EX294 Implement advanced Ansible automation Practice Test 3 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An Ansible role has multiple dependencies defined in meta/main.yml. One of the dependent roles should be executed before the role's own tasks, but only if a certain condition is met. How can this be implemented?

Accepted Answer

The dependency cannot be conditional; use 'include_role' with 'when' in the tasks.. Option C is correct because role dependencies in meta are unconditional. To conditionally apply a role, use 'include_role' with 'when' in the tasks. Option A is incorrect because including dependencies within tasks is awkward. Option B has no such field. Option D uses pre_tasks but that is at the play level, not role level. Therefore, C is correct.

Answer

Use 'condition' field in the dependencies list.

Answer

Use 'when' condition in the role's tasks to include the dependency.

Answer

Use 'pre_tasks' in the playbook to run the conditional dependency.

Question 2

A playbook uses 'delegate_to: localhost' for a task that modifies a local file. The playbook runs against multiple servers. The administrator notices that the local file is overwritten by each parallel execution, causing corruption. Which strategy should be used to prevent this?

Accepted Answer

Use 'run_once: true' along with 'delegate_to'.. Option A is correct because 'run_once: true' combined with delegate_to ensures the task runs only once, preventing overwrites. Option B serializes all tasks, which is inefficient. Option C throttles task concurrency but still runs on each host. Option D serializes batches but still multiple executions. Therefore, A is best.

Answer

Increase 'forks: 1' to serialize execution.

Answer

Use 'throttle: 1' on the task.

Answer

Use 'serial: 1' at the play level.

Question 3

An Ansible playbook uses 'async' and 'poll' to run a long-running task. The task returns a changed status and the playbook continues. However, the remote server reports that the task failed after the playbook finished. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The task's return code was not checked; 'async_status' module should be used to explicitly check the job result.. Option B is correct because async tasks only start the job; the actual result must be checked with the 'async_status' module. If not checked, the playbook assumes success. Options A and C are about timing but not the core issue. Option D would ignore errors but not cause a false success. Therefore, B is most likely.

Answer

The 'async' timeout was set too high.

Answer

The 'poll' interval was set too low.

Answer

The playbook used 'ignore_errors: true' on the async task.

Question 4

An administrator wants to ensure that Ansible facts gathered from a host are consistent across multiple playbook runs. Which two actions can help achieve this? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Enable fact caching using 'ansible_cache' plugin with a persistent backend like Redis.. Options B and D are correct. Option B enables fact caching with a persistent backend, storing facts for reuse. Option D uses smart gathering and cache_timeout to reuse cached facts within a timeframe. Option A forces gathering every run, not consistent. Option C reduces facts but doesn't cache. Option E uses tags but does not affect fact persistence. Therefore, B and D are correct.

Answer

Use 'gather_facts: no' and manually run 'setup' module with specific filter.

Answer

Use 'tags' to only gather facts on selective runs.

Answer

Disable fact caching and gather facts every time.

Question 5

Which three of the following are valid methods to pass variables to an Ansible playbook at runtime? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Using '--extra-vars' command line option.. Options A, C, and E are correct. A uses --extra-vars on the command line, C uses -e @file to load from a file, and E uses vars_prompt interactively. Option B is for vault password, not variables. Option D sets environment variables, not playbook variables. Therefore, A, C, and E are correct.

Answer

Using '--ask-vault-pass' and storing variables in encrypted files.

Answer

Using 'environment' directive in the playbook.

Question 6

An Ansible playbook repeatedly uses the same pattern: check if a service is running, if not start it, and then verify it's running. Which three Ansible features can be used to reduce code duplication? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Using a role with multiple tasks and handlers.. Options B, D, and E are correct. B (custom filter plugin) can encapsulate logic, D (roles) can group tasks, and E (include_tasks with loop) can reuse a task file. Option A is for variables, not logic. Option C is for debugging, not reuse. Therefore, B, D, and E are correct.

Answer

Using 'include_vars' to reuse variable files.

Answer

Using 'debug' module to output the status.

Question 7

Refer to the exhibit. What is the purpose of the 'failed_when' condition?

Accepted Answer

It fails the task only if the return code is non-zero and the error does not indicate 'not installed'.. Option B is correct. The condition fails the task only if the return code is non-zero and the stderr does not contain 'not installed'. If the package is not installed, the stderr contains 'not installed', so the condition is false and the task does not fail. Options A, C, and D are incorrect interpretations. Therefore, B is correct.

