Use persistent storage

Before you start

You have a provided pilot cluster, a trusted kubeconfig, kubectl and access to an agreed namespace. Set KUBECONFIG, CP_CONTEXT and CP_NAMESPACE using the access guide before running the commands. The examples use a POSIX shell and a single access file. Grouped blocks stop at missing settings without closing your terminal; they do not provision infrastructure or grant permissions. Connect to your cluster →

Persistent storage must be confirmed for your pilot, including its price and class. Record the required access mode, backup needs and deletion behavior before allocating a volume. Stateful application operation is a separate decision from providing disk space.

Agree the storage contract

Review a PersistentVolumeClaim

This illustrative request asks for 10Gi, which is not an included storage allowance. Replace the class with the provided value and confirm ReadWriteOnce support. Save as cloud-demo-pvc.yaml and validate in the agreed namespace. Allocating the claim may incur storage charges, so review it before applying.

apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: cloud-demo-data
spec:
  storageClassName: REPLACE_WITH_AGREED_CLASS
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 10Gi

(
: "${KUBECONFIG:?Set KUBECONFIG from your handover}"
: "${CP_CONTEXT:?Set CP_CONTEXT from your handover}"
: "${CP_NAMESPACE:?Set CP_NAMESPACE from your handover}"
case "$CP_CONTEXT:$CP_NAMESPACE" in
  YOUR_*|*:YOUR_*) printf '%s\n' 'Replace the YOUR_ context and namespace placeholders first.' >&2; exit 1 ;;
esac
kubectl --kubeconfig="$KUBECONFIG" --context="$CP_CONTEXT" --namespace="$CP_NAMESPACE" apply --dry-run=server -f cloud-demo-pvc.yaml
kubectl --kubeconfig="$KUBECONFIG" --context="$CP_CONTEXT" --namespace="$CP_NAMESPACE" diff -f cloud-demo-pvc.yaml
)

This claim alone does not configure a database or attach data to the stateless demo. Use a reviewed application manifest with the correct mount and controller for your stateful workload. Never mount production data into an unreviewed test image.

Interpret Pending and Bound

(
: "${KUBECONFIG:?Set KUBECONFIG from your handover}"
: "${CP_CONTEXT:?Set CP_CONTEXT from your handover}"
: "${CP_NAMESPACE:?Set CP_NAMESPACE from your handover}"
case "$CP_CONTEXT:$CP_NAMESPACE" in
  YOUR_*|*:YOUR_*) printf '%s\n' 'Replace the YOUR_ context and namespace placeholders first.' >&2; exit 1 ;;
esac
kubectl --kubeconfig="$KUBECONFIG" --context="$CP_CONTEXT" --namespace="$CP_NAMESPACE" get pvc
kubectl --kubeconfig="$KUBECONFIG" --context="$CP_CONTEXT" --namespace="$CP_NAMESPACE" describe pvc cloud-demo-data
kubectl --kubeconfig="$KUBECONFIG" --context="$CP_CONTEXT" --namespace="$CP_NAMESPACE" get events --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp
)

Bound means the claim is linked to a volume, not that the application has passed a data test. Pending can indicate a missing class, unsupported access mode, quota/capacity trouble or deliberate delayed binding. With WaitForFirstConsumer, a compatible scheduled Pod may be needed before binding. Follow the events and ask ClusterPilot to inspect the storage layer when it is outside your role.

Change and delete with a data plan

For growth, request the target size and expected cost. Confirm whether the storage class, driver and filesystem support expansion and whether downtime is needed. For exit, verify a usable export at the destination before authorizing deletion.