EX294 Manage inventories and credentials Practice Question
Which THREE considerations are important when designing a credential strategy in Ansible Automation Platform? (Choose exactly three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume all credentials must be stored inside the AAP database for security, but the platform is designed to delegate secret storage to external vaults, and the question tests awareness of that flexibility.
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
✓
Credentials should be assigned to job templates rather than embedded in playbooks
Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) best practices dictate that credentials should be assigned to job templates, not embedded in playbooks. This decouples sensitive authentication data from automation logic, allowing credentials to be managed, rotated, and audited centrally through the AAP controller without exposing them in version-controlled playbook files.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
All credentials must be stored within the AAP database for security
Why it's wrong here
External secret backends can be used for enhanced security.
- ✗
Playbooks should contain hardcoded credentials for simplicity
Why it's wrong here
Hardcoding credentials is insecure and against best practices.
- ✓
Credentials should be assigned to job templates rather than embedded in playbooks
Why this is correct
Best practice is to manage credentials via AAP and assign them to templates.
- ✓
Custom credential types allow integration with external secrets management systems
Why this is correct
Custom types can fetch secrets from Vault, CyberArk, etc.
- ✓
Credential access can be restricted using RBAC on organizations, teams, and users
Why this is correct
RBAC ensures only authorized users can use specific credentials.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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