Core Components Flashcards

Which OpenStack component provides container orchestration using Kubernetes clusters?

Answer: Magnum

Magnum is the OpenStack Container Infrastructure Management service that provisions and manages Kubernetes clusters as a first-class resource.

What is the default token format used by Keystone in modern OpenStack deployments?

Answer: Fernet

Fernet tokens are the default in modern Keystone because they are lightweight, stateless, and don't require token persistence in the database.

In OpenStack Neutron, what is the purpose of the ML2 (Modular Layer 2) plugin?

Answer: Providing a framework to support multiple network technologies via type and mechanism drivers

The ML2 plugin uses a driver framework that separates network type drivers (VLAN, VXLAN) from mechanism drivers (OVS, LinuxBridge), enabling flexible backend support.

Which OpenStack service is used for DNS-as-a-Service?

Answer: Designate

Designate is the OpenStack DNS service that manages DNS zones and records, integrating with backends like BIND and PowerDNS.

What is a Nova 'flavor' in OpenStack?

Answer: A hardware profile defining vCPUs, RAM, and disk for an instance

Flavors define the compute resource profile (vCPUs, memory, disk) available for instantiating VMs, similar to AWS instance types.

What mechanism does OpenStack use to provide metadata to running instances?

Answer: The nova-metadata API accessible at 169.254.169.254

The nova-metadata service exposes instance metadata at the link-local IP 169.254.169.254, mirroring the AWS EC2 metadata endpoint convention.

Which OpenStack project provides Key Management as a Service for storing secrets?

Answer: Barbican

Barbican is the OpenStack Key Manager service that securely stores and manages secrets like API keys, passwords, and certificates.