EX294 Practice Test 22 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An administrator is building a reusable role and must decide how to structure variables so that callers can override values while the role still ships sensible starting values. Which TWO practices are appropriate for this role design? (Choose two.)

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Place values that must not be changed by callers in vars/main.yml so they outrank most other sources.. A well-designed role separates low-precedence starting values from high-precedence internal constants. Defaults give callers an easy override path, while vars/main.yml protects values the role must control. Play vars, inventory host data, and mandatory extra variables all bind the role to a specific context and undermine reuse.

Answer

Store role variables in the inventory host file so each host can be tuned individually.

Answer

Require callers to pass every value as an extra variable with -e on the command line.

Answer

Define all role variables in the play's vars section so they are inherited by every role in the play.

Question 2

An administrator is using ansible-playbook with an inventory file that defines a group 'webservers' and a group 'dbservers'. The administrator wants to run a playbook only against hosts in 'webservers' but exclude any host that is also in 'dbservers'. Which inventory pattern should be used with the --limit option?

Accepted Answer

webservers:!dbservers. Ansible inventory patterns support set operations using colons and special characters. To select hosts in one group and exclude those in another, the pattern 'group1:!group2' is used. The exclamation mark indicates exclusion, and the colon separates the two patterns. This allows precise targeting of hosts for playbook execution.

Answer

webservers:&dbservers

Answer

webservers:dbservers

Answer

webservers,!dbservers

Question 3

Your inventory directory `inventory/prod` contains a static hosts file plus a group_vars subdirectory with webservers.yml. A dynamic inventory plugin in the same directory returns the group `webservers` with a host-level variable `http_port` set to 8080. The static group_vars/webservers.yml sets `http_port: 80`. When a play runs against the webservers group, which value does the managed host receive for http_port?

Accepted Answer

8080, because a host-level variable from the plugin outranks a group-level variable from group_vars.. Variable precedence in Ansible is hierarchical rather than source-based: host variables outrank group variables, and more specific group levels outrank broader ones. Because the dynamic plugin attaches http_port to the individual host, that value sits above the group-level definition in group_vars. The managed host therefore receives 8080 even though the static group file specifies 80.

Answer

80, because the static inventory directory is processed after the dynamic plugin.

Answer

80, because group_vars files always override variables supplied by inventory plugins.

Answer

The play fails with a conflicting variable definition error.

Question 4

A role's tasks/main.yml contains a task that uses `notify: restart service`. The handler is defined in handlers/main.yml. During a playbook run, the task reports 'changed' but the handler does not run until the end of the play. The administrator wants the handler to run immediately after the task, before any subsequent tasks. Which action should be taken?

Accepted Answer

Add a task using meta: flush_handlers immediately after the notifying task.. Handlers by default execute at the end of the play after all tasks complete. To run them earlier, a meta: flush_handlers task must be inserted at the desired point. Other options either change failure behavior, batching, or definition location, none of which alter the execution timing of handlers.

Answer

Change the handler to use listen: restart service and set run_once: true.

Answer

Set force_handlers: true in the play and use serial: 1.

Answer

Move the handler definition into the same tasks/main.yml file and rename it.

Question 5

An administrator maintains a role named 'webserver' whose tasks reference the variable 'http_port'. The playbook calls the role twice within the same play, first with http_port set to 8080 and then with http_port set to 8443, expecting two differently configured deployments. After the run, both deployments use port 8443. Which change to the role invocation should the administrator make so each invocation uses its own value?

Accepted Answer

Pass the variable with the 'vars' keyword on the 'roles' entry for each invocation.. Each entry in the 'roles' list is a separate role invocation, and the 'vars' keyword attached to that entry scopes the supplied variables to that invocation only. This lets one role run twice in the same play with different parameter values. Inventory variables, defaults, extra variables, or persistent facts all resolve at host or play scope, so they cannot differentiate the two calls.

Answer

Define http_port in group_vars for every managed host in the inventory.

Answer

Declare http_port in the role's defaults/main.yml and override it with set_fact before each role entry.

Answer

Add 'allow_duplicates: true' to the role's meta/main.yml file and pass the variable on the command line with -e.

Question 6

An administrator is writing a playbook that must execute a task only when a specific variable is defined. The variable may be set in the inventory, group_vars, or host_vars. Which conditional ensures the task runs only if the variable 'app_port' is defined?

Accepted Answer

when: app_port is defined. The 'is defined' test is the standard way to check if a variable exists in Ansible. It correctly handles variables set from any source and avoids errors when the variable is missing. The other options either test truthiness, use invalid syntax, or confuse file existence with variable definition. Only the correct option reliably ensures the task runs when 'app_port' is defined.

Answer

when: app_port is exists

Answer

when: app_port is not undefined

Answer

when: app_port

Question 7

An administrator maintains a role named 'webserver' that is used by several teams. The role must run a handler named 'restart httpd' after a configuration file is changed, but only when the role is included with a variable 'notify_handler' set to true. The role's tasks/main.yml currently has a task that copies httpd.conf with 'notify: restart httpd'. Which change should the administrator make in the role to ensure the handler is notified only when 'notify_handler' is true?

Accepted Answer

Add 'when: notify_handler | bool' to the task that copies httpd.conf in tasks/main.yml.. The handler is notified only when a task reports a change. To make notification conditional, the condition must be applied to the task that performs the change and notifies the handler. Adding a 'when' clause to the copy task ensures the task runs only when 'notify_handler' is true, so the handler is queued only in that case. Conditions on handlers themselves do not prevent notification from being queued.

Answer

Add 'run_once: true' to the handler and set 'notify_handler' in the role's defaults/main.yml.

