[2023] Top 100+ Ansible Interview Questions and Answers

Ansible has emerged as a powerful automation tool in the realm of IT operations and DevOps. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned professional, preparing for an Ansible interview requires a solid grasp of its concepts and applications. Here's a comprehensive list of 100 Ansible interview questions along with detailed answers to help you ace your interview:

1. What is Ansible?

Ansible is an open-source automation tool that simplifies IT tasks such as configuration management, application deployment, and task orchestration.

2. Explain the difference between Ansible and other configuration management tools.

Ansible uses a declarative language and doesn't require agents, making it easier to learn and more agentless than other tools like Puppet or Chef.

3. How does Ansible work?

Ansible operates by connecting to remote nodes over SSH and executing tasks defined in YAML-based playbooks.

4. What is a Playbook in Ansible?

A playbook is a YAML file containing a series of tasks that define the desired state of a system.

5. How can you install Ansible?

Ansible can be installed using package managers like YUM or APT, or using Python's pip package manager.

6. What is an Ansible Role?

An Ansible Role is a way to organize tasks, variables, and files into reusable components for playbooks.

7. How can you target specific hosts in Ansible?

You can specify hosts using patterns like individual hostnames, IP addresses, or group names in Ansible's inventory file.

8. Explain the concept of Idempotence in Ansible.

Idempotence ensures that running the same Ansible task multiple times will have the same result, regardless of the initial state.

9. What is a Handler in Ansible?

Handlers are tasks that are only executed if a change is made, and they are triggered using the notify keyword.

10. How can you use Ansible to manage configurations on multiple servers simultaneously?

Ansible's parallel execution and agentless architecture allow you to manage configurations on multiple servers concurrently.

11. What is the Ansible Galaxy?

Ansible Galaxy is a platform to share and discover Ansible roles contributed by the community.

12. Explain Dynamic Inventory in Ansible.

Dynamic Inventory allows Ansible to pull inventory information from an external source, such as cloud providers or databases.

13. How can you manage sensitive data like passwords in Ansible playbooks?

Use Ansible Vault to encrypt sensitive data, ensuring it remains secure when stored in version control systems.

14. Describe Ansible Facts.

Facts are system information collected by Ansible about remote hosts, such as hardware details, IP addresses, and OS versions.

15. What is the purpose of Ansible Modules?

Modules are reusable scripts that Ansible uses to perform specific tasks, like managing packages or creating files.

16. How do you handle errors or failures in Ansible playbooks?

Use the failed_when directive to specify conditions under which a task should be considered failed.

17. Explain the use of Ansible Templates.

Templates allow you to generate configuration files dynamically using variables and conditionals.

18. What is Ansible Tower?

Ansible Tower is a web-based interface that provides automation, visualizations, and management for Ansible tasks.

19. How can you schedule Ansible playbooks using Ansible Tower?

Ansible Tower allows you to create schedules and workflows to automate playbook execution at specified intervals.

20. How do you integrate Ansible with version control systems like Git?

By keeping Ansible playbooks in version control, you can track changes, collaborate, and ensure reproducibility.

21. What are Ansible Facts and how are they useful?

Ansible Facts are variables that contain system information from remote hosts, which can be used for conditionals, reporting, and configuring playbooks.

22. How can you limit the execution of a task to a specific set of hosts in a playbook?

Use the hosts directive within a task to define the targeted hosts for that task.

23. Explain Ansible Playbook Handlers.

Handlers are tasks in Ansible playbooks that are only executed when notified by another task. They're often used for tasks like service restarts.

24. What is the difference between Ansible Playbooks and Roles?

Playbooks are files containing tasks, while Roles are a directory structure containing multiple playbooks, tasks, and variables, organized for reusability.

25. How can you manage configuration files with variable content using Ansible?

Use Ansible's template module to generate configuration files from templates, injecting variable values.

