Manage task execution and roles practice questions

import_tasks must be placed in a role.

Why wrong: import_tasks can be used in tasks section of playbooks.

The loop variable should be referenced as '{{ item }}' without quotes.

Why wrong: The syntax is correct; quotes are needed.

The file names must be literal without templates.

Why wrong: Templates in file names are allowed with include_tasks, but import_tasks cannot use loops at all.

Set 'hosts: all' and use '--limit web_servers' when running ansible-playbook.

Why wrong: This requires remembering the limit flag each run; not idempotent in playbook definition.

Set 'hosts: localhost' and delegate tasks to web_servers.

Why wrong: localhost is the control node, not the managed nodes; delegation complicates the setup.

Set 'hosts: all' and use a 'when' condition to check if the node is in the web_servers group.

Why wrong: Using 'hosts: all' runs on all nodes, requiring extra conditional logic that can be avoided.

vars/defaults.yml

Why wrong: Standard location is defaults/main.yml, not vars/defaults.yml.

default_vars/main.yml

Why wrong: This directory is not part of the standard Ansible role structure.

vars/main.yml

Why wrong: Variables here have high precedence and cannot be overridden by playbook variables.

The remote path does not exist. Use 'remote_src: yes' to copy from remote.

Why wrong: The copy module creates intermediate directories if needed; remote_src is for copying from remote to remote.

The local source file is not readable by the user running ansible-playbook. Change permissions on the source file.

Why wrong: Permission denied is on the remote host, not local.

The remote file is owned by root and the destination directory is not writable by ansible. Use 'become: yes' and set 'owner: ansible'.

Why wrong: Setting owner is not needed if become is used; the task should write as root.

Roles are defined directly inside a playbook using the 'roles' keyword.

Why wrong: Roles are external directories, not defined inline.

Roles can only be invoked using the 'include_role' module.

Why wrong: Roles can also be listed under the 'roles' key in a play.

Variables defined in a role's vars/main.yml cannot be overridden by playbook variables.

Why wrong: They can be overridden because they have higher precedence than defaults but lower than playbook vars.

Using 'register' to store task output

Why wrong: Register stores results but does not control execution.

Using the 'with_items' loop

Why wrong: 'with_items' is deprecated; 'loop' is the modern method.

Just the username 'jdoe'.

Why wrong: The variable contains more than just the name.

The entire playbook YAML structure.

Why wrong: debug with var only prints the value of that variable.

The string 'true' if the user was created successfully.

Why wrong: The debug module outputs the variable content, not a simple boolean.

The 'yum' module is deprecated for RHEL 8; must use 'dnf'.

Why wrong: 'yum' is an alias for 'dnf' on RHEL 8; it works.

The remote host does not have subscription-manager access.

Why wrong: Subscription issues would cause different errors, not package not found.

The package name is misspelled; it should be 'apache2'.

Why wrong: The package name is correct for RHEL.

enabled: yes, state: reloaded

Why wrong: Reloaded does not ensure the service is started if it was stopped.

enabled: yes, daemon_reload: yes

Why wrong: daemon_reload only reloads systemd, not the service state.

enabled: yes, state: restarted

Why wrong: Restarted would cause unnecessary restarts on each run.

Use 'ignore_errors: yes' on all tasks to prevent playbook failures.

Why wrong: Ignoring errors can hide important issues.

Always use serial execution to avoid race conditions.

Why wrong: Serial execution is sometimes useful but not a universal best practice.

Write tasks that rely on the previous task's output to ensure correct order.

Why wrong: Relying on order reduces idempotency.

The repository URL might be incorrect on some servers. Use the 'uri' module to test connectivity to the repository.

Why wrong: The error is about GPG key mismatch, not connectivity.

The role is not copying the new GPG key to all servers. Re-run the role with 'force: yes' to ensure the key is overwritten.

Why wrong: The role copies the key, but the yum cache still holds the old key ID.

Add 'disable_gpg_check: yes' to the task to bypass the GPG check temporarily.

Why wrong: This weakens security and is not a permanent solution.

Ansible Galaxy is a continuous integration tool for testing roles.

Why wrong: Ansible Galaxy is a role repository, not a CI tool.

Role dependencies must be defined in a file named dependencies.yml.

Why wrong: Dependencies are defined in meta/main.yml.

Role names must have a .role extension.

Why wrong: Roles are directories, not files with a specific extension.

The --check flag prevents role variable resolution.

Why wrong: Check mode still resolves variables.

The host web1 is not configured to use the nginx role.

Why wrong: The role applies to the group, and the task runs on web1.

The nginx role was not included in the playbook correctly.

Why wrong: The role is listed and the task runs, so it is included.

Modify the role's defaults/main.yml to set libapp_version to 1.2.

Why wrong: The problem states you cannot modify the role.

Rename your playbook variable from lib_version to libapp_version in the play vars.

Why wrong: The role task uses libapp_version, so this would work, but the playbook variable is lib_version; you need to set libapp_version.

Create a file roles/web/vars/main.yml with libapp_version: 1.2.

Why wrong: This modifies the role, which is not allowed.

Create physical volume, then create logical volume, then create volume group, then format with filesystem, then mount the filesystem.

Why wrong: This is incorrect because a logical volume cannot be created before the volume group exists; the VG must be created from PVs first.

Create volume group, then create physical volume, then create logical volume, then format with filesystem, then mount the filesystem.

Why wrong: This is incorrect because a volume group requires at least one physical volume to exist before it can be created; the PV must be created first.

Create physical volume, then create volume group, then format with filesystem, then create logical volume, then mount the filesystem.

Why wrong: This is incorrect because formatting must be done on the logical volume, which must exist first; the LV must be created before formatting.

service: Triggers activation of other units based on time

Why wrong: Incorrect — this describes a timer unit, not a service unit.

timer: Manages a system service

Why wrong: Incorrect — this describes a service unit, not a timer unit.

Use the 'any_errors_fatal' setting.

Why wrong: any_errors_fatal stops execution on failure but does not affect ordering.

Use role dependencies with 'allow_duplicates: no'.

Why wrong: Role dependencies control execution order but are defined in role metadata, not at the playbook level to ensure the role runs first.

Set the 'order' parameter in the role definition.

Why wrong: 'order' is not a valid parameter for roles.

include_role

Why wrong: include_role is dynamic but is specific to roles, not task files.

import_role

Why wrong: import_role is static and evaluated at parse time.

import_tasks

Why wrong: import_tasks is static and cannot be used with host-specific conditionals at runtime.

Playbook runs tasks on hosts in batches of 1.

Why wrong: That describes 'serial' strategy.

Strategy is deprecated and replaced by 'linear'.

Why wrong: 'free' is a valid strategy and not deprecated.

All hosts run the same task at the same time, then move to the next task.

Why wrong: That describes the 'linear' strategy.

Set the variable in the inventory host_vars.

Why wrong: Inventory host_vars affect all roles on that host, not specific to a role.

Set the variable in the role's vars/main.yml.

Why wrong: Role vars have higher priority than defaults but cannot be overridden per usage; they are part of the role definition.

Set the variable in the playbook's vars section.

Why wrong: Playbook vars apply to all roles in the play, not just one.