- A
The hosts in the problematic subnet are not reachable due to a firewall; add those hosts to a separate inventory and use a different cloud credential.
Why wrong: If it were a firewall, all job templates would likely fail on that subnet.
- B
The credential used by job template B is associated with an incorrect SSH key for those hosts; create a new credential for that subnet and update the job template.
Incorrect SSH key causes connection refused; separate credentials per subnet can resolve.
- C
The automation controller does not have network access to the problematic subnet; install a second automation controller node in that subnet and configure clustering.
Why wrong: No indication that controller cannot reach the subnet; other jobs succeed.
- D
The job template B requires a sudo escalation that is not configured on those hosts; update the playbook to use become_method: su.
Why wrong: SSH timeout/connection refused is not caused by sudo escalation.
EX294 Manage automation security and operations Practice Question
This EX294 practice question tests your understanding of manage automation security and operations. 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.
A company has deployed Ansible Automation Platform with a single automation controller node. The operations team uses a workflow that includes three job templates: A, B, and C, each requiring different credentials. Recently, the workflow started failing intermittently with errors such as 'Timeout' and 'Connection refused' on certain hosts. The inventory is dynamic from a cloud provider. The administrator checks that the credentials are valid and the hosts are online. The job execution history shows that the failures occur only when the workflow attempts to run job template B on a subset of hosts that are located in a different subnet. Job templates A and C run fine on all hosts. What is the most likely cause and the best course of action?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Clue:
"most likely"Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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
The credential used by job template B is associated with an incorrect SSH key for those hosts; create a new credential for that subnet and update the job template.
Option B is correct because the intermittent failures on a specific subnet, despite valid credentials and online hosts, strongly indicate that the SSH key or credential used by job template B is not accepted by those hosts. Since job templates A and C work fine on all hosts, the issue is credential-specific, not network-wide. Creating a new credential with the correct SSH key for that subnet and updating job template B resolves the authentication failure.
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.
- ✗
The hosts in the problematic subnet are not reachable due to a firewall; add those hosts to a separate inventory and use a different cloud credential.
Why it's wrong here
If it were a firewall, all job templates would likely fail on that subnet.
- ✓
The credential used by job template B is associated with an incorrect SSH key for those hosts; create a new credential for that subnet and update the job template.
Why this is correct
Incorrect SSH key causes connection refused; separate credentials per subnet can resolve.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
The automation controller does not have network access to the problematic subnet; install a second automation controller node in that subnet and configure clustering.
Why it's wrong here
No indication that controller cannot reach the subnet; other jobs succeed.
- ✗
The job template B requires a sudo escalation that is not configured on those hosts; update the playbook to use become_method: su.
Why it's wrong here
SSH timeout/connection refused is not caused by sudo escalation.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse network-level connectivity issues (firewall, routing) with authentication-level failures, assuming 'Connection refused' always means a firewall block rather than an SSH key rejection or credential mismatch.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When Ansible connects via SSH, it uses the private key or password specified in the credential. If the public key is not deployed on the target host or the password is incorrect, SSH returns 'Permission denied' or 'Connection refused' after timeout. The intermittent nature could be due to load balancer or DNS resolution issues on that subnet, but the credential mismatch is the most direct cause given the pattern. In real-world scenarios, different subnets may use different SSH key pairs for security segmentation, and a single credential cannot authenticate across all.
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 network engineer segments a warehouse floor into three subnets: 20 scanners, 5 printers, and 2 management hosts. Picking the wrong mask wastes addresses or leaves too few usable hosts. Exam questions test whether you can apply CIDR notation, calculate block size, and identify the correct usable-host range for a given prefix.
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?
Manage automation security and operations — This question tests Manage automation security and operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The credential used by job template B is associated with an incorrect SSH key for those hosts; create a new credential for that subnet and update the job template. — Option B is correct because the intermittent failures on a specific subnet, despite valid credentials and online hosts, strongly indicate that the SSH key or credential used by job template B is not accepted by those hosts. Since job templates A and C work fine on all hosts, the issue is credential-specific, not network-wide. Creating a new credential with the correct SSH key for that subnet and updating job template B resolves the authentication failure.
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: "best", "most likely". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 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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