CKA Storage Practice Question
An application requires a persistent volume that can be shared across multiple Pods running on different nodes, with read-write access from all Pods simultaneously. Which access mode should be specified in the PersistentVolumeClaim?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse ReadWriteMany with ReadWriteOnce, assuming that 'once' means 'one Pod' rather than 'one node', or they forget that ReadOnlyMany does not grant write access despite allowing multi-Pod mounting.
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), which allows the volume to be mounted as read-write by multiple Pods across different nodes simultaneously. This matches the requirement for shared concurrent read-write access from all 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.
- ✗
ReadWriteOncePod
Why it's wrong here
ReadWriteOncePod (RWOP) is the newest access mode, created for CSI volumes, and it restricts a volume to exactly one Pod on one node at a time. Even if your application has multiple replicas, only a single Pod can mount and write to the volume, making any multi-Pod sharing impossible. Therefore it fails the requirement of a shareable persistent volume for an application that needs concurrent access.
- ✗
ReadOnlyMany
Why it's wrong here
ReadOnlyMany (ROX) allows multiple Pods to mount the volume simultaneously, but every Pod can only read from it; no Pod can write. If the application needs to actively write shared data, this access mode cannot support the required write path. Since a persistent volume for an application almost always implies read-write capability, ROX does not satisfy a shareable persistent volume requirement.
- ✗
ReadWriteOnce
Why it's wrong here
ReadWriteOnce (RWO) permits read-write access by a single node; although multiple Pods on that same node can share the volume, it cannot be mounted across nodes at the same time. For an application that needs to share the volume among Pods scheduled on different nodes, this becomes an immediate blocker. Thus RWO is insufficient for general multi-Pod sharing across a cluster.
- ✓
ReadWriteMany
Why this is correct
ReadWriteMany (RWX) is the access mode that allows the volume to be mounted as read-write on many nodes simultaneously, enabling any number of Pods across the cluster to access it concurrently. This matches the requirement of a persistent volume that can be shared: all replicas can read and write the same data without a single-node limitation. Storage backends like NFS, SMB, or certain cloud volumes support RWX.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Kubernetes Architecture Overview
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
Volumes
In Kubernetes, a volume is a storage resource that outlives the pod it belongs to, enabling data to persist across container restarts and be shared between containers in the same pod.
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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.