EX294 Practice Question: Create content collections and execution environments
This EX294 practice question tests your understanding of create content collections and execution environments. 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 an automation engineer at a large enterprise. The company uses Ansible Automation Platform 2.x and has a private Automation Hub server. The security team mandates that all execution environments must be built from a hardened base image that has been approved by the security team. The base image is stored in a private container registry at registry.internal.company.com/hardened-ee:latest. You need to create an execution environment that includes a custom collection 'company.tools' which is hosted on the private Automation Hub. Additionally, the execution environment must include the Python library 'cryptography' version 3.4.8. You have created the following files:
When you run 'ansible-builder build -f execution-environment.yml', the build fails with an error: 'Error: Failed to resolve dependency cryptography==3.4.8'. Based on this scenario, what is the most likely cause of the failure?
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 base image already includes cryptography but not version 3.4.8, causing a version conflict.
Option B is correct because the error 'Failed to resolve dependency cryptography==3.4.8' indicates a version conflict with the Python cryptography library already present in the hardened base image. The base image likely includes a different version of cryptography, and pip cannot satisfy the pinned version constraint due to conflicts with the pre-installed package. Ansible Builder uses pip to install Python dependencies, and if the base image has a conflicting version, the build fails unless the dependency is unpinned or the base image is adjusted.
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 requirements.yml file has an incorrect source URL for the private Automation Hub.
Why it's wrong here
The error is about Python package, not Galaxy collection.
✓
The base image already includes cryptography but not version 3.4.8, causing a version conflict.
Why this is correct
The pinned version may conflict with the base image's package, causing pip to fail.
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 execution-environment.yml is missing the 'system' dependency section for bindep.txt.
Why it's wrong here
Missing system deps would cause a different error about system packages.
✗
The package_manager_path should be /usr/bin/dnf instead of microdnf.
Why it's wrong here
The error is about pip, not the package manager.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume the error is due to a misconfigured Automation Hub URL or package manager path, but the specific pip error 'Failed to resolve dependency' points directly to a Python package version conflict with the base image, not to external repository or system package manager issues.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, ansible-builder uses the base image's Python environment to install dependencies via pip. If the base image already contains a Python package (e.g., cryptography) at a version incompatible with the pinned requirement, pip's dependency resolver will fail because it cannot overwrite or upgrade the package without potentially breaking system-level dependencies. This is a common issue when using hardened base images that pre-install specific library versions for security compliance. In real-world scenarios, you must either remove the conflicting package from the base image, use a different base image, or adjust the version constraint in requirements.txt to match the pre-installed version.
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 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
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.
Create content collections and execution environments — This question tests Create content collections and execution environments — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The base image already includes cryptography but not version 3.4.8, causing a version conflict. — Option B is correct because the error 'Failed to resolve dependency cryptography==3.4.8' indicates a version conflict with the Python cryptography library already present in the hardened base image. The base image likely includes a different version of cryptography, and pip cannot satisfy the pinned version constraint due to conflicts with the pre-installed package. Ansible Builder uses pip to install Python dependencies, and if the base image has a conflicting version, the build fails unless the dependency is unpinned or the base image is adjusted.
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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