06 · KubernetesLab 34 / 59
ChallengekubernetesDestructive
Kubernetes Storage: PVC, PV and StorageClass — Challenge
Prove a container's filesystem is disposable, then attach storage that survives, and meet the access mode that blocks a rollout.
- Time
- 50 min
- Level
- Intermediate
- Objectives
- 4 objectives
- Cost
- Free
Where this fits in the platform
Already built
This lab adds
- A volume that outlives the pod using it
Which lets you
Before you start
You will need
- kind or minikube
- kubectl 1.28+
You do not need these already — the lab environment below provides them.
You will be able to
- Explain the StorageClass → PV → PVC chain and who creates what
- Recognise why ReadWriteOnce blocks a multi-replica Deployment
- Know what `reclaimPolicy` does to your data
Cost — Free
on kind or minikube. On a cloud cluster each PVC provisions a real disk billed per GB-month — see cleanup.
The goal#
Achieve the same outcome as Kubernetes Storage: PVC, PV and StorageClass, from an empty starting point, without the steps.
A container's filesystem dies with the container. Most workloads do not care; a database very much does.
This lab shows the difference concretely, then walks into the access mode that stops a Deployment scaling — which is one of the more confusing first encounters with Kubernetes storage.
Hands-on environment
Run this lab in a real terminal, free and in your browser. The environment is temporary and yours alone — break it as much as you like.
Start the challengeOpens in Killercoda, in a new tab — keep this page open for the steps.
This is the guided lab's environment — the same machine, with its walkthrough on the left. Work from the task above and leave those steps alone until you are done, or you are reading the answers.
Run it on your own machine
Run this lab on your own machine. One command starts the environment, with everything the lab needs already installed:
You will need:
- docker
- kubectl
- kind
git clone https://github.com/EgyKode/EgyKode-lab.git
cd EgyKode-lab
./egykode start k8s
./egykode shellYou need Docker and Git installed. Everything else runs inside the environment. The first start downloads it and takes a few minutes; later starts are seconds.
Not sure what you already have? Run: npm run doctor — it checks and changes nothing.
Anything you tick here is your own record. EgyKode cannot see inside that terminal, so the success criteria stay self-assessed even when the environment checks your work for you.
What must be true when you are done
Step 1 of 3
What must be true when you are done#
- Data written into a container is gone after the Pod is deleted — demonstrated, not assumed.
- The same data survives a Pod deletion once a PVC is mounted.
- You can explain why a 3-replica Deployment with one ReadWriteOnce PVC leaves Pods Pending.
- You can state what happens to the underlying disk when the PVC is deleted, for your StorageClass.
Rules#
- Do not open the guided lab until you are finished, or until the same problem has held you up for 20 minutes.
- Documentation is allowed. In the job it is the first thing you open.
- Verify every criterion with a command whose output you can read.
If you get stuck#
- What did you expect, exactly?
- What happened instead — the error text, not a paraphrase?
- Which layer is that error from?
- What is the smallest command that proves the layer below is fine?
You are done when
0 of 4
The concept behind it
Next up
Lab 34 of 59 on the project path