From persistent storage and disaster recovery to modern alternatives for traditional VMs, Everpure experts answered your questions about making the move to Kubernetes.
Containers and Kubernetes are changing how IT teams deploy and manage applications. But what happens to your data when applications become more portable, infrastructure becomes more dynamic, and traditional VMs start sharing the stage with containers?
That was the focus of our latest Ask Us Everything session, featuring Everpure experts Jon Owings and Nathan Wood. As always, attendees drove the conversation, bringing questions about persistent storage, migration, disaster recovery, Portworx by Everpure, and what Kubernetes means for their existing infrastructure.
Why should storage be a priority when adopting Kubernetes?
Jon kicked things off with an important reminder: Organizations spend considerable time choosing their Kubernetes platform, but don't always give storage the same attention.
Unlike traditional VM environments, Kubernetes introduces new requirements for managing persistent data across containers, clusters, and locations.
Nathan compared storage to the foundation of a house. You wouldn't build a house without considering the foundation; if storage is the foundation of modern apps, why approach Kubernetes differently?
The takeaway: Don't assume that provisioning volumes is enough. Think about performance, data protection, portability, and automation from the beginning.
Can I migrate production databases to Kubernetes without downtime?
One attendee asked how to move an existing production database from on-premises infrastructure into Kubernetes without disrupting operations.
Jon explained that migration options range from open-source tools requiring downtime to commercial solutions supporting live cutovers. Nathan emphasized that migration planning must account for the application, database, and storage layers.
Their advice? Start with your data requirements, understand your downtime tolerance, and involve the right experts. There's no one-size-fits-all migration strategy.
How does Portworx simplify persistent storage and disaster recovery?
Another attendee wanted to understand disaster recovery when using FlashArray Direct Access or FlashBlade Direct Access, particularly when recovering to another site with different arrays.
Jon explained that direct-attached storage approaches can require additional workflows and automation to coordinate recovery.
That's where Portworx Enterprise offers a different approach. Rather than building and maintaining custom scripts for every recovery scenario, Portworx provides Kubernetes-native storage management capabilities designed to simplify data mobility and recovery across environments.
It's a significant departure from traditional, infrastructure-specific storage management.
What should we measure beyond uptime?
Jon and Nathan were asked which metrics matter most when reporting storage performance.
The answer: Latency, latency, latency.
Availability matters, but application performance depends on more than whether infrastructure is running.
The experts discussed measuring latency, response times, and performance at the application, node, and cluster levels. Portworx provides consistent metrics across different storage vendors and cloud environments, with Prometheus and Grafana offering visualization options.
Can Kubernetes become an alternative to traditional VMs?
For organizations with substantial VMware investments, Kubernetes can support both containerized applications and modern VM workloads.
Jon explained that organizations should evaluate their application requirements rather than simply recreate their existing virtualization environment.
Kubernetes offers opportunities for greater flexibility across on-premises, hybrid-cloud, and multicloud environments, while Portworx helps address the persistent storage requirements that accompany those choices.
How do we get started—and convince our leadership this is the right path?
A longtime VMware customer asked how to make the business case up the management chain for the move to Kubernetes.
Jon and Nathan agreed: Lead with risk reduction, not technology. Explain how flexibility, portability, and infrastructure choices can help the business adapt.
Nathan also recommended hands-on learning environments where teams can experiment, demonstrate value, and build confidence.
Keep the conversation going!
Whether you're exploring Kubernetes, evaluating modern VM options, or already managing production containers, this session reinforced one important lesson: Modern applications need a modern approach to storage.
Check out the full Ask Us Everything replay for more practical advice from Jon and Nathan (and find all our other Ask Us Everything sessions here), and keep the conversation going by jumping into the Everpure Community!
