HashiCorp Certified - Vault Associate Course

1. HashiCorp Vault - Course Overview

In this video, you will get a better understanding of the journey you are about to embark on-to learn HashiCorp Vault from a proven and experienced instructor. You will learn more about the course itself as well as what to expect in the HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate exam.

1. What Is Vault?

This video provides a general introduction to HashiCorp Vault. Vault is a powerful open-source tool developed by HashiCorp that provides a secure and centralized way to manage secrets, encryption keys, and other sensitive data used in modern IT environments. In this video, we will explore the basic concepts and functionalities of Vault.

2. How Vault Works

In this video, we will dive deep into how HashiCorp Vault works. This video shows you how it works using a familiar analogy to help us easily understand the basic concepts.

3. Why Organizations Choose Vault

This video explains why organizations choose HashiCorp Vault as their go-to solution for managing secrets and sensitive data.

4. Benefits and Use Cases of Vault

This video outlines the benefits and various use cases of HashiCorp Vault. Learn all the cool things that Vault has to offer organizations that decide to use it to protect their secrets and other data.

5. Comparing Versions of Vault

In this video, we will compare and contrast the different versions of HashiCorp Vault, including the open-source version and the enterprise version. This will help viewers make an informed decision about which version of Vault is best suited for their needs. There are so many options to get Vault and not sure which one to choose? The video breaks it down in a structured way, so you are ready to make an educated decision for yourself.

1. Vault Components

This video explains the different components of Vault.

2. Vault Architecture and Pathing Structure

This video will walk you through the basic architecture of Vault and help you understand the pathing structure that Vault uses.

3. Vault Data Protection

In this video, we will focus on how HashiCorp Vault protects sensitive data by providing robust encryption mechanisms and access control policies. You are storing lots of sensitive data in Vault, and we want Vault to protect it for you. Learn about the processes that Vault uses to encrypt and protect your data.

4. Seal and Unseal

This video explains the concept of "sealing" and "unsealing" in HashiCorp Vault, which is a crucial security feature that helps protect the data stored in Vault.

5. Unsealing with Key Shards

In this video, we will explore the process of unsealing HashiCorp Vault using key shards, which is a method of distributing the unsealing keys across multiple individuals or systems for added security.

6. Lab-Unsealing with Key Shards

This is a lab video on unsealing with key shards. We will walk through how to initialize and unseal Vault using the default option of unseal keys.

7. Unsealing with Auto Unseal

This video focuses on the auto-unsealing feature in HashiCorp Vault, which is a mechanism to automatically unseal Vault when it is started or restarted. Now that you understand seal and unseal, how do we do it? Well, this video explains how to unseal using Cloud Auto Unseal.

8. Lab-Unsealing with Auto Unseal

This is a lab video on unsealing with Auto Unseal. This lab will walk through the process of configuring and using the Cloud Auto Unseal mechanism.

9. Unsealing with Transit Auto Unseal

There are so many options for unsealing Vault, including this option that allows you to unseal using another Vault cluster. It's a pretty cool option. This video provides an overview of the transit auto-unseal feature in HashiCorp Vault, which is a mechanism to automatically unseal Vault using an external key management system.

10. Lab-Unsealing with Transit Auto Unseal

This is a lab video on unsealing with Transit Auto Unseal.

11. Pros and Cons of Unseal Options

In this video, we will compare and contrast the different methods of unsealing HashiCorp Vault. We have learned a lot about seal and unseal options, but which do we use? This short video will walk you through the pros and cons of each unseal option to help you decide.

12. Vault Initialization

This video explains the process of initializing HashiCorp Vault, which is a one-time process that sets up the initial configuration and encryption key for Vault. You will need to initialize Vault when it is first provisioned, so this video will help you understand what initialization does and why you need to do it.

13. Vault Configuration File

In this video, we will provide an in-depth overview of the HashiCorp Vault configuration file, which is a critical component for configuring Vault to meet your specific use case. This video will walk you through the ins and outs of writing a configuration file.

14. Storage Backends

This video focuses on storage backends in HashiCorp Vault, which are responsible for persisting Vault data to disk or other storage media. Vault needs a place to store its data, and that "place" is called a storage backend.

