Automating with Ansible Practice Exam

Automating with Ansible Practice Exam

About Automating with Ansible Exam

The Automating with Ansible exam evaluates your knowledge and skills in managing and automating IT infrastructure using Ansible. This exam focuses on real-world scenarios to ensure candidates can effectively design, implement, and maintain automation workflows. It assesses your ability to use Ansible's features and capabilities for configuration management, task automation, and orchestration in various IT environments.

Skills Required

To succeed in the Automating with Ansible exam, candidates need a strong foundation in automation concepts and practical knowledge of Ansible's features. The essential skills required are:

• Understanding of Automation and Configuration Management
• Proficiency in Ansible Basics
• Writing efficient, reusable Ansible playbooks.
• Managing complex workflows with tasks, loops, and conditionals.
• Structuring roles for modular and scalable automation.
• Creating and managing static inventories.
• Configuring dynamic inventories for flexible resource management.
• Using inventory groups for targeted automation.
• Using commonly used modules for system tasks (e.g., file, package, and service management).
• Writing custom modules when necessary.
• Using Ansible Vault to secure sensitive data.
• Implementing error handling and debugging playbooks.
• Configuring Ansible Tower or AWX for centralized automation management.
• Connecting Ansible with external tools like Jenkins, Docker, or Kubernetes.
• Automating hybrid cloud and multi-environment deployments.
• Enforcing compliance using automation policies.
• Ensuring secure connections and data handling.
• Managing user permissions and access controls.
• Debugging failed tasks and identifying errors.
• Improving the performance of playbooks and automation workflows.
• Familiarity with automating repetitive tasks in diverse IT environments.

Who should take the Exam?

The Automating with Ansible exam is ideal for IT professionals who want to demonstrate their expertise in automation and configuration management. This certification is particularly suited for:

• Individuals managing and maintaining IT infrastructure.
• Professionals aiming to automate repetitive administrative tasks.
• Engineers focusing on CI/CD pipelines and automation strategies.
• Those integrating Ansible with DevOps tools like Jenkins, Docker, or Kubernetes.
• Professionals working in hybrid or multi-cloud environments.
• Individuals responsible for streamlining IT processes through automation.
• Professionals focusing on configuration management and orchestration.
• Teams looking to improve efficiency by leveraging automation.
• Professionals managing large-scale environments and needing centralized control.
• Network Engineers
• Consultants and IT Architects
• Beginners in the IT field who have a foundational knowledge of Ansible and want to specialize in automation.

Course Outline

The Automating with Ansible course covers the following - 

Domain 1 - Introduction

• Overview of Ansible
• Comparison: Ansible Core vs. Ansible Community
• Understanding How Ansible Works

Domain 2 - Environment Setup

• Initializing Nodes/Servers for Ansible Configuration
• Setting Up Ansible-Controller Node on CentOS 9 Using Windows WSL2
• Installing Ansible-Core on CentOS 9 with Python 3.9.x
• Configuring Ansible for Managed Nodes
• Why Ansible Is an Agentless Tool
• Creating a User on the Controller Node and Switching to ansadmin User
• An Overview of Simple Ansible Architecture
• Retrieving the Latest File or Directory from the Current Location

Domain 3 - Ad-Hoc Commands with Modules

• Introduction to Ansible Ad-Hoc Commands and Modules
• Running Unix/Linux Commands with Ansible Ad-Hoc Commands
• Handling Arguments in Ad-Hoc Commands with Quotations
• How Ansible Executes Ad-Hoc Commands

Domain 4 - Working with Files Using Ad-Hoc Commands

• File Modules Overview: file, copy, lineinfile, blockinfile, etc.
• Creating Files on Managed Nodes Using the File Module
• Using the stat Module for File Information
• Copying Files to Managed Nodes with the copy Module
• Managing Lines in Files with the lineinfile Module
• Downloading Files from Managed Nodes Using the fetch Module

Domain 5 - Installing Packages on Various OS Families

• Using yum and apt Modules to Install Packages

Domain 6 - Executing Ad-Hoc Commands Locally

• Running Ansible Ad-Hoc Commands on the Ansible Controller Node

Domain 7 - Understanding Ad-Hoc Command Outputs

• Explaining Why Ansible Operations Are Idempotent

Domain 8 - Executing Commands with Credentials

• Running Ad-Hoc Commands Using Real-Time User Credentials

Domain 9 - Ansible Inventory Files

• Managing Inventory Files for Multiple Environments
• Types of Inventory Files

Domain 10 - Ansible Configuration Files

• Locations and Priorities of Configuration Files

Domain 11 - Using Shell Scripts with Ansible Commands

• Integrating Ansible Ad-Hoc Commands into Shell Scripts

Domain 12 - Ansible Facts

• Gathering Default Facts with the setup Module
• Creating Custom Facts Based on Specific Requirements

Domain 13 - Introduction to Playbooks

• What Are Playbooks and Their Purpose?
• Using Visual Studio Code to Develop Playbooks
• Writing Your First Playbook
• Executing Playbooks Locally on the Controller Node
• Verifying Playbook Syntax

Domain 14 - Playbook Development Basics

• Introduction to Custom Variables
• Variable Data Types and YAML Structures
• Reading Variables from Files
• Passing Variables via Command Line
• Using vars_prompt Section in Playbooks
• Working with host_vars and group_vars
• Debugging with the debug Module

Domain 15 -  Registered and Set-Fact Variables

• Capturing Task Output with Register Variables
• Defining Variables Dynamically with Set-Fact

Domain 16 - Variable Operations

• Types of Operators: Arithmetic, Comparison, Membership, Logical, and Test
• Performing Operations on Lists, Strings, and Dictionaries
• Using Filters and Methods for Data Manipulation

Domain 17 - Conditional Statements

• Applying Conditions with the when Statement
• Writing In-Line Conditional Statements

Domain 18 - Playbook Practice Tasks

• Building an Arithmetic Calculator
• Writing Playbooks to Retrieve Python or Java Versions
• Executing General Commands

Domain 19 - Working with Facts in Playbooks

• Using Default Facts and service_facts Module
• Managing Inventory Hostnames and hostvars

Domain 20 - Privilege Escalation

• Understanding become, become_user, and become_method

Domain 21 - Task Reusability

• Installing Packages Based on OS Families
• Reusing Tasks with import_tasks and include_tasks

Domain 22 - Handlers

• Using Handlers and Their Execution Conditions

Domain 23 - Using Tags

• Defining and Executing Tagged Tasks

Domain 24 - Error Handling

• Handling Errors with block, rescue, and Task Grouping

Domain 25 - Logging in Ansible

• Capturing Command and Playbook Outputs in Log Files

Domain 26 - Advanced Options

• Using remote_src, delegate_to, and run_once in Playbooks
• Setting Environment Variables (e.g., JAVA_HOME) in Playbooks

Domain 27 - Loops in Playbooks

• Using Loops for Lists and Dictionaries
• Installing Multiple Packages with Loops

Domain 28 - Templates

• Creating Templates with Variables, Conditions, and Loops

Domain 29 - Plugins

• Understanding Plugins and Listing Available Ones

Domain 30 - Third-Party Collections

• Installing and Using Community Modules and Collections

Domain 31 - Dynamic Inventory with Plugins

• Configuring AWS Dynamic Inventory Plugin

Domain 32 - Roles

• Structuring and Using Ansible Roles

Domain 33 - Ansible Vault

• Encrypting Secrets with Ansible Vault

Domain 34 - Using the Raw Module

• Working with Unmanaged Nodes Using the Raw Module