Answer

Add 'listen: "{{ notify_handler }}"' to the handler and notify the handler with 'notify: "{{ notify_handler }}"'.

Answer

Add 'when: notify_handler | bool' to the handler definition in handlers/main.yml.

Question 8

An administrator is using a role that includes a task file conditionally with 'include_tasks' inside a loop. The task file contains a handler notification. The administrator notices that the handler is not being triggered for each iteration. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The handler is notified only once per host, regardless of how many times it is notified.. Handlers run only once per host per play, even if notified multiple times. In a loop with 'include_tasks', each iteration may notify the handler, but it will execute only once at the end of the play. This is by design to prevent multiple restarts. The other options misstate limitations or requirements that do not exist.

Answer

The handler must be defined inside the included task file, not in the main role.

Answer

Handlers cannot be notified from tasks included with 'include_tasks'.

Answer

The 'include_tasks' module does not support loops; 'import_tasks' must be used instead.

Question 9

An administrator needs to ensure that a task runs only on the first host in a batch and that its result is applied to all hosts in the batch. Which Ansible directive should be used?

Accepted Answer

run_once: true. The 'run_once: true' directive ensures a task runs only on the first host in the batch and that the results are applied to all hosts. This is ideal for one-time operations. The other options either delegate to the control node, change batching, or affect error handling, none of which satisfy the specific requirement.

Answer

delegate_to: localhost

Answer

serial: 1

Answer

any_errors_fatal: true

Question 10

A playbook targets a group of database servers and must run a backup task only on one host at a time, waiting for each host to finish before starting the next, so that a shared storage array is not saturated. Which play keyword should the administrator set to achieve this serialized behavior?

Accepted Answer

serial: 1. The serial keyword defines the batch size for a play, and a value of 1 forces Ansible to finish all tasks on one host before selecting the next host from the group. This produces strictly sequential execution across the targeted database servers, which is the desired protection for shared storage.

Answer

throttle: 1

Answer

order: sequential

Answer

strategy: host_pinned

Question 11

An administrator has a role named 'web' that must run a package installation task before any other tasks in the role. The role contains a tasks/main.yml file and a meta/main.yml file. The administrator wants the package installation to be a separate role named 'common' that is always executed first when the 'web' role is applied. Which approach should the administrator use?

Accepted Answer

Add a dependencies section to meta/main.yml in the 'web' role listing the 'common' role.. Role dependencies declared in meta/main.yml cause the dependent role to execute before the current role. This ensures the 'common' role's package installation runs first whenever 'web' is applied, regardless of the playbook. It is the intended way to express that one role requires another, keeping the relationship self-contained within the role.

Answer

Add the 'common' role to the roles list in the play before the 'web' role.

Answer

Use include_role with a when condition in tasks/main.yml of the 'web' role.

Answer

Use import_tasks in tasks/main.yml to import a tasks file from the 'common' role.

Question 12

An administrator is building a role whose task list must run a platform-specific set of tasks: one file for Red Hat Enterprise Linux hosts and another for Debian hosts, with the choice made at runtime based on gathered facts. The role must remain readable and avoid loading the wrong file even partially. Which approach should the administrator use?

Accepted Answer

Use ansible.builtin.include_tasks with a filename built from ansible_facts, so only the matching file is loaded at runtime.. Dynamic inclusion through include_tasks evaluates the filename expression when the task executes, after facts are available, so exactly one platform file is loaded. Static import_tasks resolves at parse time and cannot branch on facts, and tags or meta dependencies are selected by the operator or parse order rather than by host platform.

Answer

Place both platform task files in the role and rely on the role's meta/main.yml dependencies to select one.

Answer

Put the platform-specific tasks directly in tasks/main.yml and use tags to select which ones run.

Answer

Use ansible.builtin.import_tasks for both platform files and wrap each in a when condition.

Question 13

A playbook contains a task that uses the 'until' keyword with a retry count of 5 and a delay of 10. The task fails on all 5 attempts. What is the default behavior of Ansible regarding this task and subsequent tasks?

Accepted Answer

The task fails, and the playbook stops executing on that host by default.. When a task with 'until' exhausts its retries, it fails. Ansible's default behavior is to stop executing further tasks on that host, preventing subsequent actions that might depend on the failed task's success. The play continues on other hosts unless any_errors_fatal is set.

Answer

The task is skipped, and the playbook continues with subsequent tasks.

Answer

The task failure is ignored, and the playbook continues.

Answer

The task is retried indefinitely until it succeeds.

Question 14

An administrator wants to run a specific set of tasks only on hosts that are members of the 'webservers' group. Which Ansible construct should be used to conditionally execute those tasks based on group membership?

Accepted Answer

Use the 'when' condition with the 'group_names' variable.. The group_names variable contains the list of groups the current host belongs to. Using a when condition like "'webservers' in group_names" ensures the tasks run only on hosts in that group, regardless of the play's target. This is dynamic and adapts to inventory changes.

Answer

Use the 'delegate_to' keyword to run tasks on a representative host from the group.

Answer

Use the 'hosts' keyword in the play to target the 'webservers' group.

Answer

Use the 'when' condition with the inventory_hostname variable.

Question 15

A junior administrator needs to perform a rolling update of 8 web servers where exactly 2 servers are updated at a time. Which play-level keyword and value should be used in the Ansible playbook?

Accepted Answer

serial: 2. The serial keyword is the standard way to define rolling update batch size in an Ansible play. Setting serial: 2 causes the play to process two hosts at a time through the full task list, ensuring only two of the eight web servers are updated concurrently. This is the direct and correct control for the administrator's requirement.

Answer

throttle: 2

Answer

max_fail_percentage: 2

Answer

forks: 2