CKA Storage Practice Test 6 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Which volume type is typically used to share configuration data with a pod as files, where the data is stored in the cluster as a resource?

Accepted Answer

configMap. A ConfigMap volume mounts ConfigMap data as files inside the pod.

Answer

secret

Answer

hostPath

Answer

emptyDir

Question 2

A pod uses a PVC with access mode RWO. The pod is scheduled on node A. You want to schedule another pod on node B that uses the same PVC. What will happen?

Accepted Answer

The second pod will be stuck in ContainerCreating state until the first pod releases the volume. A PVC with access mode RWO (ReadWriteOnce) can only be mounted as a block device or filesystem by a single node at a time. When the first pod on node A has the volume attached, the second pod on node B cannot attach the same volume because the underlying storage (e.g., an AWS EBS volume or GCE Persistent Disk) does not support multi-node attachment. The second pod will remain in ContainerCreating state with a 'Multi-Attach error' until the first pod releases the volume (e.g., by being deleted or rescheduled).

Answer

Both pods will mount the volume and share it without issues

Answer

The second pod will successfully mount the volume as read-only

Answer

The first pod will be evicted to allow the second pod to use the volume

Question 3

You need to allow a pod to use a specific device from the host node (e.g., /dev/sdb) as a raw block device. Which volume mode should you set in the PVC?

Accepted Answer

Block. To use a host device like /dev/sdb as a raw block device inside a pod, the PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) must specify `volumeMode: Block`. This tells Kubernetes to expose the volume as a raw block device (e.g., /dev/xxx) inside the container, rather than mounting a filesystem. Only the `Block` volume mode supports this behavior, as defined in the Kubernetes PersistentVolume API.

Answer

Device

Answer

Raw

Answer

Filesystem

Question 4

A developer creates a PVC with storageClassName: "" (empty string). What does this mean?

Accepted Answer

The PVC will only bind to PVs that also have storageClassName: "". When a PVC has `storageClassName: ""` (empty string), it explicitly disables dynamic provisioning and static binding to a PV that also has `storageClassName: ""`. This means the PVC will only bind to a pre-existing PV that has its `storageClassName` set to an empty string, bypassing any default StorageClass. It does not remain pending indefinitely, nor does it use or trigger the default StorageClass.

Answer

The PVC will remain pending indefinitely

Answer

The PVC will use the default StorageClass

Answer

The PVC will be dynamically provisioned using the cluster's default StorageClass

Question 5

Which resource type is used to define a template for dynamically provisioning PersistentVolumes?

Accepted Answer

StorageClass. StorageClass is the correct resource because it defines a 'class' of storage with a provisioner (e.g., kubernetes.io/aws-ebs) and parameters that Kubernetes uses to dynamically create PersistentVolumes when a PersistentVolumeClaim requests storage. Without a StorageClass, dynamic provisioning cannot occur, as the cluster needs a template to know which storage backend to use and how to configure it.

Answer

PersistentVolume

Answer

VolumeAttachment

Answer

PersistentVolumeClaim

Question 6

Which TWO of the following are valid reclaim policies for a PersistentVolume? (Select TWO)

Accepted Answer

Retain. A is correct because the Retain reclaim policy is one of the two valid policies for PersistentVolumes in Kubernetes. When a PersistentVolume is released from its claim, the Retain policy leaves the volume and its data intact, requiring manual administrator intervention to reclaim the storage. This is defined in the PersistentVolume spec under the `persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy` field.

Answer

Recycle

Answer

Preserve

Answer

Archive

Question 7

Which THREE of the following are correct about using a hostPath volume in Kubernetes? (Select THREE)

Accepted Answer

It is recommended for testing and development only. Option E is correct because a hostPath volume mounts a file or directory directly from the host node's filesystem into the pod, which is its defining behavior. Option A is correct because hostPath volumes are explicitly recommended for testing and development only, since they tie pods to specific nodes and introduce security and portability risks. Option B is correct because a common use case is mounting the Docker socket (e.g., /var/run/docker.sock) from the host into a pod so the pod can interact with the container runtime. Option C is incorrect because hostPath volumes are node-local and cannot provide ReadWriteMany access across multiple nodes. Option D is incorrect because hostPath is not suitable for production workloads needing persistence across nodes, as data is tied to a single node and not replicated or portable.

Answer

It supports ReadWriteMany access mode across multiple nodes

Answer

It is suitable for production workloads that require persistence across nodes

Question 8

Which TWO of the following are required fields in a PersistentVolumeClaim spec? (Select TWO)

Accepted Answer

accessModes. Option C (accessModes) is correct because a PersistentVolumeClaim must declare how the volume will be mounted (e.g., ReadWriteOnce, ReadOnlyMany, ReadWriteMany), and this field is mandatory in the PVC spec. Option E (resources.requests.storage) is correct because the claim must specify the amount of storage it requests (e.g., 5Gi), which the control plane uses to bind a matching PersistentVolume. Option A (storageClassName) is not required since it can be omitted, in which case the default StorageClass is used or binding falls back to matching without a class. Option B (selector) is optional and only used to further constrain which PersistentVolumes can satisfy the claim via label matching. Option D (volumeMode) is optional and defaults to Filesystem when not specified.

