VA-003 Explain Vault architecture Practice Question
Which THREE of the following are true regarding Vault's high availability (HA) and replication? (Choose three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the distinction between Performance Replication and DR Replication, specifically that DR Replication does replicate policies but NOT audit logs, while Performance Replication replicates mounts and auth methods but NOT policies.
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
✓
In an HA cluster with Integrated Storage, only the active node can serve write requests
In an HA cluster with Integrated Storage (Raft), only the active node can serve write requests because Raft ensures strong consistency by requiring all writes to go through the elected leader. The leader replicates the write to a quorum of follower nodes before acknowledging the client, preventing split-brain scenarios. This is a fundamental property of the Raft consensus protocol used by Vault Integrated Storage.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
With Integrated Storage, all nodes can handle write requests
Why it's wrong here
Only the leader (active node) handles writes; followers forward.
- ✓
In an HA cluster with Integrated Storage, only the active node can serve write requests
Why this is correct
Standby nodes forward writes to the active node; only the active node handles writes.
- ✓
Performance standby nodes can serve read requests without forwarding
Why this is correct
Performance standby nodes handle reads locally, reducing load on the active node.
- ✓
Performance Replication replicates mounts and auth methods but not policies
Why this is correct
Policies are not replicated in Performance Replication; they must be manually configured on each cluster.
- ✗
Disaster Recovery Replication replicates everything including policies and audit logs
Why it's wrong here
DR Replication replicates secrets, config, and policies, but audit logs are not replicated.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This VA-003 practice question is part of Courseiva's free HashiCorp certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the VA-003 exam.