CAD Disaster Recovery & High Availability Flashcards

In a CyberArk cluster (high-availability) setup, which component provides load balancing and failover for PVWA connections?

Answer: An external load balancer (e.g., F5, HAProxy)

An external load balancer is placed in front of multiple PVWA nodes to distribute user connections and provide failover for the web interface tier.

What happens to active PSM sessions during a CyberArk primary Vault failover to the DR Vault?

Answer: Active sessions are terminated and users must reconnect

Active PSM sessions are dropped during a Vault failover; users must re-authenticate and initiate new sessions once the DR Vault is promoted.

Which CyberArk configuration parameter in Vault.ini defines the list of Vault cluster node addresses for high availability?

Answer: ClusterVaults

The ClusterVaults parameter in Vault.ini lists all node IP addresses in a Vault cluster, enabling clients to discover and connect to any available node.

In a CyberArk HA environment, which Vault component manages the distribution of requests across multiple Vault cluster nodes?

Answer: CyberArk Cluster Vault Manager (CVM)

The CyberArk Cluster Vault Manager (CVM) coordinates node membership, heartbeat monitoring, and request routing across Vault cluster nodes.

What is the minimum number of Vault nodes recommended in a CyberArk Cluster Vault Manager (CVM) deployment to avoid split-brain scenarios?

Answer: 3

A minimum of 3 nodes is recommended in a CVM cluster to achieve quorum and prevent split-brain, where two equal partitions each claim to be primary.

During a planned CyberArk Vault maintenance window, which procedure ensures CPM and PVWA remain available while the primary Vault is offline?

Answer: Failover to the DR Vault before maintenance begins

Performing a controlled failover to the DR Vault before maintenance allows PVWA and CPM to continue operating against the now-active DR node.