# Enable the PVCUnbinder > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [streaming-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming-full.txt) --- title: Enable the PVCUnbinder latest-redpanda-tag: v25.2.1 latest-console-tag: v3.7.3 latest-operator-version: v26.1.4 # EOL = End-of-Life (support lifecycle status) page-is-nearing-eol: "true" page-is-past-eol: "false" page-eol-date: July 31, 2026 latest-connect-version: 4.93.0 docname: kubernetes/k-nodewatcher page-component-name: streaming page-version: "25.2" page-component-version: "25.2" page-component-title: Streaming page-relative-src-path: kubernetes/k-nodewatcher.adoc page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/docs/edit/v/25.2/modules/manage/pages/kubernetes/k-nodewatcher.adoc description: The PVCUnbinder is an emergency backstop for Redpanda clusters that use PersistentVolumes (PVs) for the Redpanda data directory. When a node running a Redpanda Pod suddenly goes offline, the PVCUnbinder detects the lost node, retains the associated PV, and removes the corresponding PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC). This workflow allows the Redpanda Pod to be rescheduled on a new node without losing critical data. page-git-created-date: "2025-01-28" page-git-modified-date: "2025-04-07" support-status: nearing end-of-life --- The PVCUnbinder is an emergency backstop for Redpanda clusters that use PersistentVolumes (PVs) for the Redpanda data directory. When a node running a Redpanda Pod suddenly goes offline, the PVCUnbinder detects the lost node, retains the associated PV, and removes the corresponding PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC). This workflow allows the Redpanda Pod to be rescheduled on a new node without losing critical data. > ⚠️ **WARNING: Emergency use only** > > The PVCUnbinder is intended only for emergency scenarios (for example, node hardware or infrastructure failures). **Never use the PVCUnbinder as a routine method for removing brokers.** If you want to remove brokers, see [Decommission brokers](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.2/manage/kubernetes/k-decommission-brokers/) for the correct procedure. ## [](#why-use-the-pvcunbinder)Why use the PVCUnbinder? If a worker node hosting a Redpanda Pod suddenly fails or disappears, Kubernetes might leave the associated PV and PVC in an _attached_ or _in-use_ state. Without the PVCUnbinder (or manual intervention), the Redpanda Pod cannot safely reschedule to another node because the volume is still recognized as occupied. Also, the default reclaim policy might delete the volume, risking data loss. The PVCUnbinder automates the steps needed to retain the volume and remove the stale PVC, so Redpanda Pods can move to healthy nodes without losing the data in the original PV. ## [](#how-the-pvcunbinder-works)How the PVCUnbinder works When the PVCUnbinder detects events that indicate a Node resource is no longer available, it does the following: - For each Redpanda Pod on that Node, it identifies the PVC (if any) the Pod was using for its storage. - It sets the reclaim policy of the affected PersistentVolume (PV) to `Retain`. - It deletes the associated PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) to allow the Redpanda broker Pod to reschedule onto a new, operational node. flowchart TB %% Define classes classDef systemAction fill:#F6FBF6,stroke:#25855a,stroke-width:2px,color:#20293c,rx:5,ry:5 A\[Node fails\] --> B{Is Node running Redpanda?