Salesforce MuleSoft-Platform-Architect-I - Salesforce Certified MuleSoft Platform Architect 1 Exam (SP25)

Explanation

Correct Answer: XML over HTTP

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>> API-led connectivity and Application Networks urge to have the APIs on HTTP based protocols for building most effective APIs and networks on top of them.

>> The HTTP based APIs allow the platform to apply various varities of policies to address many NFRs

>> The HTTP based APIs also allow to implement many standard and effective implementation patterns that adhere to HTTP based w3c rules.

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Explanation

Correct Answer: Invoke the system API deployed to the primary environment; add timeout and retry logic to the process API to avoid intermittent failures; if it still fails, invoke the system API deployed to the DR environment

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There is one important consideration to be noted in the question which is - System API in DR environment provides only 20% of the rate limiting offered by the primary environment. So, comparitively, very less calls will be allowed into the DR environment API opposed to its primary environment. With this in mind, lets analyse what is the right and best fault-tolerant invocation strategy.

1. Invoking both the system APIs in parallel is definitely NOT a feasible approach because of the 20% limitation we have on DR environment. Calling in parallel every time would easily and quickly exhaust the rate limits on DR environment and may not give chance to genuine intermittent error scenarios to let in during the time of need.

2. Another option given is suggesting to add timeout and retry logic to process API while invoking primary environment's system API. This is good so far. However, when all retries failed, the option is suggesting to invoke the copy of process API on DR environment which is not right or recommended. Only system API is the one to be considered for fallback and not the whole process API. Process APIs usually have lot of heavy orchestration calling many other APIs which we do not want to repeat again by calling DR's process API. So this option is NOT right.

3. One more option given is suggesting to add the retry (no timeout) logic to process API to directly retry on DR environment's system API instead of retrying the primary environment system API first. This is not at all a proper fallback. A proper fallback should occur only after all retries are performed and exhausted on Primary environment first. But here, the option is suggesting to directly retry fallback API on first failure itself without trying main API. So, this option is NOT right too.

This leaves us one option which is right and best fit.

- Invoke the system API deployed to the primary environment

- Add Timeout and Retry logic on it in process API

- If it fails even after all retries, then invoke the system API deployed to the DR environment.

For organizations with established CI/CD practices, the Mule Maven plugin is the recommended tool for automating packaging and deployment across multiple environments, including CloudHub, on-premise Mule runtimes, and Anypoint Runtime Fabric. Here’s why:

Automation with Maven:

The Mule Maven plugin allows for CI/CD integration by supporting automated build and deployment processes. It is commonly used in CI/CD pipelines to handle application packaging and deployment directly through Maven commands, making it ideal for teams that want consistent deployment automation across different MuleSoft environments.

Supported Deployment Targets:

The Mule Maven plugin supports deployment to various targets, including CloudHub, Runtime Fabric, and on-premises servers, thus meeting the needs of environments with diverse deployment destinations.

Why Option B is Correct:

The Mule Maven plugin is specifically designed for CI/CD pipelines and integrates with Jenkins, GitLab, and other CI/CD tools to facilitate continuous deployment. It is the most efficient MuleSoft-provided tool for this purpose.

Explanation of Incorrect Options:

Option A (Anypoint Runtime Manager) provides deployment management but does not automate CI/CD processes.

Option C (Anypoint Platform CLI) can script deployments but lacks direct integration with CI/CD tools.

Option D (Anypoint Platform REST APIs) requires custom scripting for deployment, which can be more complex than using the Mule Maven plugin.

ReferencesFor more details, refer to MuleSoft documentation on using the Mule Maven plugin for CI/CD​​.

Explanation

Correct Answer: A higher number of discoverable API-related assets in the application network.

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>> We do NOT get faster response times in fine-grained approach when compared to coarse-grained approach.

>> In fact, we get faster response times from a network having coarse-grained APIs compared to a network having fine-grained APIs model. The reasons are below.

Fine-grained approach:

1. will have more APIs compared to coarse-grained

2. So, more orchestration needs to be done to achieve a functionality in business process.

3. Which means, lots of API calls to be made. So, more connections will needs to be established. So, obviously more hops, more network i/o, more number of integration points compared to coarse-grained approach where fewer APIs with bulk functionality embedded in them.

4. That is why, because of all these extra hops and added latencies, fine-grained approach will have bit more response times compared to coarse-grained.

5. Not only added latencies and connections, there will be more resources used up in fine-grained approach due to more number of APIs.

