VA-003 Explain Vault architecture Practice Question
Exhibit
Key Value --- ----- Seal Type shamir Initialized true Sealed false Total Shares 5 Threshold 3 Version 1.15.2 Storage Type consul Cluster Name vault-cluster Cluster ID abc123 HA Enabled true HA Cluster n/a HA Mode standby Active Node Address <none> Raft Committed Index 42 Raft Applied Index 42
Refer to the exhibit. Based on the output from 'vault status', which statement is true?
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the distinction between 'storage backend' and 'seal type' — candidates confuse the Consul storage backend with auto-unseal, but auto-unseal requires a separate seal provider like AWS KMS, not Consul.
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
✓
The unseal configuration uses 5 key shares with a threshold of 3.
The 'vault status' output shows 'Sealed: false', 'Key Shares: 5', and 'Key Threshold: 3'. This indicates that Vault is unsealed and uses a Shamir seal configuration with 5 key shares, requiring any 3 of them to unseal. Option B correctly states this unseal configuration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The storage backend is a file backend.
Why it's wrong here
Storage Type is consul.
- ✓
The unseal configuration uses 5 key shares with a threshold of 3.
Why this is correct
Total Shares is 5, Threshold is 3.
- ✗
Auto-unseal is enabled using Consul as the seal provider.
Why it's wrong here
Seal Type is shamir.
- ✗
Vault is not configured for high availability.
Why it's wrong here
HA Enabled is true.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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