EX294 Practice Test 18 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An administrator wants to run a playbook with a different user for a specific host. Which variable should be set?

Accepted Answer

ansible_user. Ansible_user sets the remote user for SSH connections to the target host. Option B (ansible_user_id) is a fact variable that returns the UID of the user running the task on the remote host, not the connection user. Option C (ansible_ssh_user) is a deprecated alias for ansible_user. Option D (ansible_remote_user) is also a deprecated alias.

Answer

ansible_user_id

Answer

ansible_ssh_user

Answer

ansible_remote_user

Question 2

A playbook uses the 'block' and 'rescue' keywords. If a task in the block fails, but the rescue tasks also fail, what happens?

Accepted Answer

The play fails.. When a task in a block fails, the rescue tasks execute. If the rescue tasks also fail, the entire play fails (the failure propagates). Option B is incorrect because the play does not continue; it fails. Option C is incorrect because the block is not re-executed; rescue only runs once. Option D is incorrect because rescue tasks are not retried after failure.

Answer

The play continues to the next task.

Answer

The block is re-executed.

Answer

The rescue tasks are retried.

Question 3

An Ansible playbook uses delegation to run a task on localhost while targeting remote hosts. The task fails with 'connection refused' for the remote host. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

the task uses 'connection: local' incorrectly or omits it. 'delegate_to: localhost' runs the task locally, but the connection keyword 'ansible_connection' may still refer to remote if not set correctly. Option A is plausible but less common. Options C and D are incorrect.

Answer

the remote host is not reachable from the control node

Answer

the playbook lacks 'gather_facts: yes'

Answer

the delegate host lacks required Python libraries

Question 4

Match each Ansible playbook directive to its purpose.

Accepted Answer

hosts: Defines the managed hosts or groups. Correct matches: 'hosts' specifies target hosts, 'tasks' lists actions, 'become' enables privilege escalation. Common confusion includes swapping hosts and tasks.

Answer

hosts: Defines variables used throughout the playbook

Answer

tasks: Defines the target hosts or groups

Question 5

What is the output of the following playbook task?
```yaml
- name: Example task
  debug:
    msg: "{{ ['apple', 'banana'] | map('upper') | first }}"
```

Accepted Answer

'APPLE'. The playbook task likely uses a filter that extracts only the first element after applying `map('upper')`. For example, `{{ ['apple', 'banana'] | map('upper') | first }}` would output 'APPLE'. The `map` filter applies the `upper` filter to each element, but the `first` filter selects only the first item, resulting in the string 'APPLE'. Candidates may mistakenly think the entire list is returned, but this task explicitly retrieves a single element.

Answer

An error because map expects a list of strings.

Answer

['APPLE', 'BANANA']

Answer

'apple'

Question 6

Drag and drop the steps to configure a systemd service to start automatically at boot in the correct order.

Accepted Answer

Create unit file, Reload systemd, Enable service, Start service, Verify status. The correct sequence for configuring a systemd service to start at boot is: first create the unit file, then reload systemd to load the new unit, next enable the service to create the necessary symlinks for automatic start, then start the service immediately, and finally verify its status. Common mistakes include omitting the reload step, enabling after starting, or performing the reload too late.

Answer

Create unit file, Enable service, Start service, Verify status

Answer

Create unit file, Reload systemd, Start service, Enable service, Verify status

Answer

Create unit file, Start service, Enable service, Reload systemd, Verify status

Question 7

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 8

Which three methods can be used to pass variables to an Ansible playbook? (Select exactly 3.)

Accepted Answer

In the playbook's vars_files directive.. The `vars_files` directive in a playbook allows you to specify external YAML or JSON files containing variables, which are then merged into the play's variable scope at runtime. This is a standard method for passing variables to a playbook, as it separates variable definitions from the playbook logic.

Answer

In the ansible.cfg file.

Answer

In the role's vars/main.yml.

Question 9

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 10

A company manages a large infrastructure of 10,000 servers using Ansible. The Ansible control node runs on a powerful machine with 32 cores and 64GB RAM. Recently, a playbook that processes server facts and generates a compliance report has become extremely slow, taking over 6 hours to complete. The playbook uses several `set_fact` tasks with complex jinja2 filters including `selectattr`, `map`, `json_query`, and `combine`. The inventory is stored in a dynamic inventory script that returns JSON. The team suspects that the filter operations are causing performance bottlenecks, especially when creating large data structures. A junior engineer suggests splitting the playbook into multiple plays and using `delegate_to` to distribute processing across managed nodes. Another suggests using the `ansible.builtin` module instead of filters. The senior architect recommends converting the heavy filter logic into a custom action plugin. What is the most effective approach to significantly reduce the execution time while maintaining functionality?

