---
approvers:
- jsafrane
- mikedanese
- saad-ali
- thockin
title: Persistent Volumes
---

This document describes the current state of `PersistentVolumes` in Kubernetes.  Familiarity with [volumes](/docs/concepts/storage/volumes/) is suggested.

* TOC
{:toc}

## Introduction

Managing storage is a distinct problem from managing compute. The `PersistentVolume` subsystem provides an API for users and administrators that abstracts details of how storage is provided from how it is consumed.  To do this we introduce two new API resources:  `PersistentVolume` and `PersistentVolumeClaim`.

A `PersistentVolume` (PV) is a piece of storage in the cluster that has been provisioned by an administrator.  It is a resource in the cluster just like a node is a cluster resource.   PVs are volume plugins like Volumes, but have a lifecycle independent of any individual pod that uses the PV.  This API object captures the details of the implementation of the storage, be that NFS, iSCSI, or a cloud-provider-specific storage system.

A `PersistentVolumeClaim` (PVC) is a request for storage by a user.  It is similar to a pod.  Pods consume node resources and PVCs consume PV resources.  Pods can request specific levels of resources (CPU and Memory).  Claims can request specific size and access modes (e.g., can be mounted once read/write or many times read-only).

While `PersistentVolumeClaims` allow a user to consume abstract storage
resources, it is common that users need `PersistentVolumes` with varying
properties, such as performance, for different problems. Cluster administrators
need to be able to offer a variety of `PersistentVolumes` that differ in more
ways than just size and access modes, without exposing users to the details of
how those volumes are implemented. For these needs there is the `StorageClass`
resource.

A `StorageClass` provides a way for administrators to describe the "classes" of
storage they offer. Different classes might map to quality-of-service levels,
or to backup policies, or to arbitrary policies determined by the cluster
administrators. Kubernetes itself is unopinionated about what classes
represent. This concept is sometimes called "profiles" in other storage
systems.

Please see the [detailed walkthrough with working examples](/docs/tasks/configure-pod-container/configure-persistent-volume-storage/).


## Lifecycle of a volume and claim

PVs are resources in the cluster.  PVCs are requests for those resources and also act as claim checks to the resource.  The interaction between PVs and PVCs follows this lifecycle:

### Provisioning

There are two ways PVs may be provisioned: statically or dynamically.

#### Static
A cluster administrator creates a number of PVs. They carry the details of the real storage which is available for use by cluster users.  They exist in the Kubernetes API and are available for consumption.

#### Dynamic
When none of the static PVs the administrator created matches a user's `PersistentVolumeClaim`,
the cluster may try to dynamically provision a volume specially for the PVC.
This provisioning is based on `StorageClasses`: the PVC must request a class and
the administrator must have created and configured that class in order for dynamic
provisioning to occur. Claims that request the class `""` effectively disable
dynamic provisioning for themselves.

To enable dynamic storage provisioning based on storage class, the cluster administrator
needs to enable the `DefaultStorageClass` [admission controller](/docs/admin/admission-controllers/#defaultstorageclass)
on the API server. This can be done, for example, by ensuring that `DefaultStorageClass` is
among the comma-delimited, ordered list of values for the `--admission-control` flag of 
the API server component. For more information on API server command line flags,
please check [kube-apiserver](/docs/admin/kube-apiserver/) documentation.

### Binding

A user creates, or has already created in the case of dynamic provisioning, a `PersistentVolumeClaim` with a specific amount of storage requested and with certain access modes.  A control loop in the master watches for new PVCs, finds a matching PV (if possible), and binds them together.  If a PV was dynamically provisioned for a new PVC, the loop will always bind that PV to the PVC. Otherwise, the user will always get at least what they asked for, but the volume may be in excess of what was requested.  Once bound, `PersistentVolumeClaim` binds are exclusive, regardless of the mode used to bind them.

Claims will remain unbound indefinitely if a matching volume does not exist.  Claims will be bound as matching volumes become available.  For example, a cluster provisioned with many 50Gi PVs would not match a PVC requesting 100Gi.  The PVC can be bound when a 100Gi PV is added to the cluster.

### Using

Pods use claims as volumes. The cluster inspects the claim to find the bound volume and mounts that volume for a pod.  For volumes which support multiple access modes, the user specifies which mode desired when using their claim as a volume in a pod.

Once a user has a claim and that claim is bound, the bound PV belongs to the user for as long as they need it. Users schedule Pods and access their claimed PVs by including a persistentVolumeClaim in their Pod's volumes block. [See below for syntax details](#claims-as-volumes).

### Reclaiming

When a user is done with their volume, they can delete the PVC objects from the API which allows reclamation of the resource. The reclaim policy for a `PersistentVolume` tells the cluster what to do with the volume after it has been released of its claim. Currently, volumes can either be Retained, Recycled or Deleted.

#### Retaining

The Retain reclaim policy allows for manual reclamation of the resource. When the `PersistentVolumeClaim` is deleted, the `PersistentVolume` still exists and the volume is considered "released". But it is not yet available for another claim because the previous claimant's data remains on the volume. An administrator can manually reclaim the volume with the following steps.

1. Delete the `PersistentVolume`. The associated storage asset in external infrastructure (such as an AWS EBS, GCE PD, Azure Disk, or Cinder volume) still exists after the PV is deleted.
1. Manually clean up the data on the associated storage asset accordingly.
1. Manually delete the associated storage asset, or if you want to reuse the same storage asset, create a new `PersistentVolume` with the storage asset definition.

