluster as a standard client, whether it runs on Kubernetes, on VMs, or as a managed service, and writes backups to object storage or local disk.
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