EX294 Deploy Ansible Automation Platform Practice Question
An organization wants to deploy Ansible Automation Platform 2.x in a highly available configuration. Which component must be deployed in an active-active cluster to ensure controller failover?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse the automation mesh (which provides execution node redundancy) with the automation controller's active-active clustering, leading them to select mesh as the answer for controller failover.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Automation controller
The automation controller is the component that provides the web UI, REST API, and job execution management in Ansible Automation Platform 2.x. For high availability, multiple controller nodes must be deployed in an active-active cluster behind a load balancer, ensuring that if one controller fails, another can immediately take over without service interruption.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
PostgreSQL database
Why it's wrong here
PostgreSQL is the automation controller's backing database, not the controller itself, so clustering it alone does not provide controller failover. An active-active PostgreSQL cluster is the correct design when the requirement is database high availability behind the controllers.
- ✓
Automation controller
Why this is correct
Automation controller nodes form an active-active cluster behind a load balancer, so any node can accept and execute jobs; if one fails, the remaining nodes continue running playbooks without manual intervention. This satisfies the stem's controller failover requirement, since the control plane itself must be redundant rather than relying on a single instance.
- ✗
Private Automation Hub
Why it's wrong here
Private Automation Hub distributes collections and execution environments; it is not the controller component whose active-active clustering delivers controller failover. Deploying it in active-active form is correct when you need resilient, local content synchronisation and signing for automation execution.
- ✗
Automation mesh
Why it's wrong here
Automation mesh handles execution node connectivity and job distribution across locations; it does not run the control plane, so it cannot deliver controller failover. Mesh is the right choice when jobs must run at remote or segmented sites with resilient execution capacity.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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