#### Recycling

If supported by appropriate volume plugin, recycling performs a basic scrub (`rm -rf /thevolume/*`) on the volume and makes it available again for a new claim.

However, an administrator can configure a custom recycler pod template using the Kubernetes controller manager command line arguments as described [here](/docs/admin/kube-controller-manager/). The custom recycler pod template must contain a `volumes` specification, as shown in the example below:

```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: pv-recycler
  namespace: default
spec:
  restartPolicy: Never
  volumes:
  - name: vol
    hostPath:
      path: /any/path/it/will/be/replaced
  containers:
  - name: pv-recycler
    image: "gcr.io/google_containers/busybox"
    command: ["/bin/sh", "-c", "test -e /scrub && rm -rf /scrub/..?* /scrub/.[!.]* /scrub/*  && test -z \"$(ls -A /scrub)\" || exit 1"]
    volumeMounts:
    - name: vol
      mountPath: /scrub
```

However, the particular path specified in the custom recycler pod template in the `volumes` part is replaced with the particular path of the volume that is being recycled.

#### Deleting

For volume plugins that support the Delete reclaim policy, deletion removes both the `PersistentVolume` object from Kubernetes, as well as deleting the associated storage asset in the external infrastructure, such as an AWS EBS, GCE PD, Azure Disk, or Cinder volume. Volumes that were dynamically provisioned inherit the [reclaim policy of their `StorageClass`](#reclaim-policy-1), which defaults to Delete. The administrator should configure the `StorageClass` according to users' expectations, otherwise the PV must be edited or patched after it is created. See [Change the Reclaim Policy of a PersistentVolume](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/administer-cluster/change-pv-reclaim-policy/).


### Expanding Persistent Volumes Claims

With Kubernetes 1.8, we have added Alpha support for expanding persistent volumes. The current Alpha support was designed to only support volume types
that don't need file system resizing (Currently only glusterfs).

Administrator can allow expanding persistent volume claims by setting `ExpandPersistentVolumes` feature gate to true. Administrator
should also enable [`PersistentVolumeClaimResize` admission plugin](/docs/admin/admission-controllers/#persistentvolumeclaimresize)
to perform additional validations of volumes that can be resized.

Once `PersistentVolumeClaimResize` admission plug-in has been turned on, resizing will only be allowed for storage classes
whose `allowVolumeExpansion` field is set to true.

``` yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: gluster-vol-default
provisioner: kubernetes.io/glusterfs
parameters:
  resturl: "http://192.168.10.100:8080"
  restuser: ""
  secretNamespace: ""
  secretName: ""
allowVolumeExpansion: true
```

Once both feature gate and aforementioned admission plug-in are turned on, an user can request larger volume for their `PersistentVolumeClaim`
by simply editing the claim and requesting bigger size.  This in turn will trigger expansion of volume that is backing underlying `PersistentVolume`.

Under no circumstances a new `PersistentVolume` gets created to satisfy the claim. Kubernetes will attempt to resize existing volume to satisfy the claim.


## Types of Persistent Volumes

`PersistentVolume` types are implemented as plugins.  Kubernetes currently supports the following plugins:

* GCEPersistentDisk
* AWSElasticBlockStore
* AzureFile
* AzureDisk
* FC (Fibre Channel)
* FlexVolume
* Flocker
* NFS
* iSCSI
* RBD (Ceph Block Device)
* CephFS
* Cinder (OpenStack block storage)
* Glusterfs
* VsphereVolume
* Quobyte Volumes
* HostPath (Single node testing only -- local storage is not supported in any way and WILL NOT WORK in a multi-node cluster)
* VMware Photon
* Portworx Volumes
* ScaleIO Volumes
* StorageOS

## Persistent Volumes

Each PV contains a spec and status, which is the specification and status of the volume.

```yaml
  apiVersion: v1
  kind: PersistentVolume
  metadata:
    name: pv0003
  spec:
    capacity:
      storage: 5Gi
    accessModes:
      - ReadWriteOnce
    persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy: Recycle
    storageClassName: slow
    mountOptions:
      - hard
      - nfsvers=4.1
    nfs:
      path: /tmp
      server: 172.17.0.2
```

### Capacity

Generally, a PV will have a specific storage capacity.  This is set using the PV's `capacity` attribute.  See the Kubernetes [Resource Model](https://git.k8s.io/community/contributors/design-proposals/scheduling/resources.md) to understand the units expected by `capacity`.

Currently, storage size is the only resource that can be set or requested.  Future attributes may include IOPS, throughput, etc.

### Access Modes

A `PersistentVolume` can be mounted on a host in any way supported by the resource provider.  As shown in the table below, providers will have different capabilities and each PV's access modes are set to the specific modes supported by that particular volume.  For example, NFS can support multiple read/write clients, but a specific NFS PV might be exported on the server as read-only.  Each PV gets its own set of access modes describing that specific PV's capabilities.

