Free RedHat EX380 Exam Actual Questions & Explanations

Last updated on: Jun 2, 2026
Author: Sara Tanaka (Red Hat Certification Curriculum Developer)

The EX380 exam validates your ability to automate and integrate workflows within Red Hat OpenShift environments. This certification, part of the Red Hat Openshift Certifications path, is designed for platform engineers and DevOps professionals who need to demonstrate hands-on expertise in OpenShift automation and integration tasks. This page provides a clear roadmap of exam topics, question formats, and effective preparation strategies to help you build confidence and competence before test day.

EX380 Exam Syllabus & Core Topics

Use this topic map to guide your study for RedHat EX380 (Red Hat Certified Specialist in OpenShift Automation and Integration) within the Red Hat Openshift Certifications path.

  • OpenShift Cluster Installation and Configuration: Install and configure OpenShift clusters from scratch, including network setup, storage provisioning, and authentication integration with identity providers.
  • Operator Framework and Custom Resources: Develop and deploy Operators using the Operator Framework, create custom resource definitions (CRDs), and manage application lifecycle through declarative resource management.
  • Automation with Ansible and Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform: Write playbooks and roles to automate OpenShift tasks, integrate Ansible with OpenShift workflows, and implement infrastructure-as-code patterns.
  • Integration Patterns and Middleware: Design and implement integration solutions using middleware components, configure message brokers, and connect disparate systems through event-driven architectures.
  • Container Image Management and Registry Operations: Build, scan, and manage container images, configure private registries, implement image signing, and enforce security policies across the supply chain.
  • Networking and Service Mesh Configuration: Configure advanced networking policies, deploy and manage service mesh (Istio/Maistra), implement traffic management, and secure inter-service communication.
  • Monitoring, Logging, and Observability: Set up monitoring stacks, configure centralized logging, create meaningful alerts, and use observability tools to troubleshoot production issues.
  • Security and Compliance: Implement pod security policies, configure RBAC, manage secrets securely, conduct vulnerability assessments, and audit cluster activity for compliance.

Question Formats & What They Test

The EX380 exam combines multiple-choice questions with scenario-based items and practical simulations to assess both conceptual knowledge and real-world problem-solving ability.

  • Multiple Choice: Test foundational understanding of OpenShift architecture, Operator patterns, Ansible syntax, and integration concepts. Questions focus on definitions, feature behavior, and key terminology.
  • Scenario-Based Items: Present realistic cluster challenges, such as resolving pod failures, designing automation workflows, or choosing the right integration pattern, and require you to select the most effective solution.
  • Simulation-Style Tasks: Ask you to configure OpenShift resources, write Ansible playbooks, deploy Operators, or set up monitoring in a live-like environment, testing hands-on navigation and decision-making.

Questions increase in complexity and reward candidates who understand not just what to do, but why certain approaches work better in production scenarios.

Preparation Guidance

An efficient study plan maps each syllabus topic to weekly learning goals, balances theory with hands-on labs, and includes regular practice testing to build confidence. Start by reviewing core concepts, then move into configuration tasks and scenario analysis, and finish with full-length timed practice exams.

  • Map the eight core topic areas to a 6-8 week study calendar; allocate more time to areas where you have less production experience.
  • Complete hands-on labs for each topic, build a test cluster, write Operators, create Ansible playbooks, and configure monitoring to develop muscle memory.
  • Practice with question sets; review explanations carefully to understand why incorrect options fail and how concepts connect across automation, integration, and operations.
  • Link features across the full workflow: understand how Operators manage application state, how Ansible automates that management, and how monitoring validates the results.
  • Run a timed mini-mock exam (30-40 questions) two weeks before test day to identify weak areas and practice pacing.

Explore other RedHat certifications: view all RedHat exams.

Get the PDF & Practice Test

Strengthen your preparation with up‑to‑date resources from validexamdumps.com. These materials align to EX380 and cover practical scenarios with clear explanations.

  • Q&A PDF with explanations: topic-mapped questions that clarify why correct options are right and others aren't.
  • Practice Test: realistic items, timed/untimed modes, progress tracking, and detailed review.
  • Focused coverage: aligned to the official EX380 syllabus so you study what matters most.
  • Regular reviews: content refreshes that reflect syllabus and product changes.

Visit the exam page to download the PDF, Online Practice Test or get Bundle Discount offer for both Formats: Red Hat Certified Specialist in OpenShift Automation and Integration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which topics carry the most weight on the EX380 exam?

Operator Framework, Ansible automation, and integration patterns typically account for a significant portion of the exam. These areas directly reflect real-world job responsibilities and require both conceptual understanding and hands-on configuration skills. Strong performance in these domains often translates to a passing score.

How much hands-on OpenShift experience do I need before attempting EX380?

Ideally, you should have at least 6-12 months of practical experience deploying and managing OpenShift clusters. If you're newer to the platform, prioritize labs that cover cluster installation, Operator deployment, and Ansible integration. Hands-on work fills gaps that reading alone cannot and builds the confidence needed for scenario-based questions.

What common mistakes lead to lost points on this exam?

Candidates often underestimate the importance of understanding Operator lifecycle management and CRD design, leading to errors in scenario questions. Another frequent pitfall is confusing Ansible syntax or missing security best practices in configuration tasks. Reviewing explanations after practice questions and focusing on "why" rather than just "what" helps avoid these mistakes.

How do Operators, Ansible, and integration patterns connect in real workflows?

Operators automate application lifecycle management using Kubernetes-native CRDs; Ansible playbooks orchestrate cluster-level and infrastructure tasks; integration patterns tie these together to create end-to-end automation. Understanding this relationship, how each layer supports the others, is crucial for scenario-based questions and real production work.

What's an effective final-week review strategy?

