Vault-Associate

The HashiCorp Vault Associate exam focuses on demonstrating your understanding of how to use HashiCorp Vault to manage secrets effectively. The main points revolve around these key areas:

1. Core Vault Concepts:

• Secret Management Fundamentals: Understanding what secrets are, why they need to be managed securely, and the different types of secrets Vault handles (passwords, certificates, API keys, etc.). This includes the concepts of secret rotation and lifecycle management.
• Vault Architecture: Knowing the components of Vault (client, server, storage), its distributed nature, and high-availability features. Understanding the concept of sealing and unsealing.
• Authentication Methods: Familiarity with various authentication methods (e.g., token-based, username/password, AppRole, AWS IAM, Kubernetes, GitHub) and knowing how to configure and use them.
• Authorization Methods: Understanding how policies work to control access to secrets based on roles and capabilities. Understanding the concept of path-based access control.
• Secret Engines: Knowledge of different secret engines (KV, Transit, PKI, AppRole) and their functionalities. You'll need to understand how to configure and use them to manage various types of secrets. This includes knowing the differences between the various versions of KV (KV v1 and KV v2).
• Secret Storage and Retrieval: Understanding how secrets are stored and retrieved using the Vault CLI and API.

2. Practical Hands-on Skills:

• Vault CLI: Proficiency in using the Vault command-line interface to perform common tasks like authentication, secret creation, reading, updating, and deleting secrets.
• Vault API: Understanding how to interact with Vault using its RESTful API (though deep coding for API isn't expected at this level).
• Policy Writing: Ability to create and manage access control policies using Vault's policy language (somewhat similar to HCL but simpler). This is crucial for secure access control.
• Secret Engine Configuration: Ability to configure various secret engines to meet specific requirements. For example, setting up a PKI engine to manage certificates.
• Troubleshooting: Basic troubleshooting skills, such as identifying common issues and resolving them.

3. Security Best Practices:

• Security Principles: Understanding security considerations related to secret management, such as the importance of least privilege, separation of duties, and secure storage.
• Auditing: Understanding how to configure and interpret Vault's audit logs.

In summary: The exam tests your understanding of Vault's fundamental concepts and your ability to perform basic administrative tasks. You should be able to configure and use Vault to manage various types of secrets securely, implement access control, and troubleshoot basic problems. It's less about profound programming and more about operational proficiency and security-conscious practices. The official HashiCorp Vault documentation is your best resource for preparation.