The access modes are:

* ReadWriteOnce -- the volume can be mounted as read-write by a single node
* ReadOnlyMany -- the volume can be mounted read-only by many nodes
* ReadWriteMany -- the volume can be mounted as read-write by many nodes

In the CLI, the access modes are abbreviated to:

* RWO - ReadWriteOnce
* ROX - ReadOnlyMany
* RWX - ReadWriteMany

> __Important!__ A volume can only be mounted using one access mode at a time, even if it supports many.  For example, a GCEPersistentDisk can be mounted as ReadWriteOnce by a single node or ReadOnlyMany by many nodes, but not at the same time.


| Volume Plugin        | ReadWriteOnce| ReadOnlyMany| ReadWriteMany|
| :---                 |     :---:    |    :---:    |    :---:     |
| AWSElasticBlockStore | &#x2713;     | -           | -            |
| AzureFile            | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | &#x2713;     |
| AzureDisk            | &#x2713;     | -           | -            |
| CephFS               | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | &#x2713;     |
| Cinder               | &#x2713;     | -           | -            |
| FC                   | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | -            |
| FlexVolume           | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | -            |
| Flocker              | &#x2713;     | -           | -            |
| GCEPersistentDisk    | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | -            |
| Glusterfs            | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | &#x2713;     |
| HostPath             | &#x2713;     | -           | -            |
| iSCSI                | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | -            |
| PhotonPersistentDisk | &#x2713;     | -           | -            |
| Quobyte              | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | &#x2713;     |
| NFS                  | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | &#x2713;     |
| RBD                  | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | -            |
| VsphereVolume        | &#x2713;     | -           | - (works when pods are collocated)  |
| PortworxVolume       | &#x2713;     | -           | &#x2713;     |
| ScaleIO              | &#x2713;     | &#x2713;    | -            |
| StorageOS            | &#x2713;     | -           | -            |

### Class

A PV can have a class, which is specified by setting the
`storageClassName` attribute to the name of a
`StorageClass`. A PV of a particular class can only be bound to PVCs requesting
that class. A PV with no `storageClassName` has no class and can only be bound
to PVCs that request no particular class.

In the past, the annotation `volume.beta.kubernetes.io/storage-class` was used instead
of the `storageClassName` attribute. This annotation is still working, however
it will become fully deprecated in a future Kubernetes release.

### Reclaim Policy

Current reclaim policies are:

* Retain -- manual reclamation
* Recycle -- basic scrub (`rm -rf /thevolume/*`)
* Delete -- associated storage asset such as AWS EBS, GCE PD, Azure Disk, or OpenStack Cinder volume is deleted

Currently, only NFS and HostPath support recycling. AWS EBS, GCE PD, Azure Disk, and Cinder volumes support deletion.

### Mount Options

A Kubernetes administrator can specify additional mount options for when a Persistent Volume is mounted on a node.

**Note:** Not all Persistent volume types support mount options.
{: .note}

The following volume types support mount options:

* GCEPersistentDisk
* AWSElasticBlockStore
* AzureFile
* AzureDisk
* NFS
* iSCSI
* RBD (Ceph Block Device)
* CephFS
* Cinder (OpenStack block storage)
* Glusterfs
* VsphereVolume
* Quobyte Volumes
* VMware Photon

Mount options are not validated, so mount will simply fail if one is invalid.

In the past, the annotation `volume.beta.kubernetes.io/mount-options` was used instead
of the `mountOptions` attribute. This annotation is still working, however
it will become fully deprecated in a future Kubernetes release.

### Phase

A volume will be in one of the following phases:

* Available -- a free resource that is not yet bound to a claim
* Bound -- the volume is bound to a claim
* Released -- the claim has been deleted, but the resource is not yet reclaimed by the cluster
* Failed -- the volume has failed its automatic reclamation

The CLI will show the name of the PVC bound to the PV.

## PersistentVolumeClaims

Each PVC contains a spec and status, which is the specification and status of the claim.

```yaml
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
apiVersion: v1
metadata:
  name: myclaim
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 8Gi
  storageClassName: slow
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      release: "stable"
    matchExpressions:
      - {key: environment, operator: In, values: [dev]}
```

### Access Modes

Claims use the same conventions as volumes when requesting storage with specific access modes.

### Resources

Claims, like pods, can request specific quantities of a resource.  In this case, the request is for storage.  The same [resource model](https://git.k8s.io/community/contributors/design-proposals/scheduling/resources.md) applies to both volumes and claims.

### Selector

Claims can specify a [label selector](/docs/concepts/overview/working-with-objects/labels/#label-selectors) to further filter the set of volumes. Only the volumes whose labels match the selector can be bound to the claim. The selector can consist of two fields:

* matchLabels - the volume must have a label with this value
* matchExpressions - a list of requirements made by specifying key, list of values, and operator that relates the key and values. Valid operators include In, NotIn, Exists, and DoesNotExist.

All of the requirements, from both `matchLabels` and `matchExpressions` are ANDed together – they must all be satisfied in order to match.

### Class

A claim can request a particular class by specifying the name of a
`StorageClass` using the attribute `storageClassName`.
Only PVs of the requested class, ones with the same `storageClassName` as the PVC, can
be bound to the PVC.

PVCs don't necessarily have to request a class. A PVC with its `storageClassName` set
equal to `""` is always interpreted to be requesting a PV with no class, so it
can only be bound to PVs with no class (no annotation or one set equal to
`""`). A PVC with no `storageClassName` is not quite the same and is treated differently
by the cluster depending on whether the
[`DefaultStorageClass` admission plugin](/docs/admin/admission-controllers/#defaultstorageclass)
is turned on.

