CKA Storage Practice Question
A PersistentVolumeClaim named 'my-pvc' is created and remains in 'Pending' state. Which command should the administrator use to investigate the reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse `get` with `describe`, assuming `get -o yaml` shows all details, but `describe` is the standard troubleshooting command for surfacing events and human-readable error messages that `get` omits.
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
✓
kubectl describe pvc my-pvc
`kubectl describe pvc my-pvc` provides detailed events and status information for the PVC, including any errors or conditions that prevent it from binding to a PersistentVolume (PV). A 'Pending' state typically indicates that the PVC cannot find a matching PV or that the storage class is not available, and the describe command surfaces these reasons in the 'Events' section.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
kubectl get pv
Why it's wrong here
While this command lists the cluster-wide PersistentVolumes, it does not target the specific PersistentVolumeClaim (my-pvc) or reveal why it remains unbound. It lacks the granular event logs and status conditions of the claim itself, which are critical for diagnosing provisioning or binding failures.
- ✗
kubectl get pvc my-pvc -o yaml
Why it's wrong here
This command outputs the current configuration and status block of the PVC in YAML format, but it lacks the real-time event stream generated by the control plane. To diagnose why a claim is stuck in a Pending state, you need the detailed scheduler or volume-provisioner events, which are omitted from this structured YAML output.
- ✗
kubectl describe pod my-pvc
Why it's wrong here
This command fails because it attempts to query a Pod resource named my-pvc instead of the PersistentVolumeClaim. Since my-pvc is a storage claim and not a workload instance, the API server will return a 'not found' error, providing no diagnostic information about the storage issue.
- ✓
kubectl describe pvc my-pvc
Why this is correct
This is the correct command because it retrieves detailed metadata, status conditions, and the event log specifically for the my-pvc claim. The events section will explicitly show errors such as missing StorageClasses, dynamic provisioning failures, or selector mismatches that explain why the PVC remains unbound.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Troubleshooting Storage Persistence
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.
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.
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JA
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.