CKA Storage Practice Question
Which TWO statements about emptyDir volumes are correct?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'container restart' with 'Pod removal' — candidates often think emptyDir is deleted on container restart, but it persists across container restarts and is only deleted when the Pod is deleted from the node.
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
✓
An emptyDir volume is created empty when a Pod is assigned to a node.
An emptyDir volume is created as an empty directory on the node when a Pod is first assigned to that node. It requires no pre-existing storage and is provisioned on the node's local filesystem (or memory if type is 'Memory').
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
An emptyDir volume is created empty when a Pod is assigned to a node.
Why this is correct
When the kubelet binds a Pod to a node, it creates the emptyDir as a genuinely empty directory in the Pod's sandbox before any container starts. No PersistentVolume, storage class, or pre-populated data is involved; the volume is simply a local directory whose entire lifecycle is the Pod's lifetime on that node. For memory-backed emptyDir, it is an empty tmpfs mount instead.
- ✗
An emptyDir volume can be shared between Pods on different nodes.
Why it's wrong here
Because an emptyDir lives on the node's local filesystem (or tmpfs mount for medium: Memory), it cannot be mounted by Pods scheduled on other nodes. Each Pod replica receives a separate instance of the emptyDir on its own node; there is no network attachment or mutual exclusion mechanism that would allow two different nodes to share the same directory. Consequently, emptyDir is unsuitable for cross-node coordination or shared state.
- ✗
An emptyDir volume persists across pod restarts.
Why it's wrong here
emptyDir persists as long as the pod exists, but it is not persistent across restarts in the sense of data survival; it survives container restarts within the same pod, but the data is lost if the pod is deleted and recreated.
- ✓
An emptyDir volume is deleted when the Pod is removed from the node.
Why this is correct
The emptyDir is not deleted when containers within the Pod restart — it is only removed when the whole Pod object is deleted or evicted from the node. When that happens, the kubelet performs cleanup and destroys the directory and all contents, making the data unrecoverable. Since the volume is node-local, this deletion also occurs if the node is drained, wiping the data as part of pod removal.
- ✗
An emptyDir volume requires a PersistentVolume.
Why it's wrong here
An emptyDir is a built-in ephemeral volume that the kubelet provisions automatically from the node's own storage, so no PersistentVolume or PersistentVolumeClaim is ever required. A PV is a cluster-scoped storage resource that is provisioned externally (via CSI, NFS, or cloud disks) and has independent lifecycle and capacity management. This fundamental lifecycle mismatch is why the two are not interchangeable.
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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.