Overview

Updated in May 2025. This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. The HashiCorp Certified Vault Associate course is designed to equip learners with the knowledge and skills required to manage secrets and sensitive data securely using HashiCorp Vault. By the end of this course, you'll be prepared to tackle the Vault Associate certification exam. This course covers fundamental concepts such as Vault’s architecture, installation, and configuration, ensuring you're well-versed in managing encryption and secrets in real-world environments. You'll begin by exploring the basics of Vault, its architecture, and its various components. The course dives deep into Vault’s architecture, explaining its seal and unseal processes, initialization, and configuration files. Through a series of labs, you’ll learn how to set up and configure Vault in both development and production environments. These hands-on labs will ensure you understand every critical aspect of Vault’s setup, including integrating with cloud environments and managing storage backends. As you progress, you'll focus on security features such as authentication methods, policies, and token management. You'll gain in-depth knowledge on how Vault’s policies work, including how to manage them using the CLI, UI, and API. The course also includes practical exercises on token management, including lifecycle control, periodic tokens, and orphan tokens, all of which are essential skills for a Vault administrator. This course is perfect for anyone aiming to become proficient in Vault’s security practices. It’s ideal for IT professionals, DevOps engineers, and security specialists who wish to deepen their expertise in managing secrets securely. Prior experience with cloud computing and general security concepts is recommended, but not mandatory. This course is suitable for learners at an intermediate level of IT security.

Syllabus

Course Introduction

In this module, we will introduce you to the HashiCorp Vault course, outlining the structure and preparing you for the learning journey ahead. You’ll also gain an overview of what to expect in the Vault Associate exam.

Introduction to Vault

In this module, we will cover the basics of HashiCorp Vault, its key features, and its role in protecting sensitive data. You will also discover why Vault is a top choice for many organizations.

Learning the Vault Architecture

In this module, we will explore the architecture of HashiCorp Vault and its critical components. You'll also learn how Vault uses encryption to secure sensitive data and how the pathing structure is integral to the overall functionality.

Installing Vault

In this module, we will walk you through the installation and configuration of HashiCorp Vault, including both development and production environments. You’ll gain practical experience with various installation methods.

Compare Authentication Methods

In this module, we will dive into the different authentication methods for HashiCorp Vault and demonstrate how to configure them. You’ll also understand when to use each method for different types of users.

Create Vault Policies

In this module, we will cover the critical aspect of Vault policies and how to create them. You will learn how to write effective policies that govern access to Vault resources and ensure security.

Assess Vault Tokens

In this module, we will examine Vault tokens, including their types, lifecycle management, and advanced concepts. You will also gain hands-on experience in managing tokens using the CLI, UI, and API.

Compare and Configure Secrets Engines

In this module, we will explore the different types of secrets engines in Vault and guide you through configuring them for dynamic credential generation, encryption, and other use cases. You’ll also gain practical experience with key Vault secrets engines.