15. Audit Devices

In this video, we will explore the concept of audit devices in HashiCorp Vault, which are responsible for recording and storing audit logs of Vault operations. This video will help you better understand what audit devices are and how to use them.

16. Vault Interfaces

This video demonstrates Vault interfaces. Remember our hotel analogy from earlier and all the different ways we can interact with Vault? We will go into a little bit more detail here and show you where you can get even more information later in the course.

1. Installing and Running Vault Server

This video helps you with installing and running the Vault server.

2. Lab-Installing Vault Using Packer

This is a lab video on installing Vault using Packer. This video will walk you through how to create an image that includes the Vault binary and other configuration files using HashiCorp Packer.

3. Lab-Manually Installing Vault

This is a lab video on manually installing Vault. Sometimes it's good to understand how to do things manually before you are automating workflows. That's what we will do in this lab video, so you fully understand how to get Vault running by the command line.

4. Running Vault Dev Server

In this video, we will show you how to run a HashiCorp Vault Dev server, which is a lightweight, single-node instance of Vault that is suitable for development and testing purposes. Running Vault Dev server is a quick and easy way to play around with Vault. In this video, you will learn when and how to use Dev server mode.

5. Lab-Running Vault Dev Server

This is a lab video on running Vault Dev server. You will see how we can use Vault Dev server to play around with some of Vault's features.

6. Running Vault Server in Production

In this video, we will explore the best practices for running a HashiCorp Vault server in a production environment. Let's learn how we can deploy Vault in a production setting using much of the information learned so far.

7. Lab-Running Vault in Production

This is a lab video on running Vault in production. You will look at a Vault node and how to configure everything to get Vault running as a service on a Linux machine.

8. Configuring the Consul Storage Backend

This video helps in configuring the Consul Storage backend. Consul is still one of the most popular storages backends when deploying Vault; here, we will cover it.

9. Configuring the Integrated Storage Backend

This video demonstrates configuring the integrated storage backend. Integrated Storage is the newest storage backend that alleviates you from having to also manage a Consul cluster for a storage backend. Learn more about what integrated storage is in this video.

1. Auth Methods-Section Overview

This video provides a section overview of the Auth methods.

2. Introduction to Auth Methods

This video provides an introduction to Auth methods. You will be learning more about Vault authentication, how it works, and how it's used with client interaction with Vault.

3. Working with Auth Methods

This video explains working with different Auth methods. We know more about Auth methods; how do we start configuring them within Vault? That's exactly what we will cover in this video.

4. Configuring Auth Methods Using the CLI

This video helps in configuring Auth methods using the CLI. Let's focus on the CLI for a second, as it's very common to start enabling and configuring these authentication components using the command line.

5. Lab-Configuring Auth Methods Using the CLI

This is a lab video on configuring Auth methods using the CLI.

6. Configuring Auth Methods Using the API

This video helps in configuring Auth methods using the API. You can configure Auth methods using the Vault API as well if that's your thing. Jump into this video to learn more.

7. Lab-Configuring Auth Methods Using the UI

This is a lab video on configuring Auth methods using the UI.

8. Vault Authentication Using the CLI

Now that our Vault auth methods are enabled, how do we start using them? In this video, we will explore how to authenticate HashiCorp Vault using the Vault CLI. We will walk through some best practices for securing Vault authentication and managing authentication credentials.

9. Lab-Vault Authentication Using the CLI

This is a lab video on Vault authentication using the CLI.

10. Vault Authentication Using the API

This video helps you with the Vault authentication using the API.

11. Using the API Explorer

In this video, we will explore how to use the API Explorer in HashiCorp Vault to interact with the Vault API.

12. Lab-Vault Authentication Using the API

This is a lab video on Vault authentication using the API.

13. Lab-Vault Authentication Using the UI

This is a lab video on Vault authentication using the UI.

14. Vault Entities

Learn all about Vault entities in this video, which is an essential topic when it comes to understanding how identity works in Vault.

15. Lab-Vault Entities

This is a lab video on Vault entities.

