Followers are replications of the Leader configured for which purpose?

In the CyberArk Secrets Manager (Conjur) architecture, Followers are read-only replicas of the Leader node. They are designed specifically for scaling secret retrieval operations. The Leader asynchronously replicates its data to the Followers, which can then serve read requests from applications. This architecture distributes the read load, reduces latency for geographically dispersed applications, and allows the system to handle a massive number of concurrent requests without overwhelming the primary Leader node.

A. Replication to Followers is asynchronous to prioritize performance and scalability. Synchronous replication is used for Standby nodes, not Followers.

C. Followers are strictly read-only replicas. All write operations (e.g., creating policies, rotating secrets) must be directed to the Leader to maintain data consistency.

D. Synchronous replication for high availability is the function of Standby nodes, which form an HA cluster with the Leader for automatic failover.

1. CyberArk Conjur Enterprise Documentation

"Conjur Enterprise architecture": This document explicitly defines the roles within the architecture. It states

"Followers are read-only replicas of the Leader. Data is replicated asynchronously from the Leader to the Followers. Followers are used to scale the Conjur cluster..." It also clarifies the role of Standbys: "The Leader and Standbys form a high availability (HA) cluster. Data is replicated synchronously between the Leader and the Standbys." This directly supports that Followers are for asynchronous scaling (B) and that synchronous HA (D) is for Standbys.

2. CyberArk Conjur Enterprise Documentation

"Architecture" section

"Scalability and performance" subsection: This section details the purpose of Followers. It explains that by deploying Followers

organizations can "scale horizontally to meet demand" and "reduce latency by placing Followers closer to clients." This reinforces that the primary purpose is scaling read operations.