Red Hat Certified Ansible (EX294-style) Practice Exam

What the Red Hat Certified Ansible (EX294-style) exam covers

• Ansible Fundamentals136 questions
• Inventory139 questions
• Playbooks and Tasks179 questions
• Variables and Templates139 questions
• Roles and Reuse119 questions

Free Red Hat Certified Ansible (EX294-style) sample questions

A sample of 10 questions with answers and explanations. Sign up free to practice all 712.

1. Question 1Ansible Fundamentals

   How does Ansible connect to managed Linux nodes by default (agentless)?

   • AOver SSHCorrect
   • BBy installing a permanent agent on each node
   • CVia DNS only
   • DVia DHCP
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   Agentless architecture means no persistent software needs to be installed on managed nodes, using SSH/WinRM instead. SSH provides encrypted, authenticated communication without requiring pre-installed software on target nodes. This approach significantly reduces operational overhead and security surface area compared to agent-based solutions.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BBy installing a permanent agent on each node is incorrect because Agent-based approaches contradict Ansible's agentless architecture that uses SSH/WinRM.
   • CVia DNS only is incorrect because DNS is a name resolution service and does not provide the automation or management capabilities.
   • DVia DHCP is incorrect because DHCP provides dynamic IP assignment and has no relation to Ansible automation.
2. Question 2Playbooks and Tasks

   You want a costly setup task to run only once total (not once per host) to save provider API calls. Which keyword achieves this?

   • Apoll: 0
   • Bloop on all hosts
   • Crun_once: true (optionally with delegate_to)Correct
   • Dserial: 0
   ✓ Correct answer: C

   . This capability is essential for Ansible's agentless automation model. Understanding these mechanisms ensures effective use of Ansible for infrastructure management.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • Apoll: 0 is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • Bloop on all hosts is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • Dserial: 0 is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
3. Question 3Roles and Reuse

   A role needs another role to run first as a hard prerequisite every time it is used. Which is the most appropriate way to express this dependency?

   • ATell users to remember to add it manually in every playbook
   • Bdeclare it in meta/main.yml dependencies so the prerequisite role runs before the current role's tasksCorrect
   • CCopy the prerequisite's tasks into this role
   • DUse ignore_errors and hope the prerequisite already ran
   ✓ Correct answer: B

   . This capability is essential for Ansible's agentless automation model. Understanding these mechanisms ensures effective use of Ansible for infrastructure management.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • ATell users to remember to add it manually in every playbook is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • CCopy the prerequisite's tasks into this role is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • DUse ignore_errors and hope the prerequisite already ran is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
4. Question 4Inventory

   You are consolidating two legacy inventories during a migration and need group_vars that apply to a parent group's children. Which inventory feature supports this?

   • AA DNS CNAME chain
   • BA DHCP super-scope
   • CA VLAN trunk
   • DGroup hierarchies using ':children' so child groups inherit parent group_varsCorrect
   ✓ Correct answer: D

   The inventory file defines managed hosts, groups, and variables that Ansible operates on. Inventory organization enables logical grouping of hosts with shared variables and targeted execution patterns. This structure scales from small deployments to large multi-environment infrastructures.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • AA DNS CNAME chain is incorrect because DNS is a name resolution service and does not provide the automation or management capabilities.
   • BA DHCP super-scope is incorrect because DHCP provides dynamic IP assignment and has no relation to Ansible automation.
   • CA VLAN trunk is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
5. Question 5Playbooks and Tasks

   Which module idempotently manages sudoers-style privilege rules safely with validation?

   • Aansible.builtin.lineinfile or copy with a validate command (e.g., visudo -cf) to a file in /etc/sudoers.dCorrect
   • BAnsible.builtin.ping with sudo
   • Cansible.builtin.debug appending text
   • Dansible.builtin.set_fact writing to disk
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   Idempotency ensures running playbooks multiple times reaches the desired state without making unnecessary changes. This ensures safe, repeatable automation where re-running playbooks against correctly-configured systems produces no unwanted changes. The property enables drift correction and makes playbooks suitable for regular maintenance cycles.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • Bansible.builtin.ping with sudo is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • Cansible.builtin.debug appending text is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • Dansible.builtin.set_fact writing to disk is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
6. Question 6Ansible Fundamentals

   During an ad-hoc run, one host returns '"failed": true, "rc": 2, "msg": "..."'. Where does the non-zero 'rc' originate?

