RHCE 9.0 Practice Exam: Installing and Configuring Ansible

📌 Introduction

In this RHCE 9.0 Ansible exam practice guide, we will install and configure Ansible on a control node, ensuring that it is correctly set up to manage remote nodes using an inventory file.

This guide includes:

• How to install Ansible and required dependencies
• How to create a static inventory file for managing remote hosts
• How to configure ansible.cfg to define paths and settings
• How to verify Ansible installation and test connectivity with managed nodes

💡 What You Will Learn

✅ How to install ansible-core and ansible-navigator
✅ How to create a static inventory file to manage nodes
✅ How to configure ansible.cfg for roles and collections
✅ How to verify the installation and check node connectivity

📜 1. Task Requirements

📍 1.1. Problem Statement

1. Install Ansible on the control node (control).
2. Set up an inventory file (inventory) in /home/greg/ansible/ with the following host group structure:
   • node1 belongs to the dev host group.
   • node2 belongs to the test host group.
   • node3 and node4 belong to the prod host group.
   • node5 belongs to the balancers host group.
   • The prod group is a child of the webservers group.
3. Configure the Ansible settings in /home/greg/ansible/ansible.cfg:
   • Set the inventory file to /home/greg/ansible/inventory.
   • Define the roles path as /home/greg/ansible/roles.
   • Define a custom collections path /home/greg/ansible/mycollection.
   • Disable SSH host key checking.
   • Set the default remote user to greg.
   • Enable privilege escalation (become=True).
4. Verify Ansible installation and ensure all managed nodes can be reached via ping.

📜 2. Installing Ansible

📍 2.1. Connect to the Control Node

$ ssh greg@control

📌 Explanation:

• Logs into the control node (control) where Ansible will be installed.

📍 2.2. Install Ansible and Required Packages

$ sudo yum -y install ansible-core ansible-navigator

📌 Explanation:

• ansible-core → Provides the core Ansible engine.
• ansible-navigator → Provides a text-based user interface for running playbooks and managing collections.

📜 3. Setting Up Ansible Configuration

📍 3.1. Create Required Directories

$ mkdir -p /home/greg/ansible/roles
$ mkdir -p /home/greg/ansible/mycollection

📌 Explanation:

• Creates the roles directory for storing Ansible roles.
• Creates the collections directory for custom Ansible collections.

📍 3.2. Generate a Default Ansible Configuration

$ ansible-config init --disabled > /home/greg/ansible/ansible.cfg

📌 Explanation:

• Generates a default Ansible configuration file (ansible.cfg) with all settings disabled for customization.

📍 3.3. Modify the ansible.cfg File

$ vim /home/greg/ansible/ansible.cfg

📌 Add the Following Content:

[defaults]
inventory = /home/greg/ansible/inventory
remote_user = greg
host_key_checking = False
roles_path = /home/greg/ansible/roles:/usr/share/ansible/roles
collections_path = /home/greg/ansible/mycollection:.ansible/collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections

[privilege_escalation]
become=True

📌 Explanation:

• inventory = /home/greg/ansible/inventory → Sets the default inventory file.
• remote_user = greg → Defines greg as the default SSH user.
• host_key_checking = False → Disables SSH host key checking (prevents prompts).
• roles_path → Sets role storage paths.
• collections_path → Defines custom collection storage paths.
• [privilege_escalation] become=True → Enables privilege escalation (sudo access).

📜 4. Creating the Static Inventory File

📍 4.1. Create and Edit the Inventory File

$ vim /home/greg/ansible/inventory

📌 Add the Following Content:

[dev]
node1

[test]
node2

[prod]
node3
node4

[balancers]
node5

[webservers:children]
prod

📌 Explanation:

• Groups nodes into dev, test, prod, and balancers.
• Defines prod as a child group of webservers.

📜 5. Verifying Ansible Installation

📍 5.1. Check Ansible Version

$ ansible --version

📌 Expected Output:

ansible [core 2.14.0]
  config file = /home/greg/ansible/ansible.cfg
  python version = 3.9.10

✅ Ensures that Ansible is installed and configured correctly.

📍 5.2. Verify Inventory File

$ ansible-inventory --graph

📌 Expected Output:

@all:
  |--@balancers:
  |  |--node5
  |--@dev:
  |  |--node1
  |--@prod:
  |  |--node3
  |  |--node4
  |--@test:
  |  |--node2
  |--@webservers:
  |  |--node3
  |  |--node4

✅ Ensures that the inventory file is correctly structured.

📍 5.3. Test Connectivity to Managed Nodes

$ ansible all -m ping

📌 Expected Output:

node1 | SUCCESS => {
    "ping": "pong"
}
node2 | SUCCESS => {
    "ping": "pong"
}
node3 | SUCCESS => {
    "ping": "pong"
}
node4 | SUCCESS => {
    "ping": "pong"
}
node5 | SUCCESS => {
    "ping": "pong"
}

✅ Confirms that all nodes are reachable and correctly configured.

📜 6. Configuring Podman & Collection Verification

📍 6.1. Authenticate with the Podman Registry

$ podman login utility.lab.example.com -u admin -p redhat

📌 Ensures Podman is correctly set up for running Ansible automation inside containers.

📍 6.2. Verify Available Ansible Images

$ ansible-navigator images

📌 Expected Output:
Displays the available container images for Ansible execution environments.

📍 6.3. Verify Installed Collections

$ ansible-navigator collections

📌 Expected Output:
Lists all installed Ansible collections, confirming that the environment is ready for automation.

📜 7. Summary

• Installed Ansible and required dependencies on the control node.
• Created an inventory file to manage multiple nodes.
• Configured ansible.cfg for inventory, roles, and collections.
• Verified Ansible installation and node connectivity.
• Tested Podman authentication and execution environments.

🚀 Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Ansible for RHCE 9.0! 🚀
📢 If you found this guide helpful, share it with your RHCE 9.0 study group! 📢

🔥 Good luck on your RHCE 9.0 exam! 🔥