Reclaim policies (Retain, Delete) in Kubernetes - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is a reclaim policy in Kubernetes Persistent Volumes?

A reclaim policy tells Kubernetes what to do with a Persistent Volume after its claim is deleted. It can either keep the volume (Retain) or remove it (Delete).

beginner

What does the 'Retain' reclaim policy do?

The 'Retain' policy keeps the Persistent Volume and its data even after the Persistent Volume Claim is deleted. The volume must be manually cleaned or reused.

beginner

What happens when the reclaim policy is set to 'Delete'?

When set to 'Delete', Kubernetes automatically deletes the Persistent Volume and its underlying storage when the Persistent Volume Claim is deleted.

intermediate

Which reclaim policy is safer for preserving data after a claim is deleted?

The 'Retain' policy is safer because it keeps the data intact and requires manual cleanup, preventing accidental data loss.

intermediate

How do you specify a reclaim policy in a Persistent Volume YAML?

You add the field 'persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy' with value 'Retain' or 'Delete' under the Persistent Volume spec.

What does the 'Delete' reclaim policy do in Kubernetes Persistent Volumes?

A Keeps the volume and data after claim deletion

B Locks the volume to prevent deletion

C Archives the volume for backup

D Deletes the volume and data after claim deletion

The 'Delete' policy removes the Persistent Volume and its data automatically when the claim is deleted.

Which reclaim policy requires manual cleanup of the volume?

A Retain

B Recycle

C Delete

D Archive

The 'Retain' policy keeps the volume and data, so manual cleanup is needed.

Where do you set the reclaim policy in a Persistent Volume configuration?

A spec.accessModes

B metadata.labels

C spec.persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy

D spec.storageClassName

The reclaim policy is set under spec.persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy in the Persistent Volume YAML.

If you want to keep data safe after a claim is deleted, which reclaim policy should you choose?

A Retain

B Delete

C Recycle

D None

Retain keeps the volume and data intact, preventing accidental deletion.

What happens to the underlying storage when reclaim policy is 'Delete' and claim is deleted?

A Storage is preserved for reuse

B Storage is deleted automatically

C Storage is backed up

D Storage is locked

The underlying storage is deleted automatically with the volume.

Explain the difference between 'Retain' and 'Delete' reclaim policies in Kubernetes Persistent Volumes.

Think about what happens to the volume after the claim is deleted.

Describe how to set a reclaim policy in a Persistent Volume YAML file.

Look inside the spec section of the YAML.