What additional benefit does moving variables to group_vars and host_vars provide in Ansible?

When variables are moved to group_vars and host_vars in Ansible, the primary benefit is better organization and management of variables. By separating variables into these dedicated directories, Ansible allows for a more structured approach to handling configuration data.

Group_vars enables you to define variables that apply to all hosts in a certain group, facilitating the management of shared settings across multiple hosts without redundancy. Host_vars, on the other hand, allows you to specify variables that are unique to individual hosts. This distinction not only simplifies the playbook but also makes it easier to manage configurations as changes can be made in a localized and clearer manner.

This organization assists in avoiding clutter in playbooks by moving variable definitions away from the main script, thus promoting readability and maintainability. It allows developers and operators to quickly locate and modify configurations without having to sift through potentially complex playbooks.

The other options relate to different aspects of Ansible configuration management, but they do not capture the essence of how group_vars and host_vars specifically improve the handling of configurations. For instance, increased visibility of the inventory and enhanced performance are not directly related to the management of variables, and automatic backups are dependent on external practices rather than a feature inherent to these variable structures.