* If the admission plugin is turned on, the administrator may specify a
default `StorageClass`. All PVCs that have no `storageClassName` can be bound only to
PVs of that default. Specifying a default `StorageClass` is done by setting the
annotation `storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class` equal to "true" in
a `StorageClass` object. If the administrator does not specify a default, the
cluster responds to PVC creation as if the admission plugin were turned off. If
more than one default is specified, the admission plugin forbids the creation of
all PVCs.
* If the admission plugin is turned off, there is no notion of a default
`StorageClass`. All PVCs that have no `storageClassName` can be bound only to PVs that
have no class. In this case, the PVCs that have no `storageClassName` are treated the
same way as PVCs that have their `storageClassName` set to `""`.

Depending on installation method, a default StorageClass may be deployed
to Kubernetes cluster by addon manager during installation.

When a PVC specifies a `selector` in addition to requesting a `StorageClass`,
the requirements are ANDed together: only a PV of the requested class and with
the requested labels may be bound to the PVC.

**Note:** Currently, a PVC with a non-empty `selector` can't have a PV dynamically provisioned for it.
{: .note}

In the past, the annotation `volume.beta.kubernetes.io/storage-class` was used instead
of `storageClassName` attribute. This annotation is still working, however
it won't be supported in a future Kubernetes release.

## Claims As Volumes

Pods access storage by using the claim as a volume.  Claims must exist in the same namespace as the pod using the claim.  The cluster finds the claim in the pod's namespace and uses it to get the `PersistentVolume` backing the claim.  The volume is then mounted to the host and into the pod.

```yaml
kind: Pod
apiVersion: v1
metadata:
  name: mypod
spec:
  containers:
    - name: myfrontend
      image: dockerfile/nginx
      volumeMounts:
      - mountPath: "/var/www/html"
        name: mypd
  volumes:
    - name: mypd
      persistentVolumeClaim:
        claimName: myclaim
```

### A Note on Namespaces

`PersistentVolumes` binds are exclusive, and since `PersistentVolumeClaims` are namespaced objects, mounting claims with "Many" modes (`ROX`, `RWX`) is only possible within one namespace.

## StorageClasses

Each `StorageClass` contains the fields `provisioner`, `parameters`, and
`reclaimPolicy`, which are used when a `PersistentVolume` belonging to the
class needs to be dynamically provisioned.

The name of a `StorageClass` object is significant, and is how users can
request a particular class. Administrators set the name and other parameters
of a class when first creating `StorageClass` objects, and the objects cannot
be updated once they are created.

Administrators can specify a default `StorageClass` just for PVCs that don't
request any particular class to bind to: see the
[`PersistentVolumeClaim` section](#persistentvolumeclaims)
for details.

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: standard
provisioner: kubernetes.io/aws-ebs
parameters:
  type: gp2
reclaimPolicy: Retain
mountOptions:
  - debug
```

### Provisioner
Storage classes have a provisioner that determines what volume plugin is used
for provisioning PVs. This field must be specified.

| Volume Plugin        | Internal Provisioner| Config Example                       |
| :---                 |     :---:           |    :---:                             |
| AWSElasticBlockStore | &#x2713;            | [AWS](#aws)                          |
| AzureFile            | &#x2713;            | [Azure File](#azure-file)            |
| AzureDisk            | &#x2713;            | [Azure Disk](#azure-disk)            |
| CephFS               | -                   | -                                    |
| Cinder               | &#x2713;            | [OpenStack Cinder](#openstack-cinder)|
| FC                   | -                   | -                                    |
| FlexVolume           | -                   | -                                    |
| Flocker              | &#x2713;            | -                                    |
| GCEPersistentDisk    | &#x2713;            | [GCE](#gce)                          |
| Glusterfs            | &#x2713;            | [Glusterfs](#glusterfs)              |
| iSCSI                | -                   | -                                    |
| PhotonPersistentDisk | &#x2713;            | -                                    |
| Quobyte              | &#x2713;            | [Quobyte](#quobyte)                  |
| NFS                  | -                   | -                                    |
| RBD                  | &#x2713;            | [Ceph RBD](#ceph-rbd)                |
| VsphereVolume        | &#x2713;            | [vSphere](#vsphere)                  |
| PortworxVolume       | &#x2713;            | [Portworx Volume](#portworx-volume)  |
| ScaleIO              | &#x2713;            | [ScaleIO](#scaleio)                  |
| StorageOS            | &#x2713;            | [StorageOS](#storageos)              |

You are not restricted to specifying the "internal" provisioners
listed here (whose names are prefixed with "kubernetes.io" and shipped
alongside Kubernetes). You can also run and specify external provisioners,
which are independent programs that follow a [specification](https://git.k8s.io/community/contributors/design-proposals/storage/volume-provisioning.md)
defined by Kubernetes. Authors of external provisioners have full discretion
over where their code lives, how the provisioner is shipped, how it needs to be
run, what volume plugin it uses (including Flex), etc. The repository [kubernetes-incubator/external-storage](https://github.com/kubernetes-incubator/external-storage)
houses a library for writing external provisioners that implements the bulk of
the specification plus various community-maintained external provisioners.

For example, NFS doesn't provide an internal provisioner, but an external provisioner
can be used. Some external provisioners are listed under the repository [kubernetes-incubator/external-storage](https://github.com/kubernetes-incubator/external-storage).
There are also cases when 3rd party storage vendors provide their own external
provisioner.

### Reclaim Policy
Persistent Volumes that are dynamically created by a storage class will have the
reclaim policy specified in the `reclaimPolicy` field of the class, which can be
either `Delete` or `Retain`. If no `reclaimPolicy` is specified when a
`StorageClass` object is created, it will default to `Delete`.

Persistent Volumes that are created manually and managed via a storage class will have
whatever reclaim policy they were assigned at creation.

### Mount Options
Persistent Volumes that are dynamically created by a storage class will have the
mount options specified in the `mountOptions` field of the class.

If the volume plugin does not support mount options but mount options are
specified, provisioning will fail. Mount options are not validated on neither
the class nor PV, so mount of the PV will simply fail if one is invalid.

### Parameters
Storage classes have parameters that describe volumes belonging to the storage
class. Different parameters may be accepted depending on the `provisioner`. For
 example, the value `io1`, for the parameter `type`, and the parameter
`iopsPerGB` are specific to EBS. When a parameter is omitted, some default is
used.

#### AWS

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: slow
provisioner: kubernetes.io/aws-ebs
parameters:
  type: io1
  zones: us-east-1d, us-east-1c
  iopsPerGB: "10"
```

