EX294 Practice Test 13 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Which THREE of the following are valid uses of the 'ansible.builtin.include_role' module?

Accepted Answer

Pass variables to the included role using the 'vars' keyword.. The 'ansible.builtin.include_role' module supports the 'vars' keyword to pass variables directly to the included role. This allows you to override or supply role variables at the point of inclusion, which is a common pattern for reusing roles with different configurations.

Answer

Dynamically set the role name using a variable without the 'name' parameter.

Answer

Apply tags to all tasks within the included role.

Question 2

Which THREE are valid user roles within an Automation Controller organization? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Organization auditor. In Automation Controller (Ansible Tower), an organization defines a set of users, teams, and resources, and it grants three built-in user roles: Organization admin, Organization member, and Organization auditor. Option B (Organization admin) is correct because this role has full administrative rights over the organization, including managing users, teams, projects, inventories, and credentials within it. Option E (Organization member) is correct because this role grants standard access to use the organization's resources, such as running job templates, without administrative privileges. Option A (Organization auditor) is correct because this role provides read-only visibility into the organization's objects and activity for auditing purposes. Option C (Organization team_member) is not a valid organization-level role; team membership is a separate association, and roles like member/admin are assigned to teams rather than being an organization role itself. Option D (Superuser) is a system-wide role that sits above organizations and is not one of the organization-scoped user roles.

Answer

Organization team_member

Answer

Superuser

Question 3

A playbook uses the copy module to deploy a configuration file. The file should be templated with variables, but the engineer mistakenly uses the 'src' parameter with a static file instead of 'content' or a template module. What is the most likely outcome?

Accepted Answer

The file is copied without variable substitution, resulting in literal Jinja2 syntax in the destination.. The copy module with the 'src' parameter copies a file without any processing of Jinja2 templates. It does not perform variable substitution. Therefore, if the source file contains Jinja2 syntax (e.g., {{ variable }}), it will be copied literally to the destination. The correct answer is B. Option A is incorrect because the copy module does not automatically render templates. Option C is incorrect because the playbook will not fail due to undefined variables; it simply copies the file as-is. Option D is incorrect because the task will execute and copy the file, not skip.

Answer

The module automatically renders the Jinja2 template before copying.

Answer

The playbook fails because the source file contains undefined variables.

Answer

The task is skipped because copy cannot handle variables.

Question 4

An administrator must parse an inventory file where hostnames are stored in YAML format under a list 'nodes'. The task needs to extract only hostnames that contain 'prod' in the name, then sort them in reverse order. Which combination of filters in a single Ansible expression achieves this?

Accepted Answer

nodes | select('match', '.*prod.*') | sort(reverse=True). The `select` filter with the `match` test returns only list items that match the regex `'.*prod.*'`, i.e., hostnames containing 'prod'. The `sort(reverse=True)` then sorts the resulting list in descending alphabetical order, fulfilling both requirements in a single Ansible expression.

Answer

nodes | regex_search('prod') | sort(True)

Answer

nodes | map('regex_search', 'prod') | sort(reverse=True)

Answer

nodes | reject('match', '.*prod.*') | sort(reverse=True)

Question 5

An administrator needs to create a custom execution environment that includes a specific Ansible collection and a Python package. Which two steps are required to build and use the execution environment? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Build the execution environment using ansible-builder.. `ansible-builder` is the official tool for building Ansible execution environments, which are container images that bundle Ansible, collections, and dependencies. It uses a definition file (execution-environment.yml) to specify collections and Python packages, then builds the container image. Option E is correct because a `requirements.yml` file is the standard way to list Ansible collections for inclusion in an execution environment, and `ansible-builder` reads this file during the build process.

Answer

Create a Dockerfile that installs the collection and package.

Answer

Define the execution environment in ansible.cfg.

Answer

Push the execution environment to a private container registry.

Question 6

A developer reports that a role's behavior is not as expected. They set a variable in the playbook's vars section, but the role still uses the value from its vars/main.yml. Which of the following explains this issue?

Accepted Answer

vars defined in roles/vars/main.yml have higher precedence than those in the playbook's vars section. In Ansible, variable precedence is hierarchical, and role defaults (roles/role_name/defaults/main.yml) have the lowest precedence, while role vars (roles/role_name/vars/main.yml) have a higher precedence than playbook-level vars. Since the developer set the variable in the playbook's vars section, but the role still uses the value from its vars/main.yml, this indicates that vars defined in roles/vars/main.yml override those in the playbook's vars section, making option D correct.

Answer

vars defined in the playbook have higher precedence than those in roles/vars/main.yml

Answer

vars defined in group_vars override both play and role vars

Answer

the playbook must use include_vars after the role to override

Question 7

Ansible Tower is configured with a dynamic inventory source from VMware vCenter. The playbook needs to limit execution to hosts with a specific custom attribute. How should this be achieved?

Accepted Answer

Use a smart inventory filter.. Smart inventories in Ansible Tower allow you to apply a filter (using Jinja2-style syntax) against an existing inventory source, such as a dynamic VMware vCenter source, to limit execution to hosts matching specific criteria like a custom attribute. This approach avoids modifying the source script or creating duplicate inventory sources, preserving the dynamic nature of the inventory while enabling targeted host selection.

