CKA Storage Practice Question
Which access mode allows multiple pods running on different nodes to read from and write to a PersistentVolume at the same time?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse ReadWriteOnce (which allows multiple pods on the same node) with ReadWriteMany, forgetting that ReadWriteOnce restricts access to a single node, not just a single pod, and thus cannot support pods on different 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
ReadWriteMany (RWM) is the access mode that allows multiple pods running on different nodes to simultaneously read from and write to a PersistentVolume. This is defined in the Kubernetes PersistentVolume specification and is supported by storage backends like NFS, GlusterFS, or CephFS, which provide shared filesystem semantics across network-attached storage.
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
While ReadOnlyMany (ROX) permits multiple Kubernetes nodes to concurrently mount the persistent volume, it restricts all of them to read-only permissions. This prevents any of the attached pods from writing or modifying data on the volume, making it unsuitable when write access is required by the application.
- ✓
ReadWriteMany
Why this is correct
ReadWriteMany (RWX) is the correct access mode because it allows a persistent volume to be mounted concurrently by multiple nodes with both read and write capabilities. This enables multiple pods distributed across different nodes in the cluster to share, read, and write to the same underlying storage system simultaneously.
- ✗
ReadWriteOnce
Why it's wrong here
ReadWriteOnce (RWO) restricts the persistent volume to be mounted as read-write by only a single node at any given time. If multiple pods reside on different nodes, they cannot share this volume, as the underlying storage provider block-locks the volume to the first node that mounts it.
- ✗
ReadWriteOncePod
Why it's wrong here
ReadWriteOncePod (RWOP) is a highly restrictive access mode introduced in Kubernetes 1.22 that limits volume access to exactly one pod across the entire cluster. It prevents multiple pods, even those scheduled on the same node, from concurrently mounting the volume, which directly contradicts the requirement for multi-pod access.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Network Policies and Secure Connectivity
Key term
Ingress Resources
Ingress Resources are Kubernetes API objects that manage external access to services inside a cluster, typically HTTP and HTTPS traffic, by defining rules for routing requests based on hostnames and paths.
Key term
Network Policies
A Kubernetes resource that controls how pods communicate with each other and with other network endpoints, acting as a firewall for pod-to-pod traffic.
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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.