Answer

It ensures the task never fails regardless of return code.

Answer

It fails the task only if the package is installed.

Answer

It fails the task if the package is not installed.

Question 8

Refer to the exhibit. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this error?

Accepted Answer

The 'ask_become_pass' is set to 'false' and no become password is provided.. Option E is correct. The error 'Missing sudo password' indicates that Ansible attempted to become root via sudo, but no password was provided and the configuration does not allow passwordless sudo. Option A would give a different error. Option B would also give a password prompt or error, but the specific message points to missing password. Option C would give 'incorrect password' error. Option D would not attempt become at all. Therefore, E is most likely.

Answer

The playbook is running without '--become' flag.

Answer

The 'become_method' is set to 'su' instead of 'sudo'.

Answer

The 'ansible_become_password' was provided but incorrect.

Answer

The remote user is not in the sudoers file.

Question 9

Refer to the exhibit. A playbook targeting the 'webservers' group uses '{{ http_port }}'. What will be the value of 'http_port' on 'web2'?

Accepted Answer

8080. Option A is correct. Host variables override group variables. web2 has http_port=8080 defined as a host variable, so it takes precedence over the group variable of 80. Option B would be true if group variables override host variables, which they don't. Option C is incorrect because the variable is defined. Option D is the opposite of the precedence rule. Therefore, A is correct.

Answer

80

Answer

80, because the group variable overrides host variable.

Answer

Undefined, causing an error

Question 10

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. Option B is correct because Ansible variable precedence places role vars (vars/main.yml) above play vars. Option A is false. Option C is true but does not explain the issue. Option D is a workaround but not the explanation.

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 11

An Ansible playbook uses async and poll to run a long-running task. The task reports 'async task did not complete within the requested time'. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

the async timeout value is set too short for the task duration. Option D is correct because the async timeout value set in the play or task is too short. Options A, B, C are less likely.

Answer

the poll interval is set too long

Answer

the async task requires become: yes

Answer

the host is unreachable

Question 12

An Ansible playbook uses a rolling update strategy with serial: 1. After the first host is updated, the playbook stops and shows 'PLAY RECAP' with only one host. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

the playbook does not have any task that triggers the next batch, and 'serial' only controls concurrency, not retry. Option A is correct because the playbook only runs one iteration per host due to 'serial: 1' and lacks a loop or next batch trigger. Options B, C, D are plausible but not the direct cause.

Answer

the playbook has a 'failed_when' condition that stops execution

Answer

the inventory contains only one host

Answer

the play uses 'delegate_to' incorrectly

Question 13

An Ansible playbook contains many tasks. An administrator wants to run only a subset of tasks by passing '--tags ' at the command line. Which of the following must be added to the tasks?

Accepted Answer

a 'tags' directive on each task. Option C is correct because tagging tasks with 'tags: ' allows selective execution. Options A, B, D do not enable tag filtering.

Answer

a 'name' with specific naming convention

Answer

a 'block' statement

Answer

a 'when' condition

Question 14

A role contains a handler. The playbook includes the role and also defines a task that notifies the same handler. When the playbook runs, the handler executes only once. Which of the following best explains this behavior?

Accepted Answer

handlers are deduplicated by name; multiple notifications trigger the handler only once per play. Option A is correct because Ansible deduplicates notifications by handler name. Option B is false (handler runs once regardless). Options C and D are incorrect.

Answer

the handler was already triggered by the role and is skipped for the play task

Answer

the role's handler uses 'listen' which overrides notifications

Answer

the playbook's task notifies a different handler with the same name

Question 15

An Ansible playbook uses the 'constructed' inventory plugin with 'keyed_groups' to create groups based on 'ansible_distribution'. Despite correct configuration, hosts are not assigned to the expected groups. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

the 'strict' option is set to 'yes' and the required facts are not gathered. Option C is correct because 'strict: yes' causes plugin to fail on undefined variables; if facts are not gathered, 'ansible_distribution' is undefined. Options A, B, D are plausible but less likely.

Answer

the 'keyed_groups' syntax uses invalid Jinja2 expressions

Answer

the inventory file is incorrectly formatted

Answer

the plugin is not enabled in ansible.cfg