EX294 Transform data with filters and plugins Practice Test 3 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Which THREE of the following are valid Ansible lookup plugins? (Select exactly three.)

Accepted Answer

`csvfile`. `csvfile` is a built-in Ansible lookup plugin that reads data from CSV files, allowing playbooks to parse structured tabular data. It is documented in the official Ansible lookup plugin list and is commonly used for dynamic inventory or configuration values.

Answer

`map`

Answer

`select`

Question 2

Which TWO filters can be used to combine two lists into one? (Select exactly two.)

Accepted Answer

`zip`. (`zip`) is correct because the `zip` filter in Ansible combines two lists by pairing elements from each list into a single list of tuples, effectively merging them into one list. Option B (`union`) is correct because it merges two lists into a single list containing all unique elements from both. Option C (`intersect`) is incorrect because it only returns elements common to both lists, not a combination of all elements. Options D (`combine`) and E (`flatten`) are incorrect: `combine` works on dictionaries, not lists, and `flatten` reduces a nested list structure, it does not combine two lists.

Answer

`intersect`

Answer

`combine`

Answer

`flatten`

Question 3

What is the effect of the `filter_plugins` setting in `ansible.cfg`?

Accepted Answer

It adds the directory to the default search path for filter plugins.. The `filter_plugins` setting in `ansible.cfg` adds the specified directory to the default search path for filter plugins, not replacing it. Ansible searches default locations like `~/.ansible/plugins/filter` and the `filter_plugins` directory relative to the playbook, in addition to any directories specified by this setting. Therefore, option D is correct.

Answer

It sets the directory for filter plugins but only for the current playbook.

Answer

It configures the path for lookup plugins, not filter plugins.

Answer

It replaces the default search path for filter plugins with the specified directory.

Question 4

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 5

What is the most likely cause of this error?

Accepted Answer

The filter name is incorrect; no filter named 'encrypt_string' exists by default.. The error occurs because there is no built-in filter named 'encrypt_string' in Ansible. While Ansible provides many filters for data transformation, 'encrypt_string' is not one of them by default. This filter would need to be provided by a custom filter plugin or a collection, and since it is not present, Ansible raises an undefined filter error.

Answer

The `filter_plugins` path is misconfigured.

Answer

The `encrypt_string` filter plugin is not installed.

Answer

The playbook syntax is invalid.

Question 6

An Ansible playbook needs to convert a list of server names into a comma-separated string for an API call. Which filter should be applied to the list variable 'server_list'?

Accepted Answer

join(','). The `join` filter in Ansible is designed to concatenate list elements into a single string using a specified delimiter. Applying `join(',')` to `server_list` will produce a comma-separated string, exactly as required for the API call.

Answer

map('regex_replace', '^', '')

Answer

combine(',')

Answer

regex_replace('
', ',')

Question 7

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 8

A playbook needs to generate a default value for a variable if it is undefined or empty. Which filter with a default value should be used?

Accepted Answer

my_var | default('fallback'). The `default` filter in Ansible is specifically designed to provide a fallback value when a variable is undefined or evaluates to an empty string (with the `omit` parameter). It is the idiomatic way to handle missing or empty variables in Jinja2 templates within Ansible playbooks, ensuring idempotency and avoiding undefined variable errors.

Answer

my_var | fail('fallback')

Answer

my_var | ternary('fallback', my_var)

Answer

my_var | coalesce('fallback')

Question 9

An Ansible role is designed to work on both RHEL 7 and RHEL 8 systems. The role uses the 'redhat_subscription' module. However, on RHEL 8, the module requires a different parameter name. The developer wants to use a conditional parameter based on the OS version. Which filter allows checking the operating system version from 'ansible_facts'?

Accepted Answer

version. 'version', because the `version` filter in Ansible is specifically designed to compare version strings from `ansible_facts` (e.g., `ansible_facts['ansible_distribution_version']`). It allows conditional logic based on OS version, such as checking if the version is '8.0' or higher, which is exactly what the developer needs to handle the different parameter names for the `redhat_subscription` module between RHEL 7 and RHEL 8.

Answer

int

Answer

sys.version

Answer

bool

Question 10

A security team requires that all passwords in an Ansible vault be encrypted with a different key from the host variables. They want to use a custom lookup plugin that fetches secrets from an external API. Which plugin type should be developed?

Accepted Answer

Lookup plugin. A lookup plugin is the correct choice because it is designed to retrieve data from external sources (like an API) and return it as a string or list for use in Ansible playbooks. This aligns with the requirement to fetch secrets from an external API, and lookup plugins can be used directly in variables or templates without modifying the host state.

Answer

Module

Answer

Action plugin

Answer

Filter plugin

Question 11

A junior admin is tasked with creating a playbook that sets a variable 'app_status' to 'starting' if a service file exists, otherwise sets it to 'stopped'. Which filter should be used to test if a file exists from Ansible facts?

Accepted Answer

file. The `file` test in Jinja2 checks whether a path exists as a file, returning a boolean. It can be used directly in `when` conditions like `when: mypath is file`. Option B is incorrect because there is no built-in `exists` filter in Ansible; the `exists` attribute comes from the `stat` module result, not a filter. The junior admin should use the `file` test or the `stat` module with its `exists` attribute.

Answer

path

Answer

exists

Answer

is_dir

Question 12

An Ansible playbook needs to dynamically include a set of variables based on the environment (dev/staging/prod). The developer wants to use a variable from a lookup plugin that returns a YAML file path. Which lookup plugin is most appropriate for fetching a file’s contents?

Accepted Answer

file. The `file` lookup plugin is the most appropriate for fetching the contents of a file from the control node, as it reads the entire file and returns its content as a string. This is ideal for dynamically including variable files based on environment (e.g., `{{ lookup('file', 'vars/{{ env }}.yml') }}`), allowing the playbook to load environment-specific YAML data.

Answer

env

Answer

pipe

Answer

template

Question 13

A company uses Ansible Tower and has defined a custom inventory script. The inventory returns JSON with nested groups. The playbook needs to list all hosts from a specific group 'webservers' that are not in the 'drain' subgroup. Which combination of filters correctly extracts these hosts?

Accepted Answer

{{ groups['webservers'] | difference(groups['drain']) }}. The `difference` filter in Ansible returns the elements of the first list that are not present in the second list. This directly matches the requirement: all hosts in the 'webservers' group that are not in the 'drain' subgroup.

Answer

{{ groups['webservers'] | symmetric_difference(groups['drain']) }}

Answer

Answer

Question 14

Which TWO filters are commonly used to transform strings in Ansible? (Select exactly two.)

Accepted Answer

regex_replace. `regex_replace` is a built-in Jinja2 filter in Ansible that allows you to transform strings by replacing substrings that match a regular expression pattern. This is commonly used for string manipulation tasks such as sanitizing user input or formatting output.

Answer

items2dict

Answer

flatten

Answer

dict2items

Question 15

Which THREE features are provided by Ansible's filter plugins? (Select exactly three.)

Accepted Answer

Data transformation (e.g., format dates, modify strings). Filter plugins in Ansible are used to transform data within Jinja2 templates. Option B is correct because filters like `| date`, `| regex_replace`, and `| upper` directly perform data transformation tasks such as formatting dates and modifying strings, which is a core purpose of filter plugins.

Answer

Defining new Ansible modules

Answer

Fetching data from external APIs