- A
Add a retry loop to the service restart task with a delay and count of 5.
Why wrong: Retries may help transient issues but do not abort the rollout if the service remains down.
- B
Set ignore_errors: yes on the service restart task to avoid failures stopping the playbook.
Why wrong: ignore_errors would continue regardless of health, making the situation worse.
- C
Use the 'throttle' keyword with a rolling update strategy that includes a post-task health check and set max_fail_percentage to a value that aborts if the healthy node count drops below 8.
throttle and max_fail_percentage combined can enforce health thresholds and abort the rollout when conditions are not met.
- D
Increase serial to 3 to complete the update faster and reduce the chance of node failures.
Why wrong: Increasing batch size increases the risk of losing more nodes simultaneously; does not stop on failure.
EX294 Coordinate rolling updates Practice Question
This EX294 practice question tests your understanding of coordinate rolling updates. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You are managing a rolling update of a 10-node web application cluster using Ansible. The application requires that at least 8 nodes remain available during the update to handle traffic. You have written a playbook that uses serial: 2 (updates 2 nodes at a time). During a test run, the playbook updates the first batch of 2 nodes successfully, but when it proceeds to the second batch, one of the nodes fails to restart the web service. However, the playbook continues and updates the remaining nodes. At the end, only 7 nodes are healthy, causing performance degradation. You need to ensure that if a batch fails to meet the minimum health requirements, the entire rollout is stopped and no further updates are applied. Which course of action should you take?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"first"Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Clue:
"least"Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
Clue:
"minimum / minimize"Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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
Use the 'throttle' keyword with a rolling update strategy that includes a post-task health check and set max_fail_percentage to a value that aborts if the healthy node count drops below 8.
Option C is correct because it uses the `throttle` keyword with a rolling update strategy that includes a post-task health check and sets `max_fail_percentage` to abort the playbook if the healthy node count drops below 8. This ensures that if a batch fails to meet the minimum health requirements, the entire rollout is stopped and no further updates are applied, preventing performance degradation.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Add a retry loop to the service restart task with a delay and count of 5.
Why it's wrong here
Retries may help transient issues but do not abort the rollout if the service remains down.
- ✗
Set ignore_errors: yes on the service restart task to avoid failures stopping the playbook.
Why it's wrong here
ignore_errors would continue regardless of health, making the situation worse.
- ✓
Use the 'throttle' keyword with a rolling update strategy that includes a post-task health check and set max_fail_percentage to a value that aborts if the healthy node count drops below 8.
Why this is correct
throttle and max_fail_percentage combined can enforce health thresholds and abort the rollout when conditions are not met.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "first", "least", "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Increase serial to 3 to complete the update faster and reduce the chance of node failures.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing batch size increases the risk of losing more nodes simultaneously; does not stop on failure.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse retry mechanisms or error handling with the need for a batch-level health check and abort logic, assuming that retrying a failed task or ignoring errors will somehow prevent the overall rollout from continuing when health thresholds are breached.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
ignore_errors would continue regardless of health, making the situation worse.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `throttle` keyword in Ansible limits the number of concurrent tasks or plays, but for rolling updates, the `serial` keyword controls batch size. The `max_fail_percentage` directive in a playbook, when combined with a post-task health check (e.g., using `uri` module or `wait_for`), allows you to define a threshold of acceptable failures per batch; if exceeded, the playbook aborts. This is critical in production environments where maintaining a minimum number of healthy nodes is essential for service availability.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the EX294 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this EX294 question test?
Coordinate rolling updates — This question tests Coordinate rolling updates — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use the 'throttle' keyword with a rolling update strategy that includes a post-task health check and set max_fail_percentage to a value that aborts if the healthy node count drops below 8. — Option C is correct because it uses the `throttle` keyword with a rolling update strategy that includes a post-task health check and sets `max_fail_percentage` to abort the playbook if the healthy node count drops below 8. This ensures that if a batch fails to meet the minimum health requirements, the entire rollout is stopped and no further updates are applied, preventing performance degradation.
What should I do if I get this EX294 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first", "least", "minimum / minimize". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This EX294 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Red Hat certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the EX294 exam.
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