Course · Training · Workshop
Secrets Management with OpenBao
Open-source secrets management with OpenBao: migrate from HashiCorp Vault, integrate with Kubernetes and inject dynamic secrets in GitLab CI/CD without vendor lock-in.
Discover OpenBao as an open-source alternative for professional secrets management. In this intensive training, you'll learn how to seamlessly integrate OpenBao with Kubernetes, use it with GitLab CI/CD, and leverage it from applications. Master migration from HashiCorp Vault and implement sustainable, community-driven secrets management solutions without vendor lock-in.
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Content
Welcome to our comprehensive training on OpenBao for modern secrets management scenarios. This course is designed for DevOps engineers, security engineers, and developers who want to implement an open-source alternative to proprietary secrets management solutions in Kubernetes environments.
OpenBao is a community-driven fork of HashiCorp Vault that remains fully open source and provides a sustainable alternative for secrets management. With full API compatibility to Vault, OpenBao enables seamless migration and integration into existing workflows.
Throughout the training, you will master the following topics:
– OpenBao Fundamentals and Setup:
- OpenBao vs. HashiCorp Vault: differences and advantages
- Community-driven development and roadmap
- Installation and basic configuration
- Migration from HashiCorp Vault to OpenBao
– Kubernetes Integration:
- OpenBao Agent Injector for automatic secret injection
- Configuring Kubernetes Auth Method
- Service Account Token-based authentication
- CSI Provider for Secret Store integration
- External Secrets Operator with OpenBao
- Securing Pod-to-OpenBao communication
– Secrets Engines and Backends:
- Key-Value Secrets Engine (v1 and v2)
- Dynamic secrets for databases
- PKI Engine for certificate management
- Transit Engine for encryption
- Cloud provider secrets engines
- Developing custom secrets engines
– Authentication and Authorization:
- Auth methods for different environments
- Policy-based access control
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
- Identity groups and entities
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Token lifecycle management
– GitLab CI/CD Integration:
- OpenBao integration in GitLab pipelines
- JWT Auth Method for GitLab
- Dynamic secrets in CI/CD workflows
- Secure variable injection
- Pipeline-specific policies
- Audit and compliance in CI/CD
– Application Integration:
- OpenBao client libraries for various languages
- API-based secret retrieval
- Dynamic database credentials
- Secret rotation in applications
- OpenBao Agent for local caching
- Sidecar pattern for secret management
– Migration and Compatibility:
- Migration from HashiCorp Vault to OpenBao
- API compatibility and breaking changes
- Tool migration and client updates
- Data migration and backup strategies
- Rollback scenarios and contingency planning
- Hybrid setups during migration
– Community and Governance:
- OpenBao community and contribution
- Governance model and decision processes
- Release cycles and versioning
- Security patches and updates
- Community support and resources
- Enterprise support options
– Security Best Practices:
- Implementing least privilege principle
- Secret rotation strategies
- Audit logging and monitoring
- Network security for OpenBao
- Backup and recovery procedures
- Incident response for OpenBao
– Monitoring and Observability:
- OpenBao metrics and telemetry
- Integration with Prometheus and Grafana
- Health checks and alerting
- Performance monitoring
- Audit log analysis
- Troubleshooting common issues
– OpenBao in Production:
- High availability setup
- Capacity planning and sizing
- Upgrade strategies and procedures
- Multi-region deployments
- Compliance and governance
- Cost optimization
– Advanced Features:
- Namespaces for multi-tenancy
- Replication and disaster recovery
- Performance standby nodes
- Transform Secrets Engine
- Custom policy development
- Plugin development
– Hands-on Labs and Use Cases:
- Kubernetes-native secret management with OpenBao
- GitLab CI/CD with dynamic secrets
- Microservices secret injection
- Database credential rotation
- Certificate lifecycle management
- Multi-cloud secret management
- Vault-to-OpenBao migration
This course combines theoretical knowledge with intensive practical application and prepares you to successfully implement and operate OpenBao as a sustainable, open-source secrets management solution in production Kubernetes environments.
The actual course content may differ from the above depending on the trainer, delivery, duration and the composition of participants.
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More about OpenBao
OpenBao is a community-driven fork of HashiCorp Vault that emerged after Vault's license change. OpenBao remains fully open source under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 and provides a sustainable alternative for secrets management.Further Resources:
History and Development
OpenBao emerged in 2023 as a response to HashiCorp's decision to place Vault under the Business Source License (BSL). The Linux Foundation initiated the project to ensure a fully open-source alternative controlled by the community.
The project is governed by a governance board consisting of representatives from various companies and the community. OpenBao maintains API compatibility with Vault while pursuing an independent development direction. Development focuses on transparency, community participation, and sustainable open-source principles.
Today, OpenBao is being adopted by companies that prefer vendor-independent infrastructures and require long-term open-source guarantees. The project demonstrates how the community can respond to license changes and create sustainable alternatives. Growing support from cloud providers and enterprise users demonstrates confidence in the community-driven model.