VA-003 Explain Vault architecture Practice Question
A Vault administrator is troubleshooting an issue where after a network outage, the Vault cluster is sealed and cannot be unsealed. The cluster has 5 nodes using Integrated Storage. The administrator runs `vault status` on each node and receives 'sealed' response. The administrator suspects that the cluster lost quorum during the outage. The administrator checks the Raft configuration and finds that there are 3 voter nodes and 2 non-voter nodes. Which action should the administrator take to recover the cluster?
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the distinction between voter and non-voter roles in Raft; the trap here is assuming that any node can be used for recovery, when in fact only a voter node can bootstrap a new cluster because non-voters lack the quorum-critical state.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use `vault operator raft recover` on a voter node to create a new cluster.
When a Vault cluster with Integrated Storage loses quorum (more than half of voter nodes are unavailable), the cluster cannot unseal because Raft requires a quorum of voters to elect a leader and process operations. Since all 5 nodes are sealed and the cluster has 3 voters, the outage likely caused the loss of at least 2 voters, breaking quorum. The correct recovery procedure is to use `vault operator raft recover` on a voter node, which creates a new single-node cluster with the existing data, allowing the administrator to then unseal and rejoin other nodes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Manually unseal all nodes simultaneously.
Why it's wrong here
Unsealing does not restore quorum.
- ✗
Use `vault operator raft remove-peer` to remove the non-voter nodes.
Why it's wrong here
Requires a leader to remove peers.
- ✗
Use `vault operator raft recover` on one of the non-voter nodes.
Why it's wrong here
Non-voters may lack latest data.
- ✓
Use `vault operator raft recover` on a voter node to create a new cluster.
Why this is correct
Raft recover on a voter node restores quorum.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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