Answer

storageClassName

Answer

selector

Answer

volumeMode

Question 9

A pod is using a PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) named 'mypvc' which is bound to a PersistentVolume (PV) with reclaim policy 'Retain'. The pod is deleted and then the PVC is deleted. What happens to the PV?

Accepted Answer

The PV remains but is in 'Released' state.. When a PVC is deleted, the associated PV with a 'Retain' reclaim policy is not automatically deleted or recycled. Instead, the PV transitions to a 'Released' state, indicating that its data is preserved but it is no longer bound to a PVC. The PV remains in the cluster until an administrator manually reclaims it by removing the claimRef or deleting the PV.

Answer

The PV is automatically deleted.

Answer

The PV is immediately bound to another PVC.

Answer

The PV is recycled for reuse.

Question 10

Which access mode allows multiple pods on different nodes to mount a PersistentVolume as read-write?

Accepted Answer

ReadWriteMany (RWX). ReadWriteMany (RWX) is the only access mode that allows multiple pods across different nodes to mount a PersistentVolume as read-write simultaneously. This is achieved through shared filesystem protocols such as NFS, GlusterFS, or CephFS, which support concurrent access from multiple clients. The RWX mode is essential for workloads like clustered databases or shared storage applications where multiple instances need to write to the same volume.

Answer

ReadWriteOncePod (RWOP)

Answer

ReadWriteOnce (RWO)

Answer

ReadOnlyMany (ROX)

Question 11

You create a StorageClass with volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer. A PVC using this StorageClass is created but remains in 'Pending' state. The PVC expects a node with label 'disktype=ssd'. A suitable node exists. What is the MOST likely reason the PVC is still Pending?

Accepted Answer

No pod has been created that uses this PVC.. With volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer, the PVC will not be bound to a PV until a pod that uses the PVC is scheduled. The PVC remains Pending because no pod has been created that references it, even though a matching node exists. The scheduler defers volume binding to ensure the PV is provisioned on the same node where the pod lands.

Answer

The node selector on the PVC is incorrect.

Answer

The PVC requests a storage size larger than available.

Answer

The persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy is set to Retain.

Question 12

Which of the following volume types provides ephemeral storage that shares the pod's lifecycle and is initially empty?

Accepted Answer

emptyDir. B is correct because an `emptyDir` volume is created empty when a Pod is assigned to a node and exists as long as that Pod is running. It provides ephemeral storage that shares the Pod's lifecycle, meaning it is deleted when the Pod is removed, and it is initially empty, making it ideal for scratch space, caching, or temporary data.

Answer

secret

Answer

configMap

Answer

hostPath

Question 13

A StatefulSet named 'web' uses volumeClaimTemplates to create PVCs for each replica. You scale the StatefulSet from 3 to 5 replicas. What happens to the PVCs?

Accepted Answer

New PVCs are created for the new replicas (web-3 and web-4).. When a StatefulSet is scaled up, each new replica (e.g., web-3, web-4) automatically gets a new PVC created from the volumeClaimTemplate. The PVC name follows the pattern --, and the new PVCs are bound to newly provisioned PersistentVolumes. This ensures each pod has its own dedicated storage, preserving the identity and state of each replica.

Answer

All PVCs are deleted and recreated.

Answer

The PVCs are not created; you must create them manually.

Answer

Existing PVCs are reused for the new replicas.

Question 14

A developer creates a YAML manifest for a pod that uses a PersistentVolumeClaim. The PVC requests 5Gi of storage but the only available PV has 10Gi. What will happen when the pod is created?

Accepted Answer

The PVC will bind to the PV and the pod will run.. PersistentVolumeClaims (PVCs) bind to PersistentVolumes (PVs) based on satisfying the requested storage size and access modes. Kubernetes allows a PVC to bind to a PV that has equal or greater capacity than requested; the PVC will consume only its requested amount (5Gi) from the larger PV (10Gi). Once bound, the pod referencing the PVC can start successfully because the storage claim is satisfied.

Answer

The PV will be resized to 5Gi to match the PVC.

Answer

The PVC will not bind and the pod will remain Pending.

Answer

The PVC will bind but the pod will be OOMKilled.

Question 15

You want to dynamically provision storage for a PVC using a StorageClass named 'fast-ssd'. Which field in the PVC YAML specifies the StorageClass?

Accepted Answer

storageClassName. In Kubernetes, the field that specifies which StorageClass to use for dynamic provisioning in a PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) is `storageClassName`. When this field is set to a valid StorageClass name (e.g., 'fast-ssd'), the system will dynamically provision a PersistentVolume using the provisioner and parameters defined in that StorageClass. If omitted, the default StorageClass (if one exists) is used.

Answer

class

Answer

storageClass

Answer

className