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What is Kubernetes Volume? Explained.

Mohammed NaserMohammed Naser

A Kubernetes Volume is a part of the various elements (pods, nodes, etc.) that make up the platform's structure. Read on to know more.

A Kubernetes Volume is a part of the various elements (pods, nodes, etc.) that make up the platform's structure. It offers persistent storage that exists till the lifetime of the pod itself. Here is a brief overview of the topic to help better understand K8s and its components.

What is Kubernetes Volume?

Kubernetes volume is essentially a directory containing the data accessible to containers in a given Pod. These volumes provide a plug-in mechanism for the container orchestration platform to connect ephemeral containers with persistent data stores in other locations.

How They Work

Kubernetes volumes persist until the Pod is deleted from the system. Once the pod is deleted, the volume associated with it automatically gets destroyed. An equivalent volume is also created if a Pod is replaced with an identical Pod instead of deletion. Regardless of the Node the Pod runs on; the platform will mount the volumes to the pod, allowing containers to travel across infrastructure without losing access to the workload's necessary but externally hosted data.

The data that exists within a volume outlasts the containers running in the Pod. These volumes can shut down and reboot as ephemeral units, keeping data safe in volumes even if there is a container crash. A pod specifies the volumes it accesses and its location within the specific containers.

An essential thing to note is that Kubernetes volumes can't be added to other volumes, and there are no links between volumes. Users must specify volume mounting for each container within pods. A representation of the desired state of each pod is stored in the API server and the central controller. The platform also uses kubelet agents to accommodate deployments.

Types of Kubernetes Volumes

Kubernetes supports and provides more than 20 types of volumes for users. Here are some of them:

  • emptyDir volume
  • hostPath
  • downwardAPI
  • Local volume
  • cephfs
  • Specialty volume
  • gcePersistentDisk
  • nfs
  • Flocker
  • Scale10
  • Quobyte

Ensuring Stable Kubernetes Environments

Kubernetes is evolving in terms of networking practices and better container orchestration. VEXXHOST is Kubernetes certified and offers fully managed deployments with seamless integration, constant monitoring, and security. Additionally, our cloud services are based on OpenStack, freeing the environments from licensing fees or vendor lock-ins. For many of our clients, private clouds are the preferred choice because of their highly scalable and secure nature.

Take advantage of our limited-time deal just to set up a one-time, OpenStack-based private cloud deployment - at 50% off! The cloud will be running on the latest OpenStack release, Wallaby, which allows you to run Kubernetes and VMs in the same environment, and can be deployed in your own data centers with your hardware. Furthermore, all these will be deployed and tested in under a month!

What are you waiting for? Learn more!

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