That's why, fine-grained APIs are good in a way to expose more number of resuable assets in your network and make them discoverable. However, needs more maintenance, taking care of integration points, connections, resources with a little compromise w.r.t network hops and response times.

Understanding Circuit Breaker Policy:

A circuit breaker is a design pattern used to detect failures and prevent an application from continually trying to execute a failing operation. In this case, it will help improve response time and reduce demand on the downstream API.

The specified configuration includes conditions for opening, half-opening, and closing the circuit based on error rates over time:

Circuit Open: Triggered if there are more than 10 errors per minute for three consecutive minutes.

Circuit Half-Open: The circuit transitions to half-open if there is one error per minute.

Circuit Closed: The circuit closes if the error rate is less than one error per minute for five minutes.

Evaluating the Options:

Option A: Creating a custom policy with template expressions could work, but it would require custom development. Since the Anypoint Platform already has a Circuit Breaker policy available, this would be a less efficient and more complex solution.

Option B: Anypoint Monitoring alerts can be used for monitoring the API, but they do not provide circuit-breaking functionality. Additionally, implementing a retry strategy for the half-open state is not sufficient to achieve the required circuit breaker behavior.

Option C (Correct Answer): Adding the Circuit Breaker policy to the API instance on Anypoint Platform allows you to set up circuit-breaking conditions directly. This approach uses the built-in Circuit Breaker policy, where you can configure parameters such as error thresholds and time intervals to match the requirements. This solution is efficient, reliable, and leverages Anypoint’s out-of-the-box capabilities.

Option D: Implementing the strategy within a Mule application with a YAML configuration could be complex and less manageable. Additionally, it does not leverage Anypoint Platform’s built-in Circuit Breaker policy, which is more suited to this scenario.

Conclusion:

Option C is the correct choice, as it leverages Anypoint Platform’s Circuit Breaker policy. This solution allows for configuring thresholds and time intervals as specified, improving response time and reducing demand on the downstream API while utilizing Anypoint's managed policy feature.

Refer to MuleSoft’s documentation on implementing the Circuit Breaker policy in API Manager for detailed configuration guidance.

Explanation

Correct Answer: Apply a basic authentication - LDAP policy; the internal Active Directory will be configured as the LDAP source for authenticating users.

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>> IP Whitelisting does NOT fit for this purpose. Moreover, the users workstations may not necessarily have static IPs in the network.

>> OAuth 2.0 enforcement requires a client provider which isn't in the organizations system components.

>> It is not an effective approach to let every user create separate client credentials and configure those for their usage.

The effective way it to apply a basic authentication - LDAP policy and the internal Active Directory will be configured as the LDAP source for authenticating users.

Explanation

Correct Answer: Separate Experience APIs for the mobile and web app, but a common Process API that invokes separate System APIs created for the database and CRM system

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As per MuleSoft's API-led connectivity:

>> Experience APIs should be built as per each consumer needs and their experience.

>> Process APIs should contain all the orchestration logic to achieve the business functionality.

>> System APIs should be built for each backend system to unlock their data.

Processing Requirements and Storage Mechanism:

The Reservation Mule application will be deployed to multiple CloudHub workers/replicas, meaning that each worker must share state information to handle records exactly once. This requires a shared storage mechanism where state can be stored and accessed by multiple instances to avoid duplicate processing of the same records.

A Persistent Object Store in Anypoint Platform can be used to store records in a way that is accessible across multiple workers, providing a reliable mechanism for "exactly once" processing.

Evaluating the Options:

Option A (Correct Answer): A Persistent Object Store is designed to retain data across different application instances and can be shared by all workers on CloudHub. It helps achieve idempotency by ensuring that a record is processed exactly once.

Option B: Runtime Fabric Object Store is used for applications deployed in Anypoint Runtime Fabric, not CloudHub. This option would not be compatible with the CloudHub deployment.

Option C: A Non-persistent Object Store does not retain data across application restarts or different instances, making it unsuitable for the requirement of synchronized storage for exactly-once processing.

Option D: An In-memory Mule Object Store is local to each worker and is not shared across instances, so it does not meet the requirement for a shared storage mechanism accessible to all CloudHub workers.

Conclusion:

Option A is the correct answer, as a Persistent Object Store allows data sharing across multiple CloudHub workers, enabling them to synchronize and achieve "exactly once" processing of passenger records with minimal development effort.

Refer to MuleSoft’s documentation on Object Store configurations and usage for best practices on handling state across distributed instances.