How to Configure Dynamic Volume Provisioning

Dynamic provisioning automatically creates PersistentVolumes when PersistentVolumeClaims are created. Configure StorageClasses for your cloud provider or storage backend.

Understanding StorageClasses

# Basic StorageClass structure
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: fast-ssd
provisioner: kubernetes.io/aws-ebs  # Provider-specific
parameters:
  type: gp3                         # Storage type
reclaimPolicy: Delete               # Delete or Retain
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer  # Immediate or WaitForFirstConsumer
allowVolumeExpansion: true          # Allow resizing

AWS EBS StorageClasses

# aws-gp3.yaml - General purpose SSD
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: gp3
  annotations:
    storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class: "true"
provisioner: ebs.csi.aws.com
parameters:
  type: gp3
  iops: "3000"
  throughput: "125"
  encrypted: "true"
  kmsKeyId: "arn:aws:kms:us-east-1:123456789:key/abc123"
reclaimPolicy: Delete
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
allowVolumeExpansion: true
---
# aws-io2.yaml - High performance SSD
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: io2-high-iops
provisioner: ebs.csi.aws.com
parameters:
  type: io2
  iops: "10000"
  encrypted: "true"
reclaimPolicy: Retain
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
allowVolumeExpansion: true

GCP Persistent Disk StorageClasses

# gcp-ssd.yaml
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: ssd
provisioner: pd.csi.storage.gke.io
parameters:
  type: pd-ssd
  replication-type: regional-pd  # For HA
reclaimPolicy: Delete
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
allowVolumeExpansion: true
---
# gcp-balanced.yaml
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: balanced
  annotations:
    storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class: "true"
provisioner: pd.csi.storage.gke.io
parameters:
  type: pd-balanced
reclaimPolicy: Delete
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
allowVolumeExpansion: true

Azure Disk StorageClasses

# azure-premium.yaml
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: premium-ssd
provisioner: disk.csi.azure.com
parameters:
  skuName: Premium_LRS
  cachingMode: ReadOnly
  enableBursting: "true"
reclaimPolicy: Delete
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
allowVolumeExpansion: true
---
# azure-standard.yaml
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: standard
  annotations:
    storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class: "true"
provisioner: disk.csi.azure.com
parameters:
  skuName: StandardSSD_LRS
reclaimPolicy: Delete
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
allowVolumeExpansion: true

NFS Dynamic Provisioning

# Install NFS subdir external provisioner first:
# helm install nfs-provisioner nfs-subdir-external-provisioner/nfs-subdir-external-provisioner \
#   --set nfs.server=10.0.0.100 --set nfs.path=/exports

# nfs-storageclass.yaml
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: nfs-client
provisioner: cluster.local/nfs-subdir-external-provisioner
parameters:
  archiveOnDelete: "true"  # Keep data on PVC deletion
  pathPattern: "${.PVC.namespace}/${.PVC.name}"
reclaimPolicy: Delete
volumeBindingMode: Immediate
mountOptions:
  - hard
  - nfsvers=4.1

Using StorageClasses in PVCs

# pvc-with-storageclass.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: database-data
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  storageClassName: gp3  # Reference StorageClass
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 100Gi

StatefulSet with Dynamic Provisioning

# statefulset-dynamic.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: StatefulSet
metadata:
  name: postgres
spec:
  serviceName: postgres
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: postgres
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: postgres
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: postgres
          image: postgres:15
          volumeMounts:
            - name: data
              mountPath: /var/lib/postgresql/data
  volumeClaimTemplates:
    - metadata:
        name: data
      spec:
        accessModes: ["ReadWriteOnce"]
        storageClassName: gp3
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: 50Gi

Volume Expansion

# Ensure StorageClass has allowVolumeExpansion: true

# Expand existing PVC (edit the spec)
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: database-data
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  storageClassName: gp3
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 200Gi  # Increased from 100Gi

# Or use kubectl patch
kubectl patch pvc database-data -p '{"spec":{"resources":{"requests":{"storage":"200Gi"}}}}'

# Check expansion status
kubectl describe pvc database-data

Topology-Aware Provisioning

# topology-storageclass.yaml
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: zone-aware-ssd
provisioner: ebs.csi.aws.com
parameters:
  type: gp3
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer  # Required for topology
allowedTopologies:
  - matchLabelExpressions:
      - key: topology.ebs.csi.aws.com/zone
        values:
          - us-east-1a
          - us-east-1b

Set Default StorageClass

# Remove default from current
kubectl patch storageclass standard \
  -p '{"metadata": {"annotations":{"storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class":"false"}}}'

# Set new default
kubectl patch storageclass gp3 \
  -p '{"metadata": {"annotations":{"storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class":"true"}}}'

# Verify
kubectl get storageclass

Storage Quotas per Namespace

# storage-quota.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ResourceQuota
metadata:
  name: storage-quota
  namespace: development
spec:
  hard:
    persistentvolumeclaims: "10"
    requests.storage: "100Gi"
    # Per StorageClass limits
    gp3.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/requests.storage: "50Gi"
    gp3.storageclass.storage.k8s.io/persistentvolumeclaims: "5"

Troubleshooting Provisioning

# Check provisioner pods
kubectl get pods -n kube-system | grep csi

# Check CSI driver
kubectl get csidrivers

# View provisioner logs
kubectl logs -n kube-system -l app=ebs-csi-controller -c csi-provisioner

# Check PVC events
kubectl describe pvc my-pvc

# Check StorageClass
kubectl describe storageclass gp3

Common Issues

Summary

Dynamic volume provisioning simplifies storage management in Kubernetes. Configure StorageClasses for your cloud provider, use WaitForFirstConsumer for topology awareness, enable volume expansion for flexibility, and apply quotas for resource governance.

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