   • AIt is the exit status returned by the program the command/shell module executed on the remote hostCorrect
   • BIt is an Ansible internal code indicating an SSH negotiation error
   • CIt is the number of hosts that failed in the batch
   • DIt is the retry count remaining before Ansible gives up
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   It is the exit status returned by the program the command/shell module executed on the remote host enables quick, one-time commands against target hosts without writing full playbooks. Ad-hoc commands are useful for rapid troubleshooting and emergency operations.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • BIt is an Ansible internal code indicating an SSH negotiation error is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • CIt is the number of hosts that failed in the batch is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • DIt is the retry count remaining before Ansible gives up is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
7. Question 7InventorySelect all that apply

   Which TWO statements about variable precedence among inventory sources are correct? (Choose TWO)

   • Ainventory host_vars (host-specific) outrank inventory group_vars (group-specific)Correct
   • Bvariables set for a child group outrank variables of its parent group when both define the same keyCorrect
   • Cgroup_vars for the implicit 'all' group outrank a specific group's vars
   • Dhost facts gathered at runtime cannot be overridden by any variable
   ✓ Correct answer: A, B

   variables set for a child group outrank variables of its parent group when both define the same key Both inventory host_vars (host-specific) outrank inventory group_vars (group-specific) and variables set for a child group outrank variables of its parent group when both define the same key are essential components within the Inventory domain. These features work together to provide comprehensive functionality required for effective platform implementation. Understanding how these capabilities integrate is critical for certification-level knowledge.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • Cgroup_vars for the implicit 'all' group outrank a specific group's vars is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • Dhost facts gathered at runtime cannot be overridden by any variable is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
8. Question 8Playbooks and TasksSelect all that apply

   Which TWO modules are idempotent, purpose-built ways to manage content inside an existing file, compared with raw shell editing? (Choose TWO)

   • Aansible.builtin.lineinfileCorrect
   • Bansible.builtin.blockinfileCorrect
   • Cansible.builtin.shell with sed
   • Dansible.builtin.command with echo append
   ✓ Correct answer: A, B

   ansible.builtin.blockinfile Both ansible.builtin.lineinfile and ansible.builtin.blockinfile are essential components within the Playbooks and Tasks domain. These features work together to provide comprehensive functionality required for effective platform implementation. Understanding how these capabilities integrate is critical for certification-level knowledge.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • Cansible.builtin.shell with sed is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • Dansible.builtin.command with echo append is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
9. Question 9Variables and Templates

   A registered result 'svc' from the service module is used as 'when: svc.state == "started"', but the play fails on hosts where the prior task was skipped. What is the safest way to guard the conditional?

   • AWhen: svc is defined and svc.state == 'started'Correct
   • BWhen: svc.state == 'started' or svc is skipped
   • CWhen: svc != ''
   • DWhen: not svc is undefined
   ✓ Correct answer: A

   Modules are reusable Ansible components that perform specific tasks like package management, service control, or file operations. Modules are purpose-built components that abstract away implementation details and provide idempotent interfaces. They enable consistent task execution across different operating systems.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • Bwhen: svc.state == 'started' or svc is skipped is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • Cwhen: svc != '' is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
   • Dwhen: not svc is undefined is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
10. Question 10Roles and Reuse

    A teammate placed custom module 'check_widget.py' so a role can ship its own module alongside its tasks. Which standard role subdirectory should hold that custom module so the role's tasks can call it without extra configuration?

    • Alibrary/Correct
    • Bfiles/
    • Ctemplates/
    • Dmodule_defaults/
    ✓ Correct answer: A

    Modules are reusable Ansible components that perform specific tasks like package management, service control, or file operations. Modules are purpose-built components that abstract away implementation details and provide idempotent interfaces. They enable consistent task execution across different operating systems.

    Why the other options are wrong

    • Bfiles/ is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
    • Ctemplates/ is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.
    • Dmodule_defaults/ is incorrect because this does not provide the specific technical capability required by the question.

Red Hat Certified Ansible (EX294-style) practice exam FAQ