}:::systemAction B -- Yes --> C\[Identify Redpanda Pod PVC\]:::systemAction C --> D\[Set PV reclaim policy to 'Retain'\]:::systemAction D --> E\[Delete PVC\]:::systemAction E --> F\[Redpanda Pod is rescheduled\]:::systemAction B -- No --> G\[Ignore event\]:::systemAction ## [](#enable-the-pvcunbinder)Enable the PVCUnbinder ### Operator To enable the PVCUnbinder: `redpanda-cluster.yaml` ```yaml apiVersion: cluster.redpanda.com/v1alpha2 kind: Redpanda metadata: name: redpanda spec: chartRef: {} clusterSpec: statefulset: sideCars: pvcUnbinder: enabled: true (1) unbindAfter: 60s (2) rbac: enabled: true (3) ``` | 1 | statefulset.sideCars.pvcUnbinder.enabled: Enables the PVCUnbinder sidecar. | | --- | --- | | 2 | statefulset.sideCars.pvcUnbinder.unbindAfter: Sets the time in seconds after which the PVCUnbinder sidecar removes the PVC after the Node resource is deleted. | | 3 | rbac.enabled: Creates the required RBAC rules for the PVCUnbinder to monitor the Node resources and update PVCs and PVs. | ### Helm #### --values `pvcunbinder.yaml` ```yaml statefulset: sideCars: pvcUnbinder: enabled: true (1) unbindAfter: 60s (2) rbac: enabled: true (3) ``` | 1 | statefulset.sideCars.pvcUnbinder.enabled: Enables the PVCUnbinder sidecar. | | --- | --- | | 2 | statefulset.sideCars.pvcUnbinder.unbindAfter: Sets the time in seconds after which the PVCUnbinder sidecar removes the PVC after the Node resource is deleted. | | 3 | rbac.enabled: Creates the required RBAC rules for the PVCUnbinder to monitor the Node resources and update PVCs and PVs. | #### --set ```bash helm upgrade --install redpanda redpanda/redpanda \ --namespace \ --create-namespace \ --set statefulset.sideCars.pvcUnbinder.enabled=true \ (1) --set statefulset.sideCars.pvcUnbinder.unbindAfter=60s\ (2) --set rbac.enabled=true (3) ``` | 1 | statefulset.sideCars.pvcUnbinder.enabled: Enables the PVCUnbinder sidecar. | | --- | --- | | 2 | statefulset.sideCars.pvcUnbinder.unbindAfter: Sets the time in seconds after which the PVCUnbinder sidecar removes the PVC after the Node resource is deleted. | | 3 | rbac.enabled: Creates the required RBAC rules for the PVCUnbinder to monitor the Node resources and update PVCs and PVs. | ## [](#test-the-pvcunbinder-sidecar)Test the PVCUnbinder sidecar 1. Test the PVCUnbinder sidecar by deleting a Node resource: ```bash kubectl delete node ``` > 📝 **NOTE** > > This step is for testing purposes only. 2. Monitor the logs of the PVCUnbinder sidecar: ```bash kubectl logs --namespace -c sidecars ``` You should see that the PVCUnbinder successfully deleted the PVC of the Pod that was running on the deleted Node resource. ```bash kubectl get persistentvolumeclaim --namespace ``` 3. Verify that the reclaim policy of the PV is set to `Retain` to allow you to recover the node, if necessary: ```bash kubectl get persistentvolume --namespace ``` After the PVCUnbinder has finished, [decommission the broker](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.2/manage/kubernetes/k-decommission-brokers/) that was removed from the node. This is necessary to prevent a potential loss of quorum and ensure cluster stability. > 📝 **NOTE** > > Make sure to use the `--force` flag when decommissioning the broker with [`rpk redpanda admin brokers decommission`](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.2/reference/rpk/rpk-redpanda/rpk-redpanda-admin-brokers-decommission/). This flag is required when the broker is no longer running. ## Suggested labs - [Redpanda Iceberg Docker Compose Example](https://docs.redpanda.com/labs/docker-compose/iceberg/) - [Enable Unified Identity with Azure Entra ID for Redpanda and Redpanda Console](https://docs.redpanda.com/labs/docker-compose/oidc/) - [Owl Shop Example Application in Docker](https://docs.redpanda.com/labs/docker-compose/owl-shop/) - [Migrate Data with Redpanda Migrator](https://docs.redpanda.com/labs/docker-compose/redpanda-migrator/) - [Start a Single Redpanda Broker with Redpanda Console in Docker](https://docs.redpanda.com/labs/docker-compose/single-broker/) - [Start a Cluster of Redpanda Brokers with Redpanda Console in Docker](https://docs.redpanda.com/labs/docker-compose/three-brokers/) - [Iceberg Streaming on Kubernetes with Redpanda, MinIO, and Spark](https://docs.redpanda.com/labs/kubernetes/iceberg/) See more [Search all labs](https://docs.redpanda.com/labs)