The Red Hat Certified Engineer Specialist in Advanced Automation: Ansible Best Practices exam (EX447) is a performance-based test of your knowledge and skill in managing multiple systems using Red Hat® Ansible® Engine and Red Hat Ansible Tower.

By passing this exam, you become a Red Hat Certified Specialist in Advanced Automation: Ansible Best Practices, which also counts toward becoming a Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA®).

This exam is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0, Red Hat Ansible 2.8, and Red Hat Ansible Tower 3.5.

The Red Hat Certified Specialist in Advanced Automation: Ansible Best Practices exam will be of interest to anyone seeking to demonstrate a broader knowledge and understanding of Ansible best practices, applying Ansible in larger and more complex projects, and using Ansible Tower, including those in these roles:

• Experienced Linux system administrators
• DevOps engineers
• Cloud administrators
• Other IT professionals

• Take Advanced Automation: Ansible Best Practices (DO447), or possess comparable work experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux®, Ansible, and Ansible Tower
• Take Red Hat System Administration III: Linux Automation (RH294), or possess comparable work experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Ansible
• Review the exam objectives

You should be able to accomplish the following grouped tasks without assistance:

• Understand and use Git
  • Clone a Git repository
  • Update, modify and create files in a Git repository
  • Add those modified files back into the Git repository
• Manage inventory variables
  • Structure host and group variables using multiple files per host or group
  • Use special variables to override the host, port, or remote user Ansible uses for a specific host
  • Set up directories containing multiple host variable files for some of your managed hosts
  • Override the name used in the inventory file with a different name or IP address
• Manage task execution
  • Control privilege execution
  • Run selected tasks
• Transform data with filters and plugins
  • Populate variables with data from external sources using lookup plugins
  • Use lookup and query functions to template data from external sources into playbooks and deployed template files
  • Implement loops using structures other than simple lists using lookup plugins and filters
  • Inspect, validate, and manipulate variables containing networking information with filters
• Delegate tasks
  • Run a task for a managed host on a different host, then control whether facts gathered by that task are delegated to the managed host or the other host
• Install Ansible Tower
  • Perform basic configuration of Ansible Tower after configuration
• Manage access for Ansible Tower
  • Create Ansible Tower users and teams and make associations of one to the other
• Manage inventories and credentials
  • Manage advanced inventories
  • Create a dynamic inventory from an identity management server or a database server
  • Create machine credentials to access inventory hosts
  • Create a source control credential
• Manage projects
  • Create a job template
• Manage job workflows
  • Create a job workflow template
• Work with the Ansible Tower API
  • Write an API scriptlet to launch a job
• Back up Ansible Tower
  • Back up an instance of Ansible Tower

As with all Red Hat performance-based exams, configurations must persist after reboot without intervention.

Red Hat encourages you to consider taking Advanced Automation: Ansible Best Practices (DO447) to help prepare for the exam.

Attendance in these classes is not required; students can choose to take just the exam.

While attending Red Hat classes can be an important part of your preparation, attending class does not guarantee success on the exam. Previous experience, practice, and native aptitude are also important determinants of success.

Many books and other resources on system administration for Red Hat products are available. Red Hat does not endorse any of these materials as preparation guides for exams. Nevertheless, you may find additional reading helpful to deepen your understanding.

Exam format

This hands-on, practical exam requires you to undertake real-world tasks. You will be provided with one or more virtual systems and required to perform tasks similar to those you would perform on the job. Internet access is not provided during the exam, and you are not permitted to bring any hard copy or electronic documentation into the exam. This prohibition includes notes, books, or any other materials. For most exams, the documentation that ships with the product is available during the exam.

Scores and reporting

Official scores for exams come exclusively from Red Hat Certification Central. Red Hat does not authorize examiners or training partners to report results to candidates directly. Scores on the exam are usually reported within 3 U.S. business days.

Exam results are reported as total scores. Red Hat does not report performance on individual items, nor will it provide additional information upon request.

This course is intended to develop the skills needed to leverage and extend the use of an existing Ansible infrastructure across business units in large enterprise environments.  These skills are suitable for organizations seeking to increase cost savings and operational efficiency through wider adoption of Ansible in their enterprise.

As a result of taking this course, you should be able to use Red Hat Ansible Tower to centrally manage your Red Hat Ansible Automation projects in a way that scales to large teams and complex enterprise installations. You should be able to demonstrate these skills:

• Follow recommended practices to write and manage Ansible Automation.
• Use Git to effectively manage playbooks and inventories as part of a DevOps workflow.
• Control and optimize the performance of task execution by Ansible Playbooks.
• Use filters and plugins to populate, manipulate, and manage data used by Ansible Playbooks.
• Delegate tasks for one managed host to other hosts and manage rolling updates with Ansible.
• Deploy and use Red Hat Ansible Tower to manage existing Ansible projects, playbooks, and roles at scale.
• Use the Red Hat Ansible Tower API to launch jobs from existing templates and integrate Red Hat Ansible Tower into a simple CI/CD pipeline.

• Ansible for Network Automation (DO457)
• Red Hat Security: Linux in Physical, Virtual, and Cloud (RH415)
• Red Hat Certified Specialist in Advanced Automation: Ansible Best Practices (EX447)