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Scenario #351
Storage
Kubernetes v1.25, containerized database restore job
VolumeMount Conflict Between Init and Main Containers
Init container and main container used the same volume path but with different modes, causing the main container to crash.
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What Happened
An init container wrote a backup file to a shared volume. The main container expected a clean mount, found conflicting content, and failed on startup.
Diagnosis Steps
- 1Pod logs showed file already exists error.
- 2Examined pod manifest: both containers used the same volumeMount.path.
Root Cause
Shared volume path caused file conflicts between lifecycle stages.
Fix/Workaround
• Used a subPath for the init container to isolate file writes.
• Moved backup logic to an external init job.Lessons Learned
Volume sharing across containers must be carefully scoped.
How to Avoid
- 1Always use subPath if write behavior differs.
- 2Isolate volume use per container stage when possible.