26. Explain Ansible Tower's role-based access control (RBAC).

RBAC in Ansible Tower allows administrators to define permissions and restrict access to certain functionalities based on user roles.

27. What are Ansible Tags and how can they be used in playbooks?

Tags in Ansible allow you to selectively run specific tasks within a playbook by specifying the tags during playbook execution.

28. How do you ensure that sensitive data like passwords is not stored in plain text in Ansible playbooks?

Use Ansible Vault to encrypt sensitive data, ensuring it's secure both at rest and during execution.

29. What is the purpose of Ansible Playbook Callbacks?

Playbook Callbacks are scripts that allow you to customize the output and behavior of Ansible playbooks.

30. Explain the concept of Ansible Galaxy Roles.

Ansible Galaxy Roles are pre-packaged Ansible components that encapsulate playbooks, templates, and variables for specific tasks.

31. How does Ansible handle differences between different operating systems and distributions?

Ansible uses conditionals and variables to manage differences between systems, allowing you to write cross-platform playbooks.

32. What is Ansible Tower Survey?

Ansible Tower Surveys enable administrators to prompt users for input when launching playbooks, enhancing automation's flexibility.

33. Explain Ansible Tower's integration with source control systems like Git.

Ansible Tower can pull playbooks directly from source control repositories, allowing for versioning and easier updates.

34. How does Ansible manage package installations on different Linux distributions?

Ansible uses OS-specific package managers like YUM and APT to ensure correct package installation based on the target system.

35. What is Ansible's when statement used for?

The when statement in Ansible allows you to apply conditionals to tasks, ensuring they run only under specific circumstances.

36. How can you iterate over a list of items in Ansible playbooks?

Use loops like with_items or loop to iterate over lists, executing tasks for each item.

37. What is Ansible's delegate_to directive used for?

The delegate_to directive allows you to delegate a task to a different host or localhost within a playbook.

38. How do you set up passwordless authentication for Ansible?

Use SSH key pairs to enable passwordless authentication between the control node and managed nodes.

39. Explain Ansible Vault and how it secures sensitive data.

Ansible Vault encrypts sensitive data using a password or key, ensuring it remains secure both at rest and during execution.

40. How can you override variable values in Ansible playbooks?

Use command-line options, inventory files, or prompt users during playbook execution to override variable values.

41. How can you manage secrets and sensitive data without using Ansible Vault?

You can use external secret management tools like HashiCorp Vault or Kubernetes Secrets and reference those secrets in your Ansible playbooks.

42. Explain Ansible's become and become_user directives.

The become directive allows you to escalate privileges to perform tasks as a different user, and become_user specifies the user to become.

43. What is Ansible Tower's Survey Password type?

The Survey Password type in Ansible Tower enables users to input sensitive information securely when launching playbooks.

44. How does Ansible support Windows systems for automation tasks?

Ansible uses the PowerShell and WinRM modules to manage and automate Windows systems.

45. Describe Ansible Tower's Rest API and its applications.

Ansible Tower's REST API allows you to programmatically interact with Tower to manage inventories, projects, jobs, and more.

46. Explain how Ansible's notify works in playbook tasks.

The notify directive triggers a handler, ensuring that tasks dependent on that handler are only executed if the associated task changes.

47. How can you run Ansible tasks on a specific subset of hosts using patterns?

Use patterns in the ansible-playbook command to specify which hosts or groups should be targeted for playbook execution.

48. What is Ansible's Dry Run mode, and how can it be helpful?

Dry Run mode allows you to test playbooks without making any actual changes, providing insights into what actions would be taken.

49. Explain Ansible's register directive and its use cases.

The register directive captures the output of a task and stores it in a variable, which can then be used in subsequent tasks.

50. How can you manage configuration drift using Ansible?

Ansible's idempotent nature helps in managing configuration drift by ensuring systems converge to the desired state defined in playbooks.

51. Describe Ansible's ansible_ssh_common_args configuration parameter.

ansible_ssh_common_args allows you to set common SSH options for all hosts, simplifying SSH configuration management.

