---
title: Charmhub | Deploy Velero Operator Charm using Charmhub - The Open Operator
  Collection
description: Deploy the latest version of Velero Operator Charm on any cloud.
url: https://charmhub.io/velero-operator/docs/system-architecture
---

# Velero Operator Charm

[Kubeflow Charmers](https://charmhub.io/publisher/ckfbot "View all packages from Kubeflow Charmers")

* [Kubeflow Charmers](https://charmhub.io/publisher/ckfbot "View all packages from Kubeflow Charmers")

Platform:

24.04

edge 503

```
juju deploy velero-operator --channel edge
```

[Learn to deploy on juju >](https://juju.is/docs/juju/manage-applications)

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#### Relevant links

* [Homepage](https://github.com/canonical/velero-operator)

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#### Contacts

* [Submit a bug](https://github.com/canonical/velero-operator/issues)

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Share your thoughts on this charm with the community on discourse.

[Join the discussion](https://discourse.charmhub.io/)

# System architecture

This guide describes the main features of Velero Operator charm’s architecture.

The Velero Operator charm is implemented as a Command Line Interface (CLI) tool, using a dedicated `Velero` core library that wraps and invokes the official `velero` CLI for all operations. The charm also uses Lightkube to interact with Kubernetes resources and strictly separates installation, configuration, and runtime reconciliation.

## [Core orchestration](https://charmhub.io/velero-operator/docs/system-architecture#p-37266-core-orchestration)

The charm encapsulates Velero installation and management through the `Velero` class, which:

* Installs Velero using `velero install` with minimal flags.
* Adds provider plugins and configures storage backends (S3/Azure).
* Manages Kubernetes resources like Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs), Secrets, ClusterRoles, and Deployments.
* Validates system state using built-in checkers for deployment, node agent, and storage location readiness.

## [Storage configuration via plugin system](https://charmhub.io/velero-operator/docs/system-architecture#p-37266-storage-configuration-via-plugin-system)

The charm supports S3 and Azure backends through a shared `VeleroStorageProvider` interface. Each provider supplies:

* Plugin container image.
* Cloud-specific configuration (e.g., AWS region, Azure credentials).
* Custom `BackupStorageLocation` and `VolumeSnapshotLocation` resources.

## [Secure Kubernetes resource management](https://charmhub.io/velero-operator/docs/system-architecture#p-37266-secure-kubernetes-resource-management)

All credentials are stored in Kubernetes Secret resources, never exposed through the charm config.

CRDs, service accounts, and role bindings are created dynamically using Lightkube and parsed directly from Velero’s own dry-run install output.

## [Declarative metrics integration](https://charmhub.io/velero-operator/docs/system-architecture#p-37266-declarative-metrics-integration)

A Prometheus-compatible `ClusterIP` service is created automatically, using Lightkube primitives, to expose Velero metrics on port 8085 under `/metrics`.

## [Node agent support](https://charmhub.io/velero-operator/docs/system-architecture#p-37266-node-agent-support)

A Velero DaemonSet is deployed across all nodes to support file system backups if enabled. The charm tracks and manages this resource independently.

## [Single backend enforcement](https://charmhub.io/velero-operator/docs/system-architecture#p-37266-single-backend-enforcement)

The charm enforces a single active storage backend at a time to avoid conflicting configurations. Multiple simultaneous relations result in a `Blocked` state.

## [Action-gated CLI access](https://charmhub.io/velero-operator/docs/system-architecture#p-37266-action-gated-cli-access)

A `run` action allows users to invoke selected Velero subcommands, `backup`, `restore`, `schedule`, with input validation and logging.

Arbitrary or unsupported commands are rejected for safety.

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