Course Pre Requisites

Before diving into the content of this article, it's essential to ensure that you meet a few prerequisites. This guide assumes that you have some prior exposure to Ansible and Linux-based systems. If you're completely new to Ansible, we highly recommend starting with the Ansible for the Absolute Beginners course. This introductory course covers the essentials such as setting up a lab environment using VirtualBox, working with YAML, and grasping key Ansible concepts including inventory files, playbooks, variables, modules, and loops. Mastering these fundamentals will provide you with a firm foundation to fully benefit from this article.

For the purposes of this article, live lab access will be provided, eliminating the need for manual lab setup. Every aspect of Ansible required to prepare for the exam will be covered in a comprehensive and structured manner. However, you should have prior experience working with Linux systems—Red Hat Enterprise Linux or CentOS is preferred—since the automation tasks will be executed on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment.

A solid understanding of basic Linux security concepts is also recommended. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Configuring SSH keys
• Managing users, groups, and file permissions
• Utilizing package managers and managing software installations
• Handling services and configuring cron jobs
• Managing file systems and logical volume managers
• Working with firewalls and archiving tools

While some of these topics will be reviewed during the module discussions, independently brushing up on them will provide a significant advantage.