:_mod-docs-content-type: CONCEPT

// Module included in the following assembly:
//
// assembly-cluster-recovery-volume.adoc

[id="con-cluster-recovery-scenarios-{context}"]
= Cluster recovery scenarios

[role="_abstract"]
Recovering from PVs is possible in the following scenarios:

* Unintentional deletion of a namespace
* Loss of an entire Kubernetes cluster while PVs remain in the infrastructure

The recovery procedure for both scenarios is to recreate the original `PersistentVolumeClaim` (PVC) resources.

== Recovering from namespace deletion

When you delete a namespace, all resources within that namespace—including PVCs, pods, and services—are deleted.
If the `reclaimPolicy` for the PV resource specification is set to `Retain`, the PV retains its data and is not deleted.
This configuration allows you to recover from namespace deletion.

.PV configuration to retain data
[source,shell]
----
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolume
# ...
spec:
  # ...
  persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy: Retain
----

Alternatively, PVs can inherit the reclaim policy from an associated storage class.
Storage classes are used for dynamic volume allocation.

By configuring the `reclaimPolicy` property for the storage class, PVs created with this class use the specified reclaim policy.
The storage class is assigned to the PV using the `storageClassName` property.

.Storage class configuration to retain data
[source,shell]
----
apiVersion: v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: gp2-retain
parameters:
  # ...
# ...
reclaimPolicy: Retain
----

.Storage class specified for PV
[source,shell]
----
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolume
# ...
spec:
  # ...
  storageClassName: gp2-retain
----

NOTE: When using `Retain` as the reclaim policy, you must manually delete PVs if you intend to delete the entire cluster.

== Recovering from cluster loss

If you lose the entire Kubernetes cluster, all resources—including PVs, PVCs, and namespaces—are lost.
However, it's possible to recover if the physical storage backing the PVs remains intact.

To recover, you need to set up a new Kubernetes cluster and manually reconfigure the PVs to use the existing storage.