52. How can you manage file permissions and ownership using Ansible?

Ansible provides modules like file and acl to manage file permissions, ownership, and access control lists on remote hosts.

53. Explain the use of the Ansible group_by module.

The group_by module allows you to dynamically create Ansible groups based on the values of specific variables.

54. How can you ensure Ansible tasks are executed in a specific order?

Use the serial directive in playbooks to control the number of hosts to be managed concurrently, enforcing task order.

55. What is Ansible Tower's Inventory Sync feature?

Inventory Sync in Ansible Tower keeps inventory information up to date by periodically syncing it with external sources.

56. Describe Ansible's set_fact module and its use cases.

The set_fact module allows you to set new variables based on the result of an expression or a module's output.

57. Explain Ansible Tower's Workflow feature and its benefits.

Workflows in Ansible Tower allow you to define complex job orchestration, enabling the execution of multiple playbooks and jobs in sequence.

58. How does Ansible ensure the security of sensitive data like passwords during playbook execution?

Ansible encrypts sensitive data in playbooks using Ansible Vault or external secrets management tools to prevent exposure.

59. What is Ansible's changed_when directive used for?

The changed_when directive modifies how Ansible determines if a task has made changes, allowing for customized change detection.

60. How can you enforce certain tasks to run only once per playbook execution?

Use the run_once directive on tasks to ensure they are executed only on one host, regardless of how many hosts are targeted.

61. How can you manage dynamic variable values based on conditions in Ansible?

Use Ansible's vars directive along with conditional statements to dynamically set variable values based on specific conditions.

62. Explain Ansible Tower's Insights Integration and its advantages.

Ansible Tower's Insights Integration provides automated security and compliance checks, offering insights into infrastructure health.

63. What is Ansible's delegate_facts directive used for?

The delegate_facts directive allows you to collect facts from one host and delegate them to another host for task execution.

64. How can you pass variables to an Ansible playbook using the --extra-vars option?

Use the --extra-vars option followed by a JSON or YAML string to pass extra variables to an Ansible playbook.

65. Explain Ansible Tower's Survey Choice type.

The Survey Choice type in Ansible Tower enables users to select options from a predefined list when launching playbooks.

66. How does Ansible handle network devices and appliances for automation tasks?

Ansible uses network modules to manage network devices, enabling the automation of network configurations and operations.

67. Describe Ansible's wait_for module and its applications.

The wait_for module allows you to wait for a certain condition, such as a port becoming available, before proceeding with tasks.

68. What is Ansible Tower's Credential type and its purpose?

Credential types in Ansible Tower store authentication information, such as usernames and passwords, securely for use in playbooks.

69. How can you control the verbosity of Ansible output during playbook execution?

Use the -v flag with different levels (-vv, -vvv) to increase verbosity and get more detailed output during playbook execution.

70. Explain how Ansible supports Docker container management.

Ansible provides Docker modules to create, manage, and orchestrate Docker containers and images as part of automation tasks.

71. What is Ansible's first_found lookup plugin used for?

The first_found lookup plugin allows you to retrieve the value of the first existing file in a list of files.

72. How can you enable Ansible debugging mode to troubleshoot issues?

Use the -D flag to enable debugging mode, which provides detailed information about playbook execution and module interactions.

73. Explain Ansible's wait_for_connection module.

The wait_for_connection module is often used at the beginning of playbooks to ensure managed nodes are reachable before tasks are executed.

74. What is Ansible Tower's Scaling feature?

Ansible Tower's Scaling feature enables you to allocate additional resources to run multiple jobs concurrently and handle increased workload.

75. How can you execute only specific tasks from a playbook using tags?

Use the --tags flag with the ansible-playbook command to execute only the tasks with specified tags within the playbook.

76. Explain Ansible's assert module and its use cases.

The assert module allows you to test conditions and halt playbook execution if the condition is not met, aiding in validation.

