Feature Overview (aka. Goal Summary)

This feature backports the OADP (OpenShift Advanced Data Protection) self-service capability to OADP 1.4, enabling namespace-scoped backup and restore operations without requiring cluster-admin privileges.

Goals (aka. expected user outcomes)

DevOps teams will be able to:

• Schedule and manage their own PersistentVolume backups in a self-service manner
• Restore their own backups without needing cluster-admin rights
• Deploy OADP in namespace-scoped mode on multi-tenant OpenShift clusters
• Run stateful applications in production with reliable backup capabilities

Requirements (aka. Acceptance Criteria):

• OADP 1.4 includes non-admin backup/restore functionality
• Users can perform backup and restore operations within their namespaces without cluster-admin privileges
• Namespace-scoped mode is available and functional
• Security boundaries are maintained in multi-tenant environments
• The feature is backported to OADP 1.4 for EUS users (particularly 4.16 and 4.18)

Background

Customers are getting frequent requests from teams for reliable backups of their PersistentVolumes—something stateless, multi-tenant OpenShift clusters don't natively provide. By deploying OpenShift Advanced Data Protection in namespace-scoped mode, each DevOps team can schedule, manage and restore their own PV backups without needing cluster-admin rights. This self-service, secure backup capability addresses the last hurdle to running key stateful applications in production on OpenShift.

The non-admin backup/restore functionality was developed in OADP-203 and needs to be backported to OADP 1.4 to support customers, particularly those on EUS versions like 4.16 and 4.18.

Customer Considerations

• Multiple customer cases are requesting this feature (04148220, 04255413)
• STAAT DER NEDERLANDEN (CIPOE-141962) and VOLKSWAGEN (CIPOE-151800) accounts are impacted
• Telefonica Spain has expressed interest and requires this for OpenShift 4.16 (EUS) and 4.18
• Support exception SUPPORTEX-28184 has been filed for Belastingdienst for DevPreview to OADP 1.4.x

Documentation Considerations

Documentation should cover:

• How to deploy OADP in namespace-scoped mode
• User workflows for self-service backup and restore operations
• Security and permission boundaries in multi-tenant environments
• Migration or upgrade considerations for existing OADP deployments

Interoperability Considerations

This feature impacts:

• OADP 1.4.x versions
• OpenShift 4.16 and 4.18 (EUS versions)
• Multi-tenant OpenShift environments
• Both self-managed and managed OpenShift deployments (OSD/ROSA)

Related to: RFE-8063, OADP-203