* `type`: `io1`, `gp2`, `sc1`, `st1`. See [AWS docs](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSVolumeTypes.html) for details. Default: `gp2`.
* `zone`: AWS zone. If neither `zone` nor `zones` is specified, volumes are generally round-robin-ed across all active zones where Kubernetes cluster has a node. `zone` and `zones` parameters must not be used at the same time.
* `zones`: A comma separated list of AWS zone(s). If neither `zone` nor `zones` is specified, volumes are generally round-robin-ed across all active zones where Kubernetes cluster has a node. `zone` and `zones` parameters must not be used at the same time.
* `iopsPerGB`: only for `io1` volumes. I/O operations per second per GiB. AWS volume plugin multiplies this with size of requested volume to compute IOPS of the volume and caps it at 20 000 IOPS (maximum supported by AWS, see [AWS docs](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSVolumeTypes.html). A string is expected here, i.e. `"10"`, not `10`.
* `encrypted`: denotes whether the EBS volume should be encrypted or not. Valid values are `"true"` or `"false"`. A string is expected here, i.e. `"true"`, not `true`.
* `kmsKeyId`: optional. The full Amazon Resource Name of the key to use when encrypting the volume. If none is supplied but `encrypted` is true, a key is generated by AWS. See AWS docs for valid ARN value.

#### GCE

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: slow
provisioner: kubernetes.io/gce-pd
parameters:
  type: pd-standard
  zones: us-central1-a, us-central1-b
```

* `type`: `pd-standard` or `pd-ssd`. Default: `pd-standard`
* `zone`: GCE zone. If neither `zone` nor `zones` is specified, volumes are generally round-robin-ed across all active zones where Kubernetes cluster has a node. `zone` and `zones` parameters must not be used at the same time.
* `zones`: A comma separated list of GCE zone(s). If neither `zone` nor `zones` is specified, volumes are generally round-robin-ed across all active zones where Kubernetes cluster has a node. `zone` and `zones` parameters must not be used at the same time.

#### Glusterfs

```yaml
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: slow
provisioner: kubernetes.io/glusterfs
parameters:
  resturl: "http://127.0.0.1:8081"
  clusterid: "630372ccdc720a92c681fb928f27b53f"
  restauthenabled: "true"
  restuser: "admin"
  secretNamespace: "default"
  secretName: "heketi-secret"
  gidMin: "40000"
  gidMax: "50000"
  volumetype: "replicate:3"
```

* `resturl`: Gluster REST service/Heketi service url which provision gluster volumes on demand. The general format should be `IPaddress:Port` and this is a mandatory parameter for GlusterFS dynamic provisioner. If Heketi service is exposed as a routable service in openshift/kubernetes setup, this can have a format similar to
`http://heketi-storage-project.cloudapps.mystorage.com` where the fqdn is a resolvable heketi service url.
* `restauthenabled` : Gluster REST service authentication boolean that enables authentication to the REST server. If this value is 'true', `restuser` and `restuserkey` or `secretNamespace` + `secretName` have to be filled. This option is deprecated, authentication is enabled when any of `restuser`, `restuserkey`, `secretName` or `secretNamespace` is specified.
* `restuser` : Gluster REST service/Heketi user who has access to create volumes in the Gluster Trusted Pool.
* `restuserkey` : Gluster REST service/Heketi user's password which will be used for authentication to the REST server. This parameter is deprecated in favor of `secretNamespace` + `secretName`.
* `secretNamespace`, `secretName` : Identification of Secret instance that contains user password to use when talking to Gluster REST service. These parameters are optional, empty password will be used when both `secretNamespace` and `secretName` are omitted. The provided secret must have type "kubernetes.io/glusterfs", e.g. created in this way:
  ```
  $ kubectl create secret generic heketi-secret --type="kubernetes.io/glusterfs" --from-literal=key='opensesame' --namespace=default
  ```
  Example of a secret can be found in [glusterfs-provisioning-secret.yaml](https://github.com/kubernetes/examples/tree/master/staging/persistent-volume-provisioning/glusterfs/glusterfs-secret.yaml).
* `clusterid`: `630372ccdc720a92c681fb928f27b53f` is the ID of the cluster which will be used by Heketi when provisioning the volume. It can also be a list of clusterids, for ex:
  "8452344e2becec931ece4e33c4674e4e,42982310de6c63381718ccfa6d8cf397". This is an optional parameter.
* `gidMin`, `gidMax` : The minimum and maximum value of GID range for the storage class. A unique value (GID) in this range ( gidMin-gidMax ) will be used for dynamically provisioned volumes. These are optional values. If not specified, the volume will be provisioned with a value between 2000-2147483647 which are defaults for gidMin and gidMax respectively.
* `volumetype` : The volume type and its parameters can be configured with this optional value. If the volume type is not mentioned, it's up to the provisioner to decide the volume type.
  For example:
    'Replica volume':
      `volumetype: replicate:3` where '3' is replica count.
    'Disperse/EC volume':
      `volumetype: disperse:4:2` where '4' is data and '2' is the redundancy count.
    'Distribute volume':
      `volumetype: none`

  For available volume types and administration options, refer to the [Administration Guide](https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Storage/3.1/html/Administration_Guide/part-Overview.html).

  For further reference information, see [How to configure Heketi](https://github.com/heketi/heketi/wiki/Setting-up-the-topology).

  When persistent volumes are dynamically provisioned, the Gluster plugin automatically creates an endpoint and a headless service in the name `gluster-dynamic-<claimname>`. The dynamic endpoint and service are automatically deleted when the persistent volume claim is deleted.

#### OpenStack Cinder

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: gold
provisioner: kubernetes.io/cinder
parameters:
  type: fast
  availability: nova
```