77. What is Ansible Tower's Credential Rotation feature?

Credential Rotation in Ansible Tower ensures the periodic update of stored credentials to enhance security.

78. How can you skip tasks that don't require changes in Ansible?

Use the --skip-tags flag with the ansible-playbook command to skip tasks with specified tags that aren't relevant.

79. Describe Ansible's uri module and its applications.

The uri module allows you to send HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP requests and retrieve data, making it useful for interacting with web APIs.

80. How does Ansible support cloud automation for platforms like AWS and Azure?

Ansible provides cloud modules that allow you to automate the provisioning and management of cloud resources on platforms like AWS and Azure.

81. What is Ansible Tower's Job Template and how does it streamline operations?

An Ansible Tower Job Template combines playbooks, inventories, and credentials, allowing for standardized and repeatable job execution.

82. How can you ensure Ansible tasks are executed in a specific order across multiple hosts?

Use the serial directive along with delegate_to to control the sequence of tasks across multiple hosts.

83. Explain Ansible Tower's Rest API Authentication methods.

Ansible Tower's REST API supports token-based authentication using personal access tokens or OAuth 2.0 tokens for secure API interactions.

84. What is Ansible's stat module used for?

The stat module allows you to gather facts about files on managed nodes, such as their size, permissions, and existence.

85. How can you run Ansible playbooks in a test environment without affecting production systems?

Use Ansible's --check flag to simulate playbook execution and identify changes without actually applying them to production systems.

86. Describe Ansible Tower's Integration with External Logging and its benefits.

Ansible Tower can integrate with external logging systems to centralize and manage logs, providing better visibility and audit trails.

87. How does Ansible handle errors and retries in playbooks?

Ansible provides error handling mechanisms like failed_when, ignore_errors, and until to manage errors and retries in playbooks.

88. What is Ansible Tower's Inventory Source and how does it automate inventory management?

Ansible Tower's Inventory Source pulls inventory data dynamically from external sources, keeping the inventory up to date automatically.

89. Explain how Ansible can be used for application deployment.

Ansible can automate the deployment of applications by defining playbooks that install required packages, configure settings, and start services.

90. How does Ansible Tower's Workflow Approvals feature work?

Workflow Approvals in Ansible Tower allow administrators to define approval processes before executing workflows, enhancing governance.

91. Describe Ansible's wait_for module and its applications in network automation.

The wait_for module can be used in network automation to ensure network devices are ready for configuration changes before executing tasks.

92. How can you install specific versions of packages using Ansible?

Use the yum or apt module with the name and enforce_version parameters to install specific versions of packages.

93. Explain Ansible Tower's Credential Types and their uses.

Credential Types in Ansible Tower define the type of credentials required for different automation tasks, such as SSH keys or AWS credentials.

94. What is the difference between Ansible Tower and Ansible AWX?

Ansible AWX is the open-source version of Ansible Tower, providing similar features for automation and orchestration.

95. How can you set up Ansible Tower's Smart Inventory for dynamic inventory management?

Use Ansible Tower's Smart Inventory feature to dynamically create groups and hosts based on gathered facts from managed nodes.

96. Describe Ansible's command module and its use cases.

The command module allows you to run shell commands on remote hosts, making it useful for executing arbitrary commands during playbooks.

97. How does Ansible ensure the security of communication between the control node and managed nodes?

Ansible uses SSH and secure communication protocols to ensure encrypted and secure communication between the control node and managed nodes.

98. Explain Ansible Tower's Survey Variable type.

The Survey Variable type in Ansible Tower allows users to input custom values when launching playbooks, providing flexibility in execution.

99. What is Ansible's with_dict loop and how can it be used?

The with_dict loop in Ansible allows you to iterate over dictionaries, executing tasks for each key-value pair in the dictionary

100. How can you integrate Ansible with Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines?
Integrate Ansible playbooks into CI/CD pipelines to automate deployment, configuration, and provisioning as part of the software delivery process.