/gke-storage

name: gke-storage
description: >-
  Manages GKE storage, including PVCs, PersistentVolumes, Filestore, and GCS
  FUSE. Use when configuring GKE storage, creating PVCs, or setting up GCS FUSE
  on GKE. Don't use for database administration or replication strategies
  outside volume provisioning context.
metadata:
  category: Storage

GKE Storage

This reference covers storage configuration for GKE clusters including persistent disks, file storage, and cloud storage integration.

> **MCP Tools:** `apply_k8s_manifest`, `get_k8s_resource`, > `describe_k8s_resource`, `get_cluster`

Golden Path Storage Defaults

The golden path Autopilot config enables these CSI drivers:

| Driver | Golden Path | Access Mode | Use Case | | --------------- | ----------------- | --------------- | -------------------- | | Compute Engine | Enabled (default) | ReadWriteOnce | Block storage for | : Persistent Disk : : : databases, : : CSI : : : single-pod workloads : | Google Cloud | Enabled | ReadWriteMany | Shared NFS for | : Filestore CSI : : : multi-pod access : | Cloud Storage | Enabled | ReadWriteMany / | Mount GCS buckets as | : FUSE CSI : : ReadOnlyMany : volumes : | Parallelstore | Enabled | ReadWriteMany | High-performance | : CSI : : : parallel file system : | Boot disk type | `pd-balanced` | N/A | Node boot disks |

StorageClasses

Default StorageClasses

GKE provides built-in StorageClasses:

StorageClass | Disk Type | Use Case -------------- | --------------------- | ------------------------------ `standard-rwo` | `pd-standard` | Cost-effective, low IOPS `premium-rwo` | `pd-ssd` | High IOPS, databases `standard-rwx` | Filestore (Basic HDD) | Shared NFS `premium-rwx` | Filestore (Basic SSD) | Shared NFS, higher performance

Custom StorageClass

apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: fast-regional
provisioner: pd.csi.storage.gke.io
parameters:
  type: pd-ssd
  replication-type: regional-pd    # Replicate across 2 zones
volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer
allowVolumeExpansion: true         # Always enable for production

PersistentVolumeClaims

Block Storage (ReadWriteOnce)

apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: database-pvc
spec:
  accessModes:
  - ReadWriteOnce
  storageClassName: premium-rwo
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 100Gi

Shared File Storage (ReadWriteMany via Filestore)

apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: shared-data
spec:
  accessModes:
  - ReadWriteMany
  storageClassName: standard-rwx
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 1Ti    # Filestore minimum is 1 TiB for Basic tier

GCS Bucket Mount (Cloud Storage FUSE)

Mount a GCS bucket as a volume without a PVC:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: gcs-reader
  annotations:
    gke-gcsfuse/volumes: "true"
spec:
  containers:
  - name: reader
    image: busybox
    command: ["ls", "/data"]
    volumeMounts:
    - name: gcs-bucket
      mountPath: /data
  volumes:
  - name: gcs-bucket
    csi:
      driver: gcsfuse.csi.storage.gke.io
      readOnly: true
      volumeAttributes:
        bucketName: <BUCKET_NAME>

> Requires Workload Identity for the pod's service account to have > `storage.objectViewer` on the bucket.

Volume Expansion

If `allowVolumeExpansion: true` is set on the StorageClass, resize by updating the PVC:

# kubectl
kubectl patch pvc <PVC_NAME> -p '{"spec":{"resources":{"requests":{"storage":"200Gi"}}}}'

# MCP (preferred)
patch_k8s_resource(parent="...", resourceType="persistentvolumeclaim", name="<PVC_NAME>",
  patch='{"spec":{"resources":{"requests":{"storage":"200Gi"}}}}')

Kubernetes automatically resizes the filesystem.

Best Practices

1. **Always enable volume expansion**: Set `allowVolumeExpansion: true` on all StorageClasses 2. **Use regional PDs for production**: `replication-type: regional-pd` replicates across 2 zones for HA 3. **Use `WaitForFirstConsumer`**: Ensures the PV is provisioned in the same zone as the pod 4. **Choose the right disk type**: `pd-ssd` for databases, `pd-balanced` (golden path default) for general use, `pd-standard` for cold storage 5. **Use Filestore for shared access**: When multiple pods need to read/write the same files 6. **Use GCS FUSE for data pipelines**: Mount buckets directly for ML training data, logs, etc. 7. **Back up PVCs**: Use Backup for GKE (see the `gke-backup-dr` skill) to protect persistent data