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Working with Ansible Templates, Variables, and Facts

Besides being an objective on the Red Hat Certified Ansible Specialist Exam, a demonstrated ability to use Ansible templates, variables, and facts is essential to practical systems deployment through Ansible. Templates allow for a streamlined approach to configuration management that reduces configuration error and simplifies system upkeep. This learning activity starts a student on a path from basic Ansible knowledge to a strong working knowledge that is necessary for real-world application. *This course is not approved or sponsored by Red Hat.*

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Path Info

Level
Clock icon Intermediate
Duration
Clock icon 1h 0m
Last updated
Clock icon Sep 01, 2025

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Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Create a Template *sudoers* File in `/home/ansible/hardened.j2` That Produces a File with Appropriate Output for Each Host

    touch /home/ansible/hardened.j2

  2. Challenge

    The Deployed File Should Resemble the Example File Except with the *IP* and *hostnames* Customized Appropriately

    Edit hardened.j2 to contain the following text:

        %sysops {{ ansible_default_ipv4.address }} = (ALL) ALL
    Host_Alias WEBSERVERS = {{ groups['web']|join(', ') }}
    Host_Alias DBSERVERS = {{ groups['database']|join(', ') }} 
    %httpd WEBSERVERS = /bin/su - webuser
    %dba DBSERVERS = /bin/su - dbuser

  3. Challenge

    Create a Playbook in `/home/ansible/security.yml` That Uses the Template Module to Deploy the Template on All Servers in the Default Ansible Inventory After Validating the Syntax of the Generated File

    Edit /home/ansible/security.yml to contain the following:

    ---
- hosts: all
  become: yes
  tasks:
  - name: deploy sudo template
    template:
      src: /home/ansible/hardened.j2
      dest: /etc/sudoers.d/hardened
      validate: /sbin/visudo -cf %s

  4. Challenge

    Run the Playbook and Ensure the Files Are Correctly Deployed

    ansible-playbook /home/ansible/security.yml

    Check the local /etc/sudoers.d/hardened on the ansible control node for the correct contents.

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Pluralsight Skills gives leaders confidence they have the skills needed to execute technology strategy. Technology teams can benchmark expertise across roles, speed up release cycles and build reliable, secure products. By leveraging our expert content, skill assessments and one-of-a-kind analytics, keep up with the pace of change, put the right people on the right projects and boost productivity. It's the most effective path to developing tech skills at scale.

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