Version: Next

HashiCorp Vault on Aruba Cloud

Deploy HashiCorp Vault Community Edition in production mode on Aruba Cloud using Terraform and cloud-init. Raft integrated storage — no external database required.

Provider version: arubacloud/arubacloud ~> 1.0 | Terraform: ≥ 1.9

Introduction

HashiCorp Vault is an identity-based secrets and encryption management system. It provides a unified interface to any secret — API keys, passwords, certificates, encryption keys — while providing tight access control and recording a detailed audit log. This example deploys Vault in production server mode with:

Raft integrated storage — Vault's built-in consensus store; no external database or Consul cluster needed
TLS on port 8200 — a self-signed certificate is generated at boot; an optional tls_san adds a DNS name as a Subject Alternative Name
Automatic initialisation — vault operator init runs on first boot, saving unseal keys and root token to /root/vault-init.json
Automatic unseal — 3 of 5 Shamir unseal keys are applied after init so Vault is ready immediately
Port 8200 restricted by vault_cidr — never expose Vault to 0.0.0.0/0 in production

Important: This example automates initialisation for getting-started convenience. In production, remove the init output from the server immediately and use Vault Auto-unseal with a cloud KMS.

Architecture Overview

Infrastructure Created

Resource	Name pattern	Description
`arubacloud_project`	`vault-prod`	Project container
`arubacloud_vpc`	`vault-prod-vpc`	Virtual Private Cloud
`arubacloud_subnet`	`vault-prod-subnet`	Basic subnet
`arubacloud_securitygroup`	`vault-prod-vm-sg`	Security group
`arubacloud_securityrule`	`vault-prod-vm-ssh`	SSH ingress (restricted CIDR)
`arubacloud_securityrule`	`vault-prod-vm-vault`	Vault API + UI (port 8200, restricted CIDR)
`arubacloud_elasticip`	`vault-prod-vm-eip`	VM public IP
`arubacloud_blockstorage`	`vault-prod-boot`	30 GB boot disk (Performance)
`arubacloud_keypair`	`vault-prod-keypair`	SSH public key
`arubacloud_cloudserver`	`vault-prod-vm`	CloudServer VM

Estimated Monthly Cost

Approximate prices for ITBG-Bergamo, hourly billing.

Resource	Spec	Est. cost/mo
CloudServer VM	CSO2A4 — 2 vCPU / 4 GB	~€18
Boot disk	30 GB Performance	~€4
Elastic IP	—	~€3
Total		~€25/mo

Requirements

Terraform ≥ 1.9
ArubaCloud Terraform Provider ~> 1.0
An ArubaCloud account with OAuth2 API credentials
An SSH key pair
vault CLI installed locally (optional, for interacting with Vault)

Variables

Required

Variable	Description
`arubacloud_client_id`	ArubaCloud OAuth2 client ID
`arubacloud_client_secret`	ArubaCloud OAuth2 client secret
`ssh_public_key`	SSH public key content

Optional

Variable	Default	Description
`app_name`	`"vault"`	Short name used in all resource names
`environment`	`"prod"`	Environment label
`location`	`"ITBG-Bergamo"`	ArubaCloud region
`zone`	`"ITBG-1"`	Availability zone
`billing_period`	`"Hour"`	`"Hour"` or `"Month"`
`vm_flavor`	`"CSO2A4"`	CloudServer flavor
`vm_image`	`"LU22-001"`	Boot disk image (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS)
`vm_disk_size_gb`	`30`	Boot disk size in GB
`ssh_cidr`	`"0.0.0.0/0"`	CIDR for SSH — restrict to your IP
`vault_cidr`	`"0.0.0.0/0"`	CIDR for Vault API/UI (port 8200) — restrict to your IP
`vault_version`	`"1.18.4"`	Vault version from HashiCorp APT repo
`tls_san`	`""`	Extra DNS SAN for the self-signed TLS cert

Outputs

Output	Description
`vault_url`	Vault API and UI endpoint
`vm_public_ip`	Public IP address of the VM
`ssh_command`	SSH command to connect to the VM
`init_output_cmd`	SSH command to retrieve unseal keys + root token
`env_hint`	`VAULT_ADDR` and `VAULT_SKIP_VERIFY` environment variables

Deployment Instructions

1. Clone and navigate

git clone https://github.com/arubacloud/terraform-arubacloud-examples.git
cd terraform-arubacloud-examples/vault

2. Configure variables

cp terraform.tfvars.example terraform.tfvars

Always restrict vault_cidr to your IP before deploying to production:

vault_cidr = "203.0.113.42/32"
ssh_cidr   = "203.0.113.42/32"

3. Deploy

terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply

Bootstrap takes approximately 3–5 minutes.

