KCNA Container Orchestration Practice Question
You have a Kubernetes cluster with a Deployment that uses a PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) to store application data. The PVC is bound to a PersistentVolume (PV) with a Retain reclaim policy. You delete the Deployment and the PVC. What happens to the underlying storage?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse the Retain reclaim policy with the Delete policy, assuming that the PV is deleted or automatically made available.
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
✓
The PV remains, but it is in a Released state and cannot be bound to a new PVC until manually reclaimed.
With a Retain reclaim policy, deleting a PVC does not delete the PV or the underlying storage. The PV transitions to a Released state, preserving data and preventing automatic rebinding. An administrator must manually delete the PV and clean up the storage before it can be reused. This is different from the Delete policy, which dynamically deletes the PV and 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.
- ✗
The PV is immediately available for binding to a new PVC because the data is automatically wiped.
Why it's wrong here
With Retain, the PV is not automatically wiped or made available. It stays in a Released state, and the data remains intact. Automatic wiping and reuse would only happen if the reclaim policy were Delete, which deletes the PV and the underlying storage. Therefore, the PV cannot be bound to a new PVC without manual cleanup and re-creation.
- ✓
The PV remains, but it is in a Released state and cannot be bound to a new PVC until manually reclaimed.
Why this is correct
When a PVC is deleted, the PV's reclaim policy determines its fate. With Retain, the PV moves to a Released state, and the underlying storage is preserved. The PV is not available for new claims because it still holds data and requires manual intervention: an administrator must delete the PV and either clean up or reuse the storage. This prevents accidental data loss and allows for data recovery.
- ✗
The PV is automatically deleted, and the storage is released.
Why it's wrong here
With a Retain reclaim policy, the PV is not automatically deleted when the PVC is deleted. Instead, the PV transitions to a Released state, and the storage remains. Automatic deletion would occur if the reclaim policy were Delete, which is common for dynamically provisioned volumes on cloud providers. Here, Retain ensures data persistence beyond PVC deletion.
- ✗
The PV is deleted, but the underlying storage is retained and must be manually cleaned up.
Why it's wrong here
With Retain, the PV object itself is not deleted; it persists in the cluster in a Released state. The underlying storage is also retained. If the PV were deleted, the storage might still exist depending on the volume plugin, but that is not the behavior of Retain. The PV must be manually deleted by an administrator to free the storage for reuse.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CNCF exam blueprint
This KCNA 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 KCNA exam.