16. Vault Identity Groups

In this video, we will explore the concept of identity groups in HashiCorp Vault, which are used to group entities together based on common characteristics or roles.

17. Choosing an Auth Method

In this video, we will explore how to choose the best authentication method for your HashiCorp Vault deployment based on your specific use case and requirements. Objective 1B is all about being able to choose the proper auth method. We will walk through some of these options in this video.

18. Differentiate Human Versus System Auth Methods

In this video, we will explore the differences between human and system authentication methods in HashiCorp Vault, and when to use each type of authentication method. Objective 1C is all about knowing what auth methods are used for machines versus which ones should be used for human-based access.

19. Lab - AppRole Auth Method

In this lab video, we will walk through how to enable and configure the AppRole auth method.

20. Lab - Okta Auth Method

This is a lab video on Okta Auth Method. Learn how to enable, configure, and use the Okta auth method in this lab video.

21. Lab - UserPass Auth Method

This is a lab video on UserPass Auth Method. Learn how to enable, create, and use the UserPass Auth method here.

22. Exam Tips for Objective 1

In this video, we will discuss some exam tips for Objective 1 of the HashiCorp Certified Vault Associate exam, which covers the fundamentals of HashiCorp Vault. Check out some exam tips for Objective 1 to ensure you're ready to tackle the questions related to this objective.

1. Vault Policies-Section Overview

This video provides an overview of the section on Vault policies.

2. Introduction to Vault Policies

This video provides an introduction to Vault policies. You will learn why policies are important in Vault and how they are used to secure your environment.

3. Managing Policies Using the CLI

This video helps in managing policies using the CLI. Learn the common commands used when managing policies using the Vault CLI.

4. Managing Policies Using the UI

This video helps in managing policies using the UI. Learn how to use the Vault UI to easily manage Vault policies.

5. Managing Policies Using the API

This video helps in managing policies using the API. Using the API to manage policies should be pretty easy, and you can learn more about it here.

6. Anatomy of a Vault Policy

In this video, we will explore the anatomy of a HashiCorp Vault policy and how to write effective policies for securing Vault resources. When writing policies, it's important to understand the two parts that make up a policy.

7. Vault Policies-Path

In this video, we will take a closer look at the path component of HashiCorp Vault policies and how to use it to define fine-grained access controls for Vault resources. Defining the path is often the most important part of creating a Vault policy.

8. Vault Policies-Capabilities

In this video, we will explore the capabilities component of HashiCorp Vault policies and how to use it to control what actions users and applications can perform on Vault resources. Learn the capabilities available in Vault to create your policies.

9. Customizing the Path

In this video, we will explore the concept of customizing the path in HashiCorp Vault. Learn how you can customize the path in a policy using the wildcard (*), segment replacement (+), or ACL templating.

10. Working with Policies

In this video, you will learn working with the Vault policies on a day-to-day basis.

11. Exam Tips for Objective 2

In this video, we will provide some exam tips for Objective 2 of the HashiCorp Certified Vault Associate certification exam. You will see some exam tips for Objective 2 to ensure that you are ready to tackle the questions related to this objective.

1. Assess Vault Tokens-Section Overview

This video provides an overview of the section on Assess Vault tokens.

2. Announcement-Token Update for Vault 1.10

In this video, we will discuss the recent announcement from HashiCorp regarding token updates for Vault 1.10.

3. Introduction to Vault Tokens

This video provides an introduction to Vault tokens.

4. Token Hierarchy

In this video, we will explore the concept of token hierarchy in Vault. Here, you will understand more about how Vault tokens follow a token hierarchy. This is important to consider when using Vault tokens to authenticate and retrieve secrets.

5. Controlling the Token Lifecycle

This video helps in controlling the token lifecycle. What if we don't like the default behavior of the token hierarchy if our apps can't handle it? Well, that's what we will explain in this video.

6. Periodic Tokens

In this video, we will discuss periodic tokens in Vault. Do you need a token that needs to live forever because your application can't handle the regeneration of a token? Well, that's what a periodic token is used for and what this video is all about.

7. Service Tokens with Use Limits

This video will cover service tokens with use limits in Vault. A token with use limits will define the number of times a token can be used. After the last use, the token is automatically revoked.