In the final week, focus on weak areas identified in practice tests rather than re-reading everything. Run one full-length timed exam, review all incorrect answers with explanations, and do quick spot-checks on high-weight topics like Operators and Ansible. Avoid cramming new topics; instead, reinforce what you've already learned and build test-day confidence through realistic practice.

Question No. 1

SIMULATION

Task SIMULATION 3

Integrate OpenShift with Keycloak (OIDC)

Task Information: Add a Keycloak (RH SSO) OpenID Connect identity provider to OpenShift OAuth and verify redirect/login works.

Show Answer Hide Answer
Correct Answer: A

Collect Keycloak details

Issuer URL (realm), client ID, and client secret.

Confirm Keycloak client has correct redirect URI for OpenShift OAuth callback.

Create a secret with the OIDC client secret

oc -n openshift-config create secret generic keycloak-oidc-secret \

--from-literal=clientSecret='<SECRET>'

OAuth reads the OIDC client secret from this secret.

Edit OAuth and add OpenID provider

oc edit oauth cluster

Add under spec.identityProviders:

- name: keycloak

mappingMethod: claim

type: OpenID

openID:

issuer: 'https://keycloak.example.com/realms/ocp'

clientID: 'openshift'

clientSecret:

name: keycloak-oidc-secret

claims:

preferredUsername: ['preferred_username']

name: ['name']

email: ['email']

issuer must match Keycloak realm issuer URL.

claims determines which token claims map to OpenShift username/name/email.

Restart OAuth pods

oc -n openshift-authentication delete pod -l app=oauth-openshift

Verify by logging in through the web console

You should be redirected to Keycloak, authenticate, then return to OpenShift.

Confirm users/identities:

oc get users

oc get identities

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Question No. 2

SIMULATION

Task SIMULATION 5

Backup and Restore -- Fix SCC for Restored Application

Show Answer Hide Answer
Correct Answer: A

Step 1: Identify the application namespace after restore.

The lab shows the namespace as my-app-namespace.

Step 2: Run the SCC assignment command:

oc adm policy add-scc-to-user anyuid -z default -n my-app-namespace

Step 3: Confirm the role binding is applied.

The lab output shows:

clusterrole.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/system:openshift:scc:anyuid added: 'default'

Detailed explanation:

After a restore, the application may fail if its pods require a security context not permitted by the default SCC allocation. This command grants the anyuid SCC to the default service account in the my-app-namespace project. The -z default syntax targets the default service account, which many restored workloads use if no custom service account is defined. The anyuid SCC allows containers to run with arbitrary user IDs, which some legacy or prebuilt images require. In OpenShift, SCC mismatches commonly cause pods to remain in pending or crash-related states. Assigning the proper SCC resolves those admission issues so workloads can start successfully. This step is therefore a post-restore operational fix to align security policy with application requirements.

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Question No. 3

SIMULATION

Task SIMULATION 2

Identity Management -- Create HTPasswd Secret

Show Answer Hide Answer
Correct Answer: A

Step 1: Open a terminal with oc access to the cluster.

This Task is CLI-driven and targets the openshift-config namespace.

Step 2: Run the command:

oc create secret generic rhds-ldap-secret --from-literal bindPassword=redhatocp -n openshift-config

Step 3: Verify that the secret is created successfully.

The lab output shows:

secret/rhds-ldap-secret created

Detailed explanation:

This step creates a generic secret named rhds-ldap-secret in the openshift-config namespace. The secret stores a key called bindPassword with the value redhatocp. In an identity-provider or LDAP integration workflow, the bind password is used by OpenShift when connecting to the external directory service. Storing this value in a secret is the correct operational pattern because authentication material should not be embedded directly into configuration objects. The openshift-config namespace is specifically important because cluster authentication configuration commonly references secrets and configmaps from that namespace. If the secret name or key is wrong, the authentication configuration that depends on it may fail to validate or connect properly.

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Question No. 4

SIMULATION

Task SIMULATION 26

Silence an alert in Alertmanager

Task Information: Create an Alertmanager silence for a noisy alert for 2 hours, then confirm it's silenced.

Show Answer Hide Answer
Correct Answer: A

Find the alert name and labels

Web console: Observe Alerts click the alert to view label set.

Open Alertmanager silences

Observe Alerting Alertmanager Silences Create silence

Create the silence

Add matcher: alertname = <ALERT_NAME>

Duration: 2 hours

Save.

Verify the alert shows as silenced

The alert should indicate it is silenced in the UI.

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Question No. 5

SIMULATION

Task SIMULATION 2

Add a second Identity Provider (HTPasswd) alongside LDAP

Task Information: Configure multiple identity providers by adding an HTPasswd IDP without removing the existing LDAP IDP.

Show Answer Hide Answer
Correct Answer: A

Create a local htpasswd file with a test user

htpasswd -c -B -b /tmp/htpass.txt testuser RedHat123!

-c creates a new file (use only once).

-B uses bcrypt hashing (recommended).

-b supplies password non-interactively (good for labs).

Create the HTPasswd secret in openshift-config

oc -n openshift-config create secret generic htpass-secret --from-file=htpasswd=/tmp/htpass.txt

OAuth reads the htpasswd key from this secret.

Edit OAuth and add the HTPasswd provider (keep LDAP intact)

oc edit oauth cluster

Add another entry under spec.identityProviders:

- name: local-htpasswd

mappingMethod: claim

type: HTPasswd

htpasswd:

fileData:

name: htpass-secret

This adds a second login option while preserving LDAP.

Restart OAuth pods

oc -n openshift-authentication delete pod -l app=oauth-openshift

Ensures the updated list of identity providers is loaded.

Verify login works for htpasswd user

Log in via console using testuser.

Confirm the user is created:

oc get user testuser

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