A fully managed cloud service operated by NetApp. It supports managed Kubernetes engines like Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).

Once logged into the dashboard, the interface is split into dedicated structural areas designed for true cloud economics and infrastructure visibility:

: The UI provides a consolidated view of multiple clusters, allowing users to visualize application health, protection status, and granular resource details. Key Sections & Navigation

All tasks can be performed using different interfaces to suit your workflow:

Reviewers from Parkers note that while the screens were historically a bit laggy, the 2026 update features crisper graphics and a more intuitive layout.

Ensure your Astra Pro Addon plugin is active and your license key is validated in the dashboard.

Furthermore, data-in-transit encryption (TLS 1.3) and data-at-rest encryption (using cloud-provider KMS or BYOK) are non-negotiable defaults, not afterthoughts.

Unlike traditional backup software that only copies storage volumes, Astra Control Panel is application-aware. It captures the operational state of the Kubernetes objects alongside the persistent data, ensuring consistent and reliable recovery points. Key Features and Capabilities 1. Application-Aware Backup and Restore

When Mara first set foot in the observatory, the night felt like a held breath. Stars had laced the sky into a cold, glittering net; inside, the dome smelled of warm metal and older oil. The Astra array dominated the room—a squat console of brushed alloy and smoked glass, its half-moon of controls blinking in a slow, patient rhythm. Engineers called it a "control panel." Mara decided it was a navigator for the sky.

Mara began a private project. She wrote a patch to the panel’s archival playback, a soft wrapper that would let her view data streams in a new way. Without permission, she threaded the old system like a cautious trespasser. The Astra panel’s firmware was a palimpsest: layers of code from different eras, comments in two languages, a doodle of a comet in the margins. It felt less like engineering and more like a conversation between hands who had long since left the room.

Astra Control Panel bridges the gap between infrastructure operations and DevOps by offering four foundational pillars of data management: 1. Application-Aware Data Protection

Create immutable, read-only snapshots and backups stored securely in object storage, ensuring you can rapidly recover your applications if a security breach occurs.