This EX294 practice question tests your understanding of manage task execution and roles. 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.
An Ansible playbook needs to ensure a service is enabled and running on boot. Which combination of parameters should be used with the 'systemd' module?
enabled: yes, state: reloaded
Why wrong: Reloaded does not ensure the service is started if it was stopped.
enabled: yes, state: started
This ensures the service is enabled and running.
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.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
enabled: yes, state: started
Option B is correct because the 'systemd' module in Ansible requires both 'enabled: yes' to set the service to start on boot and 'state: started' to ensure the service is currently running. This combination directly fulfills the requirement of ensuring a service is enabled and running on boot.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
enabled: yes, state: reloaded
Why it's wrong here
Reloaded does not ensure the service is started if it was stopped.
enabled: yes, state: started
Why this is correct
This ensures the service is enabled and running.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
enabled: yes, daemon_reload: yes
Why it's wrong here
daemon_reload only reloads systemd, not the service state.
enabled: yes, state: restarted
Why it's wrong here
Restarted would cause unnecessary restarts on each run.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'enabled' with 'state' or assume 'daemon_reload' or 'reloaded' can substitute for starting the service, but only the combination of 'enabled: yes' and 'state: started' fully satisfies the requirement for both boot persistence and current running state.
Detailed technical explanation
The 'systemd' module interacts with systemctl commands under the hood: 'enabled: yes' runs 'systemctl enable <service>' to create symlinks in /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/, while 'state: started' runs 'systemctl start <service>' to activate the unit immediately. A common real-world scenario is ensuring a web server like httpd is both enabled for persistent boot behavior and started immediately after installation, which requires both parameters to avoid a reboot dependency.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
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FAQ
Manage task execution and roles — This question tests Manage task execution and roles — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: enabled: yes, state: started — Option B is correct because the 'systemd' module in Ansible requires both 'enabled: yes' to set the service to start on boot and 'state: started' to ensure the service is currently running. This combination directly fulfills the requirement of ensuring a service is enabled and running on boot.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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