Red Hat EX457 exam

 August 31, 2025

Last week, I renewed my Red Hat Certified Specialist in Ansible Network Automation (EX457) certification. As I’m already a Red Hat Certified Architect and have passed this same exam a couple of years ago, I wasn’t too worried about it. Still, it is always interesting to see how exams evolve.

Since I did not remember the kind of content that was there last time, I read the objectives page and assumed it would have been more on the networking side. But, in reality, the exam leaned much more toward Ansible playbooks, modules, and automation patterns than network-specific plumbing.

You still touch on networking, of course, but the majority of exercises focus on applying Ansible in the networking space. Still, if you’re strong in Ansible, you will need to know the basics of networking to pass the exam.

Overall, it was an enjoyable exam, though not in the way I expected. Instead of the adrenaline rush that comes with reconfiguring routing, what stood out was Ansible’s clarity, its idempotency, and its modularity. There’s an elegance in the repeatability of playbook tasks, even when the target isn’t a Linux system but a network device, that still hits me every time I use Ansible.

I think this exam is ideal for:

• Infrastructure engineers or network administrators required to manage devices via automation.
• Anyone who wants to showcase proficiency in Ansible applied to network use cases.
• Professionals aiming toward Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA), or keeping it current, which was my case.

If you are more of a “pure networking” person or newer to Ansible, I’d recommend building a strong Ansible foundation first, then layering in network-specific playbooks.

Disclaimer: I have not personally paid for this exam since my current employer has covered the certification expenses.