* `type`: [VolumeType](https://docs.openstack.org/user-guide/dashboard-manage-volumes.html) created in Cinder. Default is empty.
* `availability`: Availability Zone. If not specified, volumes are generally round-robin-ed across all active zones where Kubernetes cluster has a node.

#### vSphere

1. Create a StorageClass with a user specified disk format.

        kind: StorageClass
        apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
        metadata:
          name: fast
        provisioner: kubernetes.io/vsphere-volume
        parameters:
          diskformat: zeroedthick

    `diskformat`: `thin`, `zeroedthick` and `eagerzeroedthick`. Default: `"thin"`.

2. Create a StorageClass with a disk format on a user specified datastore.
  
        kind: StorageClass
        apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
        metadata:
          name: fast
        provisioner: kubernetes.io/vsphere-volume
        parameters:
            diskformat: zeroedthick
            datastore: VSANDatastore

    `datastore`: The user can also specify the datastore in the StorageClass. The volume will be created on the datastore specified in the storage class, which in this case is `VSANDatastore`. This field is optional. If the datastore is not specified, then the volume will be created on the datastore specified in the vSphere config file used to initialize the vSphere Cloud Provider.

3. Storage Policy Management inside kubernetes

    * Using existing vCenter SPBM policy

      One of the most important features of vSphere for Storage Management is policy based Management. Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM) is a storage policy framework that provides a single unified control plane across a broad range of data services and storage solutions. SPBM enables vSphere administrators to overcome upfront storage provisioning challenges, such as capacity planning, differentiated service levels and managing capacity headroom.

      The SPBM policies can be specified in the StorageClass using the storagePolicyName parameter.

    * Virtual SAN policy support inside Kubernetes

      Vsphere Infrastructure (VI) Admins will have the ability to specify custom Virtual SAN Storage Capabilities during dynamic volume provisioning. You can now define storage requirements, such as performance and availability, in the form of storage capabilities during dynamic volume provisioning. The storage capability requirements are converted into a Virtual SAN policy which are then pushed down to the Virtual SAN layer when a persistent volume (virtual disk) is being created. The virtual disk is distributed across the Virtual SAN datastore to meet the requirements.

      You can see [Storage Policy Based Management for dynamic provisioning of volumes](https://vmware.github.io/vsphere-storage-for-kubernetes/documentation/policy-based-mgmt.html) for more details on how to use storage policies for persistent volumes management.
        
There are few [vSphere examples](https://github.com/kubernetes/examples/tree/master/staging/volumes/vsphere) which you try out for persistent volume management inside Kubernetes for vSphere.

#### Ceph RBD

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: fast
provisioner: kubernetes.io/rbd
parameters:
  monitors: 10.16.153.105:6789
  adminId: kube
  adminSecretName: ceph-secret
  adminSecretNamespace: kube-system
  pool: kube
  userId: kube
  userSecretName: ceph-secret-user
  fsType: ext4
  imageFormat: "2"
  imageFeatures: "layering"
```

* `monitors`: Ceph monitors, comma delimited. This parameter is required.
* `adminId`: Ceph client ID that is capable of creating images in the pool. Default is "admin".
* `adminSecretNamespace`: The namespace for `adminSecret`. Default is "default".
* `adminSecret`: Secret Name for `adminId`. This parameter is required. The provided secret must have type "kubernetes.io/rbd".
* `pool`: Ceph RBD pool. Default is "rbd".
* `userId`: Ceph client ID that is used to map the RBD image. Default is the same as `adminId`.
* `userSecretName`: The name of Ceph Secret for `userId` to map RBD image. It must exist in the same namespace as PVCs. This parameter is required. The provided secret must have type "kubernetes.io/rbd", e.g. created in this way:
  ```
  $ kubectl create secret generic ceph-secret --type="kubernetes.io/rbd" --from-literal=key='QVFEQ1pMdFhPUnQrSmhBQUFYaERWNHJsZ3BsMmNjcDR6RFZST0E9PQ==' --namespace=kube-system
  ```
* `fsType`: fsType that is supported by kubernetes. Default: `"ext4"`.
* `imageFormat`: Ceph RBD image format, "1" or "2". Default is "1".
* `imageFeatures`: This parameter is optional and should only be used if you set `imageFormat` to "2". Currently supported features are `layering` only. Default is "", and no features are turned on.

#### Quobyte

