Introduction

In Kubernetes, StatefulSets are used to run stateful applications that require stable storage, ordered deployment, and persistent identities.
In this guide, we manually create a PersistentVolume (PV) using hostPath, then deploy a StatefulSet that uses this PV for data persistence. In Kubernetes, some applications need to store data permanently and keep their names stable even if pods restart.
StatefulSets are designed to manage these stateful applications.

Prerequisites

• • A Kubernetes cluster (Vagrant/Kubeadm/Minikube)

• • At least one worker node

• • kubectl configured on the master

• • Worker node must allow port 10250

Create StatefulSet (1 replica)

Command:

nano nginx-statefulset.yaml

Paste this,

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: StatefulSet
metadata:  
  name: web 
spec: 
  serviceName: "web" 
  replicas: 1 
  selector: 
    matchLabels: 
      app: nginx 
  template: 
    metadata: 
      labels: 
        app: nginx 
    spec: 
      containers: 
        - name: nginx
          image: nginx:1.25 
          ports: 
           - containerPort: 80 
          volumeMounts: 
            - name: www 
              mountPath: /usr/share/nginx/html 
   volumeClaimTemplates: 
     - metadata: 
         name: www 
       spec: 
         accessModes: ["ReadWriteOnce"] 
         resources: 
           requests: 
             storage: 1Gi 
         volumeName: nginx-pv-0

Explanation:

• • Opens/creates a file named nginx-statefulset.yaml.

• • This file contains the YAML configuration for your StatefulSet.

Expected Output:

2.Command:

kubectl apply -f nginx-statefulset.yaml

Explanation:

• •   Deploys StatefulSet with 1 pod.

• •   Auto-creates PVC www-web-0.

• • Binds PVC to the PV you created.

Expected Output:

Verification

1.Command:

kubectl get pv

Explanation:

Shows status of all PVs.

Expected Output:

2.Command:

kubectl get pvc

Explanation:

• • Shows PersistentVolumeClaims.

• • PVC should be Bound

Expected Output:

3.Command

kubectl get pods -l app=nginx

Explanation:

Lists all pods with label app=nginx.

Expected Output:

Test Data Persistence

Command:

kubectl exec -it web-0 -- /bin/bash

Explanation:

• • Opens terminal inside the pod.

Expected Output:

Command:

echo "Hello StatefulSet" > /usr/share/nginx/html/test.html 

exit

Explanation:

Writes test data into mounted volume.

Expected Output:

Verify again:

Command:

kubectl exec -it web-0 -- cat /usr/share/nginx/html/test.html

Explanation:

Reads the file to confirm data is stored.

Expected Output:

Delete pod:

Command:

kubectl delete pod web-0

Explanation:

• •  Deletes the pod manually.

• • StatefulSet will recreate it automatically

Expected Output:

When pod restarts

Command:

kubectl exec -it web-0 -- cat /usr/share/nginx/html/test.html

Explanation:

Checks if file still exists → confirms persistence.

Expected Output:

conclusion

Deploying a StatefulSet with a manually created PersistentVolume using hostPath demonstrates how Kubernetes handles stateful workloads at a low level. By creating the PV, headless service, and StatefulSet step-by-step, we clearly see how stable identities, persistent storage, and ordered pod management work together. This setup ensures that each pod receives dedicated storage and retains data across restarts, providing strong reliability for stateful applications. Although manual PV creation is mainly suited for learning environments, it builds a solid foundation for understanding storage behavior before moving to dynamic provisioning in production.

For more information about kubernetes you can refer to jeevi’s page