4. Set environment variables

eval "$(terraform output -raw env_hint)"
# Equivalent to:
# export VAULT_ADDR=https://<IP>:8200
# export VAULT_SKIP_VERIFY=true

5. Retrieve the init output

terraform output -raw init_output_cmd | bash | tee vault-init-KEEP-SAFE.json

Warning: /root/vault-init.json on the server contains your Shamir unseal keys and root token in plaintext. Copy it to a secure offline location and delete the server copy:

ssh ubuntu@$(terraform output -raw vm_public_ip) \
  'sudo shred -u /root/vault-init.json'

6. Verify Vault

vault status
vault login   # use the root_token from vault-init.json
vault secrets list

7. Access the UI

Open $(terraform output -raw vault_url)/ui in your browser and log in with the root token. Accept the TLS warning (self-signed certificate).

Destroy Instructions

terraform destroy

All resources and Vault data are permanently deleted.

Security Recommendations

Restrict vault_cidr immediately. Vault holds your secrets — never leave port 8200 open to 0.0.0.0/0.
Remove the init output from the server. After copying vault-init.json to a secure location, shred it on the VM (sudo shred -u /root/vault-init.json).
Replace the root token. After initial setup, create a properly-scoped token, revoke the root token, and store the unseal keys in separate secure locations (password manager, sealed envelope, HSM).
Enable audit logging. After login: vault audit enable file file_path=/var/log/vault/audit.log.
Use Auto-unseal in production. Manual unseal requires human intervention after every restart. Integrate with a cloud KMS (AWS KMS, GCP KMS, Azure Key Vault) for automatic unsealing. See Vault Auto-unseal docs.
Enable TLS verification. Replace the self-signed certificate with one signed by a trusted CA, then remove VAULT_SKIP_VERIFY=true.

Upgrade Considerations

Vault version upgrade

ssh ubuntu@$(terraform output -raw vm_public_ip)
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade vault
sudo systemctl restart vault
# Re-unseal if needed:
vault operator unseal <key1>
vault operator unseal <key2>
vault operator unseal <key3>

Review the Vault upgrade guide before upgrading across major versions.

Troubleshooting

Vault is sealed after a reboot

Manual unseal is required on every restart (unless Auto-unseal is configured):

eval "$(terraform output -raw env_hint)"
vault operator unseal <key1>
vault operator unseal <key2>
vault operator unseal <key3>

TLS certificate errors

The self-signed certificate causes browser warnings and CLI errors. Either:

Set VAULT_SKIP_VERIFY=true for testing
Trust the certificate: sudo cp /etc/vault.d/tls/vault.crt /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/ && sudo update-ca-certificates
Replace with a valid certificate signed by a trusted CA

cloud-init did not complete

ssh ubuntu@$(terraform output -raw vm_public_ip)
sudo tail -100 /var/log/cloud-init-output.log
sudo systemctl status vault
sudo journalctl -u vault -n 30

Introduction​

Architecture Overview​

Infrastructure Created​

Estimated Monthly Cost​

Requirements​

Variables​

Required​

Optional​

Outputs​

Deployment Instructions​

1. Clone and navigate​

2. Configure variables​

3. Deploy​

4. Set environment variables​

5. Retrieve the init output​

6. Verify Vault​

7. Access the UI​

Destroy Instructions​

Security Recommendations​

Upgrade Considerations​

Vault version upgrade​

Troubleshooting​

Vault is sealed after a reboot​

TLS certificate errors​

cloud-init did not complete​

References​