```yaml
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
   name: slow
provisioner: kubernetes.io/quobyte
parameters:
    quobyteAPIServer: "http://138.68.74.142:7860"
    registry: "138.68.74.142:7861"
    adminSecretName: "quobyte-admin-secret"
    adminSecretNamespace: "kube-system"
    user: "root"
    group: "root"
    quobyteConfig: "BASE"
    quobyteTenant: "DEFAULT"
```

* `quobyteAPIServer`: API Server of Quobyte in the format `http(s)://api-server:7860`
* `registry`: Quobyte registry to use to mount the volume. You can specify the registry as ``<host>:<port>`` pair or if you want to specify multiple registries you just have to put a comma between them e.q. ``<host1>:<port>,<host2>:<port>,<host3>:<port>``. The host can be an IP address or if you have a working DNS you can also provide the DNS names.
* `adminSecretNamespace`: The namespace for `adminSecretName`. Default is "default".
* `adminSecretName`: secret that holds information about the Quobyte user and the password to authenticate against the API server. The provided secret must have type "kubernetes.io/quobyte", e.g. created in this way:
  ```
  $ kubectl create secret generic quobyte-admin-secret --type="kubernetes.io/quobyte" --from-literal=key='opensesame' --namespace=kube-system
  ```
* `user`: maps all access to this user. Default is "root".
* `group`: maps all access to this group. Default is "nfsnobody".
* `quobyteConfig`: use the specified configuration to create the volume. You can create a new configuration or modify an existing one with the Web console or the quobyte CLI. Default is "BASE".
* `quobyteTenant`: use the specified tenant ID to create/delete the volume. This Quobyte tenant has to be already present in Quobyte. Default is "DEFAULT".

#### Azure Disk

##### Azure Unmanaged Disk Storage Class

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: slow
provisioner: kubernetes.io/azure-disk
parameters:
  skuName: Standard_LRS
  location: eastus
  storageAccount: azure_storage_account_name
```

* `skuName`: Azure storage account Sku tier. Default is empty.
* `location`: Azure storage account location. Default is empty.
* `storageAccount`: Azure storage account name. If a storage account is provided, it must reside in the same resource group as the cluster, and `location` is ignored. If a storage account is not provided, a new storage account will be created in the same resource group as the cluster.

##### New Azure Disk Storage Class (starting from v1.7.2)

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: slow
provisioner: kubernetes.io/azure-disk
parameters:
  storageaccounttype: Standard_LRS
  kind: Shared
```

* `storageaccounttype`: Azure storage account Sku tier. Default is empty.
* `kind`: Possible values are `shared` (default), `dedicated`, and `managed`. When `kind` is `shared`, all unmanaged disks are created in a few shared storage accounts in the same resource group as the cluster. When `kind` is `dedicated`, a new dedicated storage account will be created for the new unmanaged disk in the same resource group as the cluster.

- Premium VM can attach both Standard_LRS and Premium_LRS disks, while Standard VM can only attach Standard_LRS disks.
- Managed VM can only attach managed disks and unmanaged VM can only attach unmanaged disks.

#### Azure File

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: azurefile
provisioner: kubernetes.io/azure-file
parameters:
  skuName: Standard_LRS
  location: eastus
  storageAccount: azure_storage_account_name
```

* `skuName`: Azure storage account Sku tier. Default is empty.
* `location`: Azure storage account location. Default is empty.
* `storageAccount`: Azure storage account name.  Default is empty. If a storage account is not provided, all storage accounts associated with the resource group are searched to find one that matches `skuName` and `location`. If a storage account is provided, it must reside in the same resource group as the cluster, and `skuName` and `location` are ignored.

During provision, a secret is created for mounting credentials. If the cluster has enabled both [RBAC](/docs/admin/authorization/rbac/) and [Controller Roles](/docs/admin/authorization/rbac/#controller-roles), add the `create` permission of resource `secret` for clusterrole `system:controller:persistent-volume-binder`.

