CKA Storage Practice Question
A DevOps team is deploying a stateful application that requires persistent storage with ReadWriteMany access mode across multiple pods running on different nodes in a Kubernetes cluster. Which storage solution should they choose to meet this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse hostPath or local volumes as viable for multi-node sharing, not realizing that only network-based storage solutions like NFS, GlusterFS, or cloud-native RWX volumes (e.g., Azure Files, EFS) can provide ReadWriteMany 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
✓
Configure a PersistentVolume backed by NFS and a PersistentVolumeClaim with accessModes: ReadWriteMany
NFS supports ReadWriteMany (RWX) access mode, allowing multiple pods across different nodes to read and write to the same persistent storage simultaneously. A PersistentVolume backed by NFS, combined with a PersistentVolumeClaim specifying accessModes: ReadWriteMany, meets the requirement for a stateful application needing shared storage across nodes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use an emptyDir volume and share it among pods via a service
Why it's wrong here
An emptyDir volume is strictly bound to the lifecycle of a single Pod and cannot be shared across multiple Pods over a Kubernetes Service. Furthermore, its data is ephemeral and is permanently deleted when the Pod is removed from the node, making it unsuitable for stateful applications requiring persistent, shared storage.
- ✗
Create a local PersistentVolume on each node and use nodeSelector to pin pods
Why it's wrong here
Local PersistentVolumes are inherently bound to specific nodes and only support the ReadWriteOnce access mode. They cannot be concurrently mounted by Pods running on different nodes, which prevents multi-node write access and defeats the purpose of a shared stateful storage solution.
- ✗
Use a hostPath volume mounted in each pod with the same path on each node
Why it's wrong here
A hostPath volume mounts a directory from the host node's filesystem directly into a Pod, which restricts access to that specific node. Because it does not synchronize data across different physical nodes, Pods scheduled on different hosts will see entirely isolated filesystems rather than a unified, shared volume.
- ✓
Configure a PersistentVolume backed by NFS and a PersistentVolumeClaim with accessModes: ReadWriteMany
Why this is correct
Network File System (NFS) is a network-attached storage solution that natively supports the ReadWriteMany (RWX) access mode in Kubernetes. This configuration allows multiple Pods distributed across different nodes in the cluster to simultaneously read from and write to the same persistent volume.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Installing Kubernetes with kubeadm
Key term
Storage Classes
A Storage Class in Kubernetes is a template that defines how persistent storage is provisioned automatically, including the type of storage, performance characteristics, and provisioning policies.
Key term
Persistent Volumes
A Persistent Volume is a piece of storage in a Kubernetes cluster that has been provisioned by an administrator and exists independently of any single pod that uses it.
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