PSC Virtualization & Container Integration 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What Kubernetes standard does Pure Storage use to provide dynamic volume provisioning for containers on both FlashArray and FlashBlade?
- Container Storage Interface (CSI) (Correct answer)
- FlexVolume plugin API
- in-tree Kubernetes storage driver
- Container Network Interface (CNI)
Correct answer: Container Storage Interface (CSI)
Pure Storage implements the CSI standard (provisioner: csi.purestorage.com), allowing dynamic PersistentVolume provisioning from both FlashArray block and FlashBlade file storage.
Question 2: Pure Storage acquired which enterprise container data management company in 2020 to strengthen its Kubernetes storage portfolio?
- Portworx (Correct answer)
- StorageOS
- Rook
- Longhorn
Correct answer: Portworx
Pure Storage acquired Portworx in 2020, adding enterprise-grade container data services including storage orchestration, data protection, and disaster recovery for Kubernetes workloads.
Question 3: Which Kubernetes access mode does the Pure Storage CSI driver support for FlashArray block volumes?
- ReadWriteOnce (RWO), allowing the volume to be mounted read-write by a single node (Correct answer)
- ReadWriteMany (RWX), allowing concurrent read-write access from multiple pods
- ReadOnlyMany (ROX), allowing shared read-only access across all cluster nodes
- ReadWriteOncePod (RWOP), available only when using FlashArray NVMe-oF connections
Correct answer: ReadWriteOnce (RWO), allowing the volume to be mounted read-write by a single node
Block volumes on FlashArray support ReadWriteOnce because a block device can only be safely mounted to one node at a time; shared file access requires FlashBlade NFS.
Question 4: In a Kubernetes deployment with Pure Storage, what is the purpose of a StorageClass referencing the Pure Storage CSI provisioner?
- It defines the backend array, access protocol, and parameters used when dynamically creating PersistentVolumes from PersistentVolumeClaims (Correct answer)
- It sets the Kubernetes RBAC permissions required for pods to access Pure Storage volumes
- It configures the network path and VLAN used for storage traffic in the cluster
- It schedules automated snapshot jobs for all PersistentVolumes on the referenced array
Correct answer: It defines the backend array, access protocol, and parameters used when dynamically creating PersistentVolumes from PersistentVolumeClaims
A StorageClass specifies the Pure Storage provisioner along with parameters like backend (flasharray or flashblade), volume type, and mount options used for dynamic PV creation.
Question 5: Which Pure Storage product supports ReadWriteMany (RWX) access mode for shared persistent storage across multiple pods in Kubernetes?
- FlashBlade, using NFS-based shared file storage (Correct answer)
- FlashArray//X, using NVMe-oF multi-path connections
- FlashArray//C, using iSCSI multipath I/O
- Pure1 Cloud Block Store, using object storage endpoints
Correct answer: FlashBlade, using NFS-based shared file storage
FlashBlade exports NFS shares that multiple pods on different nodes can mount simultaneously with read-write access, meeting the RWX requirement for shared workloads like AI/ML datasets.
Question 6: What happens to a backing Pure Storage volume when a Kubernetes PersistentVolumeClaim is deleted and the associated PersistentVolume has a reclaimPolicy of 'Delete'?
- The CSI driver automatically deletes the volume from the FlashArray or FlashBlade (Correct answer)
- The volume is retained on the array and must be manually deleted by a storage administrator
- The volume is converted to a snapshot for 30 days before automatic removal
- The volume is moved to a Pure1 archive tier and retained for compliance purposes
Correct answer: The CSI driver automatically deletes the volume from the FlashArray or FlashBlade
With reclaimPolicy=Delete, the Pure Storage CSI driver automatically issues a volume delete to the array when the PVC is removed, freeing capacity without manual cleanup.
Question 7: What is the recommended method for installing the Pure Storage CSI driver in a production Kubernetes cluster?
- Using the official Pure Storage Helm chart to deploy and manage the CSI driver components (Correct answer)
- Manually copying CSI driver binaries to each Kubernetes node via SSH
- Installing the driver as a kernel module on each node through the OS package manager
- Embedding the driver directly into a custom Kubernetes distribution build
Correct answer: Using the official Pure Storage Helm chart to deploy and manage the CSI driver components
Pure Storage provides an official Helm chart for the CSI driver, enabling standardized deployment, upgrades, and configuration management of all driver components as Kubernetes DaemonSets and Deployments.
PSC Virtualization & Container Integration 2
What Kubernetes standard does Pure Storage use to provide dynamic volume provisioning for containers on both FlashArray and FlashBlade?