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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
- name: Rolling update
hosts: webservers
serial: 2
max_fail_percentage: 0
tasks:
- name: update app
yum:
name: httpd
state: latest
notify: restart httpd
There are 5 hosts in the webservers group. All updates succeed on the first batch of 2 hosts. On the second batch, one host fails. What is the result?
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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The play aborts due to max_fail_percentage being exceeded.
The play defines a rolling update with a batch size of 2 and a max_fail_percentage of 20%. With 5 hosts total, 20% of 5 is 1, so only 1 failure is allowed. When the second batch has 1 failure, the cumulative failure count reaches 1, which equals the threshold, causing the play to abort. This is why option D is correct.
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 play retries the failed host automatically.
Why it's wrong here
No retry logic is configured; max_fail_percentage does not trigger retries.
✗
The play marks the host as failed and continues with the next batch.
Why it's wrong here
Continuing would violate max_fail_percentage: 0.
✗
The play continues with the remaining 1 host in the third batch.
Why it's wrong here
max_fail_percentage: 0 aborts on any failure.
✓
The play aborts due to max_fail_percentage being exceeded.
Why this is correct
With max_fail_percentage: 0, any failure causes the play to abort.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The play aborts immediately after the failure.
Why it's wrong here
Failure rate is 1 out of 2 in batch (50%), which exceeds 0%; play aborts.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Red Hat often tests the misconception that max_fail_percentage applies per batch rather than cumulatively across all hosts, leading candidates to incorrectly choose options that suggest the play continues with remaining batches.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Ansible's rolling update logic uses the 'serial' keyword to control batch size and 'max_fail_percentage' to set a threshold for acceptable failures. The failure count is cumulative across all batches; after each batch completes, Ansible calculates the percentage of failed hosts out of the total inventory. If the percentage equals or exceeds max_fail_percentage, the play aborts. A subtle behavior is that the default value for max_fail_percentage is 0, meaning any failure aborts the play unless explicitly overridden. In real-world scenarios, this prevents cascading failures in large deployments where a single bad batch could corrupt the entire fleet.
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 play aborts due to max_fail_percentage being exceeded. — The play defines a rolling update with a batch size of 2 and a max_fail_percentage of 20%. With 5 hosts total, 20% of 5 is 1, so only 1 failure is allowed. When the second batch has 1 failure, the cumulative failure count reaches 1, which equals the threshold, causing the play to abort. This is why option D is correct.
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". 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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Question Discussion
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