Documentation Request: OADP VM Data Protection (VMDP) / In-Guest Kopia Client

Feature Overview We need to document the VM Data Protection (VMDP) tool, a specialized command-line client designed to be installed and run directly inside a Virtual Machine's Guest OS. Unlike standard OADP backups which capture the entire VM disk from the outside (at the platform/cluster level), this tool enables granular, user-driven backup and restore operations from within the VM itself.

Key Technical Specifications

• Component Name: VM Data Protection (VMDP) Client.

• Core Technology: Built on top of Kopia (an open-source backup tool), enabling fast, encrypted, and deduplicated snapshots.

• Deployment: The binary is built and deployed inside the guest VM (Linux/Windows).

• Storage Backends:

• • S3-Compatible Storage: Direct backup to object storage buckets (e.g., AWS S3, MinIO, MCG).

• • Filesystem: Local or mounted network filesystem storage.

User Workflows

• In-Guest Backup: Users can define specific application directories or file paths to back up, rather than snapshotting the whole disk.

• Self-Service Restore: VM users can restore their own data (individual files or directories) directly to the VM filesystem without requiring cluster administrator intervention.

Resource References

• Repository: VMDP GitHub Repository (Refer to source code for latest CLI arguments).

• Usage Documentation: See the VMDP README and Usage Instructions in the project link.

• Build Instructions: See the Makefile for Building OADP-VMDP Client.

Documentation Placement Recommendation This feature targets VM administrators and application owners. It should likely be placed in a new section distinct from "Platform/Cluster Backups," such as:

• In-Guest Data Protection

• User-Managed VM Backups

Personas 
1. The Primary User (Application Owner)

This persona focuses on the core benefit of control and independence offered by the Zero Trust model.

• As a VM Application Owner, I want to perform encrypt and back up all custom configurations and critical network share data (like Ceph or NFS) using my own S3 credentials, to achieve full, independent control and ownership of my data and encryption keys, preventing administrator access or reliance for fast restoration.

2. The Efficiency-Focused User

This persona prioritizes operational speed and minimal resource usage.

• As a Production Engineer, I want to perform run subsequent data protection jobs using a single command, even after copying large amounts of files, to achieve complete my daily backups efficiently and extremely fast, leveraging deduplication so I don't waste time or storage space on redundant data.

3. The Security & Recovery Specialist

This persona focuses on the reliable, immediate, and unauthorized-access-free recovery process.

• As a Recovery Specialist, I want to perform quickly restore specific files or folders to a different location within the VM from a chosen backup point, to achieve ensure immediate business continuity and verify that files are recoverable only by authorized users, strictly adhering to Zero Trust recovery protocols.