Backup and Recovery for Red Hat Virtualization (RHV)
Red Hat Virtualization (RHV/RHEV) is Red Hat's RHEL-based, KVM virtualization — now in its extended-life phase ahead of end of life in 2026. Storware is a Red Hat–certified, agentless backup solution that protects your RHV VMs today, and keeps protecting them once you move to OpenShift Virtualization.
Key Highlights
Red Hat certified
A Red Hat–certified backup and recovery solution for RHV/RHEV, listed on Red Hat Marketplace.
Agentless, multiple strategies
No agents in your guests. Choose disk attachment, disk image transfer, SSH transfer, or Changed Block Tracking to fit your topology.
CBT incrementals (RHV 4.4)
Back up only changed blocks and skip zeroed sectors, using the dedicated CBT API — without leaving temporary snapshots behind.
Ready for what's next
Protect RHV reliably through its extended-life phase, and keep the same platform and policies protecting your VMs after you move to OpenShift Virtualization.
Powerful Data Protection Features for RHV
Multiple backup strategies
Disk attachment (a Proxy VM reads disks like local drives — the highest-throughput option), disk image transfer (a single external Node via the manager APIs — no Proxy VM per cluster), SSH transfer, and CBT. Export storage domain remains for legacy API v3.
CBT incrementals
On RHV 4.4 (Libvirt 6+, qemu-kvm 4.2+, vdsm 4.40+), Storware uses the dedicated CBT API to read only changed blocks; QCOW2 is used for incremental-enabled disks, and no temporary snapshots are created.
Full and incremental coverage
Full backups from RHV 3.5.1+, incremental from 4.2+, and CBT from 4.4.
Application-consistent snapshots
Live snapshots are taken with quiescing (guest file-system freeze); if no compatible guest agent is present, Storware falls back to a regular snapshot. Pre/post command execution is supported.
Instant restore with live migration
The restore mounts an NFS share from the Storware Node as a new RHV storage domain and boots the VM immediately; optional live migration moves its disks to production. Requires a synthetic-type destination.
One platform, before and after migration
As RHV reaches end of life, Storware protects it today and protects OpenShift Virtualization after you migrate (via Red Hat's migration tooling) — so data protection continuity holds across the transition, under one license.
RHV Administration Portal plugin
Assign VMs to backup policies and run backups or restores from the RHV/oVirt Administration Portal, with tag- and regex-based auto-grouping.
Open REST API, CLI, and application backup
Automate through the REST API and CLI, and protect databases and configuration files with custom command execution.
Immutable, air-gapped security
IsoLayer air-gap, immutable backup destinations, retention lock, RBAC and access management, Keycloak MFA, and tape.
Technology partners
See Red Hat Virtualization protection with Storware in action
Add your RHV Manager, choose a backup strategy, and run application-consistent backups from the RHV Administration Portal — then watch instant restore boot a VM straight from backup storage and live-migrate its disks to production.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Storware Red Hat certified for RHV?
Yes. Storware is a Red Hat–certified backup and recovery solution for Red Hat Virtualization and is listed on Red Hat Marketplace.
Is Storware agentless for RHV?
Yes. Storware protects RHV with no agents inside guests, working through the RHV API. The disk-attachment strategy uses a Proxy VM with the Storware Node installed in the cluster.
What backup strategies does Storware offer for RHV?
Disk attachment (via a Proxy VM), disk image transfer (a single external Node using the manager APIs), SSH transfer, and Changed Block Tracking. The legacy export storage domain strategy remains available over API v3.
Does Storware support CBT and incremental backups on RHV?
Yes. Full backups are supported from RHV 3.5.1+, incremental from 4.2+, and CBT from 4.4 — CBT reads only changed blocks, skips zeroed sectors, and avoids temporary snapshots.
Does Storware offer instant restore for RHV?
Yes. Instant restore mounts an NFS share from the Storware Node as a new RHV storage domain and boots the VM immediately, with optional live migration of its disks to production. A synthetic-type backup destination is required.
Red Hat Virtualization is reaching end of life — can Storware help?
Yes. Storware protects RHV reliably through its extended-life phase, and the same platform protects OpenShift Virtualization once you migrate your VMs with Red Hat’s Migration Toolkit for Virtualization — keeping data protection continuity across the transition.
Does Storware also protect oVirt and OLVM?
Yes. Red Hat Virtualization, oVirt, and Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager are all oVirt-based and are covered on their own dedicated pages.
How does Storware protect RHV backups against ransomware?
Through immutable backup destinations, IsoLayer air-gap, retention lock, and tape, which keep recovery points from being altered or deleted.