HashiCorp Vault Associate (003) Question 201
Single answer8 Vault deployment architectureA company is deploying Vault for production across three availability zones and wants the service to remain available if one node fails. The security team also wants to minimize external dependencies and operational overhead for the storage backend. Which deployment architecture best meets these requirements?
- A
Deploy a single Vault server using the file storage backend on a persistent disk
- B
Deploy three Vault servers in an HA cluster using integrated storage (Raft), with one active node and standby nodes distributed across the three availability zones
- C
Deploy three completely independent Vault servers, each with its own local storage backend, and place a load balancer in front of them
- D
Deploy Vault in HA mode using the in-memory storage backend, because HA clustering will replicate state between nodes automatically
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
For production, Vault should be deployed in a highly available architecture with multiple nodes and a storage backend suitable for durability and failover. HashiCorp documents integrated storage with Raft as a first-class option for production deployments, especially when teams want to avoid operating an additional external storage system. In an HA cluster, Vault has one active node and standby nodes that can take over when the active node becomes unavailable. Spreading nodes across availability zones is a common best practice for resilience. By contrast, a single-node deployment, isolated standalone servers behind a load balancer, or in-memory storage do not satisfy production HA and durability requirements.
- A. Incorrect.
This is incorrect because a single Vault server with file storage creates a single point of failure and does not provide high availability. While file storage can persist data locally, it does not meet the requirement to remain available after a node failure. This is a common misconception when teams confuse persistent storage with a highly available architecture.
- B. Correct.
This is correct because integrated storage using Raft is a supported production architecture that provides both durable storage and high availability without requiring an external storage system such as Consul. In an HA deployment, Vault elects one active node while other nodes remain standby and can take over if the active node fails. Distributing nodes across availability zones improves resilience against zone-level failures while reducing operational complexity compared with managing a separate backend.
- C. Incorrect.
This is incorrect because independent Vault servers with separate local storage do not form a cluster and do not share data, leases, tokens, or HA state. A load balancer in front of unrelated Vault instances does not create a functional Vault HA deployment. Someone might choose this option if they assume stateless scaling behavior similar to web applications, but Vault requires shared or integrated clustered storage for coordinated operation.
- D. Incorrect.
This is incorrect because the in-memory storage backend is not appropriate for production durability and does not provide persistent clustered storage. Vault HA does not magically replicate data between nodes unless the storage backend supports the required semantics. This option reflects the misconception that HA mode alone provides durable replicated state regardless of backend choice.