CKA Storage Practice Question
A cluster administrator wants to provide storage for an application that requires reading and writing by multiple pods simultaneously. The storage backend is an NFS server that supports multiple writers. Which access mode should be specified in the PersistentVolume?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse ReadWriteOnce (RWO) with the ability to support multiple pods, forgetting that RWO restricts access to a single node, not just a single pod, and that ReadWriteMany (RWX) is required for multi-pod write access across nodes.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
ReadWriteMany
The correct access mode is ReadWriteMany (RWX) because the application requires multiple pods to read and write simultaneously, and the NFS server supports multiple writers. RWX allows the PersistentVolume to be mounted as read-write by many nodes, which is the only access mode that satisfies the requirement for concurrent read-write access from multiple pods.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
ReadOnlyMany
Why it's wrong here
ReadOnlyMany (ROX) is incorrect because it only permits read access, even though it allows many pods to mount the volume simultaneously across different nodes. If the application must write data to the shared storage, ROX cannot satisfy that requirement. This access mode is typically used for sharing configuration files, secrets, or read-only data that multiple pods need to reference without modification.
- ✗
ReadWriteOnce
Why it's wrong here
ReadWriteOnce (RWO) is incorrect because it restricts the volume to a single node, allowing only that one node to mount it as read-write. While multiple pods on the same node could potentially share such a volume, the volume cannot be used by pods running on different nodes. If the application scales to multiple replicas spread across a cluster, RWO would prevent the second pod from mounting the volume, so it does not meet the requirement for shared storage.
- ✗
ReadWriteOncePod
Why it's wrong here
ReadWriteOncePod (RWOP) is even more restrictive than RWO, as it allows only a single pod in the entire cluster to mount the volume as read-write. This mode was designed for volumes that must not be shared by any other pod, such as those used by a single stateful instance or for storage with strict data corruption risks. Since the requirement is to provide storage for an application that needs many pods, RWOP is clearly insufficient.
- ✓
ReadWriteMany
Why this is correct
ReadWriteMany (RWX) is the correct access mode because it allows multiple pods to mount the volume simultaneously with both read and write access, regardless of which nodes those pods run on. This is the only standard access mode that satisfies the requirement of shared read-write storage for many pods. RWX is typically supported by network-based storage like NFS, CephFS, or GlusterFS, and is essential for applications such as clustered web servers or shared content management systems.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CKA practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CKA exam.