EX294 Coordinate rolling updates Practice Question
This EX294 practice question tests your understanding of coordinate rolling updates. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
```
- name: Rolling update with load balancer
hosts: webservers
serial: 2
tasks:
- name: Disable server in haproxy
community.general.haproxy:
state: disabled
host: "{{ inventory_hostname }}"
socket: /var/run/haproxy.sock
delegate_to: lb01
- name: Update web server
yum:
name: httpd
state: latest
- name: Enable server in haproxy
community.general.haproxy:
state: enabled
host: "{{ inventory_hostname }}"
socket: /var/run/haproxy.sock
delegate_to: lb01
```
A team runs the playbook shown in the exhibit. They notice that during the update, some requests are still being sent to servers that have been disabled. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
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 the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The 'serial: 2' setting allows two hosts to be disabled simultaneously, and the load balancer may not have drained connections.
Option B is correct because the `serial: 2` setting causes Ansible to update two hosts at a time. When a host is disabled in the load balancer, existing connections may not be fully drained before the next batch of hosts is updated, allowing traffic to still reach disabled servers. The load balancer needs time to drain active sessions, and a serial batch of 2 can overlap with that drain window.
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 disable task should use 'state: maintenance' instead of 'state: disabled'.
Why it's wrong here
The haproxy module uses disabled state correctly; maintenance is not a valid state.
✓
The 'serial: 2' setting allows two hosts to be disabled simultaneously, and the load balancer may not have drained connections.
Why this is correct
With serial:2, both hosts are disabled at once, potentially causing connection issues.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The 'delegate_to' should be set to localhost, not lb01.
Why it's wrong here
Delegating to the load balancer host is appropriate.
✗
The 'serial' keyword is incorrectly used as a global variable.
Why it's wrong here
The syntax is correct; serial is a play keyword.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Red Hat often tests the misconception that `serial` only controls parallelism and has no impact on load balancer connection draining, leading candidates to overlook the need for synchronization between disabling hosts and allowing connections to drain.
Trap categories for this question
Keyword trap
The syntax is correct; serial is a play keyword.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When a load balancer backend is marked disabled, it stops accepting new connections but may still serve existing ones until a drain timeout expires (e.g., `haproxy`'s `timeout client` or `nginx`'s `drain` mode). Ansible's `serial: 2` triggers the next batch immediately after the previous batch's tasks complete, without waiting for connection draining. In real-world scenarios, you should add a `pause` or `wait_for` task between batches to allow the load balancer to drain connections, or use a higher `serial` value with a drain delay.
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.
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: The 'serial: 2' setting allows two hosts to be disabled simultaneously, and the load balancer may not have drained connections. — Option B is correct because the `serial: 2` setting causes Ansible to update two hosts at a time. When a host is disabled in the load balancer, existing connections may not be fully drained before the next batch of hosts is updated, allowing traffic to still reach disabled servers. The load balancer needs time to drain active sessions, and a serial batch of 2 can overlap with that drain window.
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: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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