Accepted Answer

Convert the heavy filter logic into a custom Python action plugin that runs on the control node and performs data transformation efficiently.. Custom action plugins execute Python code directly on the control node, bypassing the Jinja2 templating engine entirely. This eliminates the overhead of parsing complex filters like `json_query` and `combine` for every host, which is the primary bottleneck when processing large data structures across 10,000 servers. Action plugins also have full access to Ansible's internal APIs, allowing efficient in-memory data transformations without the serialization/deserialization costs of `set_fact`.

Answer

Distribute the processing across managed nodes using `delegate_to` and loop over hosts.

Answer

Use `ansible.builtin` modules to replace filter operations; for example, use `add_host` and `group_by` to structure data.

Answer

Use `with_items` and `with_nested` loops instead of filters, as loops are faster.

Question 11

Which TWO of the following are valid methods to supply a credential password in Ansible Automation Controller?

Accepted Answer

Prompt on launch (ask for credential on job run). Ansible Automation Controller allows credentials to be prompted on launch, meaning the user is asked to enter the password at runtime rather than storing it. This is a secure method for sensitive values that should not be persisted in the controller's database or any configuration file.

Answer

Set the password via an environment variable in the job template

Answer

Include the password in a file in the project repository

Answer

Store the password in plain text in the credential definition

Question 12

During a rolling update using an Ansible playbook with serial: 2, one host in the first batch becomes unreachable. The playbook fails with an unreachable host error. How should the administrator proceed to complete the update on the remaining hosts while excluding the problematic host?

Accepted Answer

Use 'ansible-playbook playbook.yml --limit all:!hostname' to exclude the unreachable host.. The `--limit` flag with the pattern `all:!hostname` uses Ansible's inventory host pattern syntax to exclude a specific host from the playbook run. This allows the administrator to rerun the playbook against all hosts except the unreachable one, completing the rolling update without re-attempting the failed host. The `serial: 2` setting is irrelevant once the host is excluded, as the playbook will only target the remaining reachable hosts.

Answer

Use 'ansible-playbook playbook.yml --forks 1' to slow down the update.

Answer

Add 'any_errors_fatal: false' to the playbook and rerun.

Answer

Rerun the playbook with the same command; it will skip the unreachable host automatically.

Question 13

Which THREE statements about Ansible roles are correct? (Select exactly 3)

Accepted Answer

Roles can have dependencies on other roles defined in `meta/main.yml`.. Ansible roles can declare dependencies on other roles in their `meta/main.yml` file using the `dependencies` keyword. Option C is correct because roles have a predefined directory structure that includes `tasks`, `handlers`, `defaults`, `vars`, `meta`, `templates`, and `files`. Option E is correct because roles are designed for tasks and handlers, not playbooks; you cannot directly include a playbook within a role. Options A and D are incorrect: A is wrong because to include tasks from another role you use `include_role`, not `include_tasks`; D is wrong because variables in `vars/main.yml` override those in `defaults/main.yml`.

Answer

A role can directly include tasks from another role using the `include_tasks` module.

Answer

Variables defined in `defaults/main.yml` override those in `vars/main.yml`.

Question 14

Which THREE of the following are valid attributes of the ansible.builtin.service module?

Accepted Answer

state. The `state` attribute is a core parameter of the `ansible.builtin.service` module, used to define the desired service status (e.g., `started`, `stopped`, `restarted`, `reloaded`). This directly controls the service's runtime state on the target system.

Answer

pattern

Answer

runlevel

Question 15

An Ansible Tower administrator needs to add a single host to an existing inventory. The host has a static IP address and requires SSH access with a specific username and private key. Which of the following is the correct approach?

Accepted Answer

Navigate to the inventory, click 'Add Host', enter the hostname and IP, and optionally define variables. Then create a credential for SSH and associate it with the host through a job template.. In Ansible Tower, a host is added to an inventory via the 'Add Host' form, where you enter the hostname and IP address and optionally define variables. SSH credentials are not directly associated with a host; instead, they are created separately and then linked to the host through a job template, which uses the credential to authenticate when running playbooks against that host.

Answer

Add the host to an inventory group using the 'Add Group' option and specify the host details there.

Answer

Use the 'Add Host' form and in the 'Credentials' field, select the appropriate SSH credential from the drop-down.

Answer

Create a new credential first, then add the host directly within the credential definition.