8. Orphan Tokens

In this video, we will discuss orphan tokens in Vault. Need to create a token with no parent? In this video, you will learn more about creating an orphan token that isn't influenced by its parent.

9. Setting the Token Type

In this video, you will learn how to specify the type of token that you want if you are looking for something other than a traditional service token.

10. Managing Tokens Using the CLI

In this video, we will discuss how to use the Vault CLI to manage Vault tokens.

11. Managing Tokens Using the UI

This video helps in managing tokens using the UI.

12. Managing Tokens Using the API

In this video, you will learn how to manage a Vault token when using the Vault API.

13. Root Tokens

In this video, we will discuss root tokens in Vault. By the end of this video, you will have a clear understanding of what root tokens are, how they differ from regular tokens, and how to manage and monitor them effectively in your Vault workflows to ensure maximum security and reliability.

14. Token Accessors

This video will cover the concept of token accessors in Vault. By the end of this video, you will have a solid understanding of what token accessors are, how they can be used in your Vault workflows, and how to create, manage, and monitor them effectively to ensure maximum security and compliance.

15. Explaining Time-to-Live (TTL)

In this video, we will discuss the concept of Time-to-Live (TTL) in Vault. By the end of this video, you will have a solid understanding of what TTL is and how it can be used in your Vault environment.

16. Create a Token Based on Use Cases

In this video, you will see how to create a token based on use cases. When would you create a periodic token? When would you opt to use an orphan token instead? Make sure you review this video to better understand.

17. Exam Tips for Objective 3

In this video, we will provide you with some valuable exam tips for Objective 3 of the Vault certification exam so that you are ready to tackle the questions related to this objective. By the end of this video, you will have a clear understanding of what to expect on Objective 3 of the Vault certification exam and how to prepare for it effectively.

1. Section Overview

This video provides a section overview on comparing and configuring Secrets Engines.

2. Static Versus Dynamic Secrets

This video will explore the differences between static and dynamic secrets in Vault. By the end of this video, you will have a clear understanding of the differences between static and dynamic secrets and how to choose the best approach for your use case.

3. Introduction to Secrets Engines

This video provides an introduction to Secrets Engines.

4. Working with a Secrets Engine

In this video, you will be working with a Secrets Engine.

5. Configuring a Secrets Engine for Dynamic Credentials

This video helps in configuring a Secrets Engine for dynamic credentials.

6. Key/Value Secrets Engine

In this video, we will dive into the Key/Value Secrets Engine in Vault. By the end of this video, you will have a solid understanding of the Key/Value Secrets Engine in Vault and how to use it to securely manage your application secrets.

7. Working with KV Secrets Engine

In this video, you will be working with KV Secrets Engine. We will go even deeper into KV while comparing KV version 1 and KV version 2.

8. Encrypting Data with the Transit Secrets Engine

In this video, we will explore the Transit Secrets Engine in Vault, which provides a way to encrypt data in transit. We will also talk about its features and how to use it.

9. Using the Transit Secrets Engine

This video will cover how to use the Transit Secrets Engine in Vault to securely encrypt and decrypt data at rest.

10. Lab-Transit Secrets Engine

This is a lab video on Transit Secrets Engine.

11. Lab-AWS Secrets Engine-IAM

This is a lab video on AWS Secrets Engine-IAM.

12. Lab-AWS Secrets Engine-Assumed_Role

This is a lab video on AWS Secrets Engine-Assumed_Role. You will learn how to use the AWS Secrets Engine while using the Assumed_Role credential type.

13. Lab-Key/Value (KV) Version 1 Secrets Engine

This is a lab video on Key/Value (KV) Version 1 Secrets Engine.

14. Lab-Key/Value (KV) Version 2 Secrets Engine

This is a lab video on Key/Value (KV) Version 2 Secrets Engine.

15. Lab-Database Secrets Engine

This is a lab video on Database Secrets Engine.

16. Lab-PKI Secrets Engine

This is a lab video on PKI Secrets Engine.

17. Lab-TOTP Secrets Engine

This is a lab video on TOTP (Time-Based One-Time Password) Secrets Engine.