Answer

Modify the VMware inventory script to filter hosts.

Answer

Add the required hosts manually.

Answer

Create a new inventory source with a filter.

Question 8

An administrator wants to reuse a set of tasks that configure a firewall across multiple playbooks. Which Ansible feature should be used to achieve this?

Accepted Answer

Create a role for firewall configuration.. A role is the correct Ansible feature for reusing a set of tasks across multiple playbooks. Roles provide a structured, self-contained directory layout for tasks, handlers, variables, templates, and files, allowing the firewall configuration logic to be packaged once and referenced in any playbook via the `roles:` directive or `import_role`/`include_role` modules.

Answer

Add the tasks to the inventory file under a group.

Answer

Define the tasks in a vars file and include it.

Answer

Define the tasks as handlers and notify them.

Question 9

A playbook uses the 'debug' module to print a variable 'my_var' but the output is 'VARIABLE IS UNDEFINED'. The variable is defined in group_vars/all.yml. Which filter could be used to provide a default value and avoid this error?

Accepted Answer

{{ my_var | default('fallback') }}. The `default` filter in Ansible provides a fallback value when a variable is undefined, preventing the 'VARIABLE IS UNDEFINED' error. Using `{{ my_var | default('fallback') }}` ensures that if `my_var` is not defined in group_vars/all.yml or any other precedence level, the string 'fallback' is used instead of causing a failure.

Answer

Answer

Answer

Question 10

An administrator is designing a role that needs to execute a set of tasks conditionally based on whether a package is installed. Which approach is best practice?

Accepted Answer

Use the package_facts module. The `package_facts` module is the best practice for gathering package installation status in Ansible. It populates the `ansible_facts.packages` variable with structured data about installed packages, allowing you to conditionally execute tasks using `when` statements without relying on external commands or file checks. This approach is idempotent, efficient, and aligns with Ansible's declarative philosophy.

Answer

Use the stat module to check package file existence

Answer

Use the command module to check package status

Answer

Use ansible_facts.packages

Question 11

Match each Ansible fact variable to its description.

Accepted Answer

ansible_distribution: The name of the operating system distribution (e.g., RedHat, Ubuntu). The correct matches are: ansible_distribution -> OS distribution name, ansible_os_family -> OS family, ansible_architecture -> CPU architecture. Common confusions include mistaking memory units (MB vs GB) and hostname vs IP address.

Answer

ansible_memtotal_mb: Total memory in gigabytes

Answer

ansible_hostname: The IP address of the managed node

Question 12

Match each Ansible inventory parameter to its meaning.

Accepted Answer

ansible_host: The hostname or IP address to connect to.. Common Ansible inventory parameters: ansible_host defines target host, ansible_port defines SSH port, ansible_user defines remote user, ansible_ssh_private_key_file defines SSH key. Be careful not to confuse them with ansible_connection or ansible_become.

Answer

ansible_host: The connection type (e.g., ssh, winrm).

Answer

ansible_port: The method to become a different user (e.g., sudo).

Question 13

An Ansible developer needs to use the `podman_container` module in a playbook. The module is part of the `containers.podman` collection. Which command must be run first to make the module available?

Accepted Answer

`ansible-galaxy collection install containers.podman`. The `podman_container` module is part of the `containers.podman` collection, which must be installed from Ansible Galaxy before it can be used in a playbook. The correct command is `ansible-galaxy collection install containers.podman`, which downloads and installs the collection into the local collections path, making all its modules and plugins available.

Answer

`ansible-galaxy install containers.podman`

Answer

`ansible-galaxy collection search containers.podman`

Answer

`ansible-galaxy collection install containers.podman:1.0.0`

Question 14

An Ansible playbook is designed to run on a group of database servers. The administrator wants to ensure that a task runs only on the primary database server, which is defined in the inventory with a variable 'primary: true'. Which conditional should be used?

Accepted Answer

when: primary. The `when` conditional in Ansible evaluates a Jinja2 expression to determine whether a task should execute. By using `when: primary`, the task will run only on hosts where the inventory variable `primary` is defined and evaluates to `true` (a truthy value). This directly meets the requirement to target the primary database server.

Answer

ignore_errors: yes

Answer

run_once: true

Answer

delegate_to: "{{ primary }}"

Question 15

An administrator is using a role named 'app' that contains a task file 'install.yml' and a handler 'restart app'. The role is included in a playbook with 'include_role' and a variable 'app_version' set to '2.0'. The task file 'install.yml' includes a task that notifies the handler. During execution, the handler runs immediately after the task, before other tasks in the play. Which action should the administrator take to ensure the handler runs only at the end of the play?

Accepted Answer

Check the role for a 'meta: flush_handlers' task and remove it, because it forces handlers to run prematurely.. Handlers are designed to run at the end of a play. If a handler runs immediately after being notified, it is typically because a 'meta: flush_handlers' task is present, which explicitly forces handlers to run at that point. Removing that task restores the default behavior. The other options either do not address the cause or would force handlers to run even earlier.

Answer

Add 'meta: flush_handlers' after the role inclusion.

Answer

Set 'force_handlers: false' in the play to prevent handlers from running until the end.

Answer

Ensure that the handler is not notified until the end of the play by moving the notification to a task that runs last.