What is OpenBao and why use it over Vault?

OpenBao's the open-source Vault fork post-BSL. Same API, Raft native, HSM focus—no licensing traps.

How do I set up OpenBao HA cluster with TPM auto-unseal?

Grab Ubuntu 24.04 VMs with vTPM, follow the guide: install bao-hsm, SoftHSM2, generate shared certs, seal PINs to TPM, systemd wrapper. Test failover.

Will TPM auto-unseal work on bare metal or only VMs?

Both—physical TPM 2.0 or vTPM. Verify /dev/tpm0 exists. Bare metal's tougher on migrations, but unbreakable.

🔒 Security & Privacy

OpenBao's TPM Auto-Unseal HA Cluster: Paranoid Security or Setup Nightmare?

Three nodes, one shared AES-256 key, vTPM-sealed pins. OpenBao's HA cluster auto-unseals without a single human touch. But is this bulletproof, or just begging for VM migration migraines?

theAIcatchup Apr 10, 2026 4 min read

Diagram of 3-node OpenBao cluster with shared SoftHSM2 tokens, vTPM pins, and floating VIP

⚡ Key Takeaways

Zero-human-intervention auto-unseal via vTPM-sealed SoftHSM2 pins 𝕏
Shared AES-256 key across nodes enables smoothly Raft joins 𝕏
Keepalived VIP ensures leader access without DNS fuss — but hypervisor quirks lurk 𝕏

Published by

theAIcatchup

Community-driven. Code-first.

#HA cluster #OpenBao #Raft storage #SoftHSM2 #TPM auto-unseal #vTPM

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Originally reported by Dev.to

⚡ Key Takeaways

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