#### Portworx Volume

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: portworx-io-priority-high
provisioner: kubernetes.io/portworx-volume
parameters:
  repl: "1"
  snap_interval:   "70"
  io_priority:  "high"

```

*  `fs`: filesystem to be laid out: [none/xfs/ext4] (default: `ext4`).
*  `block_size`: block size in Kbytes (default: `32`).
*  `repl`: number of synchronous replicas to be provided in the form of replication factor [1..3] (default: `1`) A string is expected here i.e.`"1"` and not `1`.
*  `io_priority`: determines whether the volume will be created from higher performance or a lower priority storage [high/medium/low] (default: `low`).
*  `snap_interval`: clock/time interval in minutes for when to trigger snapshots. Snapshots are incremental based on difference with the prior snapshot, 0 disables snaps (default: `0`). A string is expected here i.e. `"70"` and not `70`.
*  `aggregation_level`: specifies the number of chunks the volume would be distributed into, 0 indicates a non-aggregated volume (default: `0`). A string is expected here i.e. `"0"` and not `0`
*  `ephemeral`: specifies whether the volume should be cleaned-up after unmount or should be persistent. `emptyDir` use case can set this value to true and `persistent volumes` use case such as for databases like Cassandra should set to false, [true/false] (default `false`). A string is expected here i.e. `"true"` and not `true`.

#### ScaleIO

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: slow
provisioner: kubernetes.io/scaleio
parameters:
  gateway: https://192.168.99.200:443/api
  system: scaleio
  protectionDomain: pd0
  storagePool: sp1
  storageMode: ThinProvisioned
  secretRef: sio-secret
  readOnly: false
  fsType: xfs
```

* `provisioner`: attribute is set to `kubernetes.io/scaleio`
* `gateway`: address to a ScaleIO API gateway (required)
* `system`: the name of the ScaleIO system (required)
* `protectionDomain`: the name of the ScaleIO protection domain (required)
* `storagePool`: the name of the volume storage pool (required)
* `storageMode`: the storage provision mode: `ThinProvisioned` (default) or `ThickProvisioned`
* `secretRef`: reference to a configured Secret object (required)
* `readOnly`: specifies the access mode to the mounted volume (default false)
* `fsType`: the file system to use for the volume (default ext4)

The ScaleIO Kubernetes volume plugin requires a configured Secret object.
The secret must be created with type `kubernetes.io/scaleio` and use the same namespace value as that of the PVC where it is referenced
as shown in the following command:

```
$> kubectl create secret generic sio-secret --type="kubernetes.io/scaleio" --from-literal=username=sioadmin --from-literal=password=d2NABDNjMA== --namespace=default
```

#### StorageOS

```yaml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: fast
provisioner: kubernetes.io/storageos
parameters:
  pool: default
  description: Kubernetes volume
  fsType: ext4
  adminSecretNamespace: default
  adminSecretName: storageos-secret
```

* `pool`: The name of the StorageOS distributed capacity pool to provision the volume from.  Uses the `default` pool which is normally present if not specified.
* `description`: The description to assign to volumes that were created dynamically.  All volume descriptions will be the same for the storage class, but different storage classes can be used to allow descriptions for different use cases.  Defaults to `Kubernetes volume`.
* `fsType`: The default filesystem type to request.  Note that user-defined rules within StorageOS may override this value.  Defaults to `ext4`.
* `adminSecretNamespace`: The namespace where the API configuration secret is located.  Required if adminSecretName set.
* `adminSecretName`: The name of the secret to use for obtaining the StorageOS API credentials.  If not specified, default values will be attempted.

The StorageOS Kubernetes volume plugin can use a Secret object to specify an endpoint and credentials to access the StorageOS API.  This is only required when the defaults have been changed.
The secret must be created with type `kubernetes.io/storageos` as shown in the following command:

```
$ kubectl create secret generic storageos-secret --type="kubernetes.io/storageos" --from-literal=apiAddress=tcp://localhost:5705 --from-literal=apiUsername=storageos --from-literal=apiPassword=storageos --namespace=default
```

Secrets used for dynamically provisioned volumes may be created in any namespace and referenced with the `adminSecretNamespace` parameter.  Secrets used by pre-provisioned volumes must be created in the same namespace as the PVC that references it.

## Writing Portable Configuration

If you're writing configuration templates or examples that run on a wide range of clusters
and need persistent storage, we recommend that you use the following pattern:

- Do include PersistentVolumeClaim objects in your bundle of config (alongside Deployments, ConfigMaps, etc).
- Do not include PersistentVolume objects in the config, since the user instantiating the config may not have
  permission to create PersistentVolumes.
- Give the user the option of providing a storage class name when instantiating the template.
  - If the user provides a storage class name, and the cluster is version 1.4 or newer, put that value into the `volume.beta.kubernetes.io/storage-class` annotation of the PVC.
    This will cause the PVC to match the right storage class if the cluster has StorageClasses enabled by the admin.
  - If the user does not provide a storage class name or the cluster is version 1.3, then instead put a `volume.alpha.kubernetes.io/storage-class: default` annotation on the PVC.
    - This will cause a PV to be automatically provisioned for the user with sane default characteristics on some clusters.
    - Despite the word `alpha` in the name, the code behind this annotation has `beta` level support.
    - Do not use `volume.beta.kubernetes.io/storage-class:` with any value including the empty string since it will prevent DefaultStorageClass admission controller
      from running if enabled.
- In your tooling, do watch for PVCs that are not getting bound after some time and surface this to the user, as this may indicate that the cluster has no dynamic
  storage support (in which case the user should create a matching PV) or the cluster has no storage system (in which case the user cannot deploy config requiring
  PVCs).
- In the future, we expect most clusters to have `DefaultStorageClass` enabled, and to have some form of storage available.  However, there may not be any
  storage class names which work on all clusters, so continue to not set one by default.
  At some point, the alpha annotation will cease to have meaning, but the unset `storageClass` field on the PVC
  will have the desired effect.
