Integration-Architect Salesforce Certified Platform Integration Architect (Plat-Arch-204) Questions and Answers

A microservice architecture is a way of designing software applications as a collection of loosely coupled services, each of which implements a specific business function.Microservices enable modularity, scalability, and agility in software development, as well as easier testing and deployment. By breaking up the monolithic web service into smaller pieces, each responsible for a single integration, UC can decouple the systems and improve the performance of the integrations. For example, UC can use Salesforce Platform Events to publish and subscribe to events from Salesforce to the legacy billing application, the ERP application, and the data lake. This way, UC can avoid point-to-point integrations and leverage an event-driven architecture that reduces coupling and increases reliability12.

The other options are not as effective as option B. Option A does not address the root cause of the tight interdependencies between systems, and may not result in significant performance improvement. Option C may improve the throughput of data loading into Salesforce, but it does not solve the problem of coupling between systems. Option D mayreduce the latency and maintenance costs of the web service, but it does not change the design of the web service or the integrations.

SObject Collections is a REST API composite resource that allows you to create, update, or delete up to 200 records in one API call. You can specify the type of operation (create, update, or delete) for eachrecord in the request body, andthe response body will contain the status and IDs of each record. SObject Collections is suitable for bulk operations on records that are not related to each other1.

SObject Tree is another REST API composite resource that allows you to create up to 200 records in one API call. However, unlike SObject Collections, SObject Tree requires the records to be related to each other in a hierarchy. You can specify the parent and child records in a JSON tree structure, and the response body will contain the reference IDs and URLs of each record. SObject Tree is suitable forcreating nesteddata in one request2.

Batch is a REST API composite resource that allows you to combine up to 25 requests in one API call. Each request can be a different type of operation (query, create, update, delete, etc.) on different objects. The response body will contain the status and results of each request. Batch is suitable for grouping multiple requests into one transaction3.

Composite is a REST API composite resource that allows you to execute aseries of REST API requests in one API call. You can use the output of one request as the input of another request using a reference ID. The response body will contain the status and results of each request. Composite is suitable for chaining requests that depend on each other.

Therefore, the correct answer is A, because SObject Collections is the only REST API composite resource that allows bulk updates on records that are not related to each other.

Answer D is valid because using Bulk API 2.0 for both inserting and querying data canmeet the requirements of loading and extracting large volumes of data in a day. Bulk API 2.0 is a RESTful API that allows creating, updating, deleting, or querying millions of records asynchronously by uploading or downloading CSV or JSON files. Bulk API2.0 has several advantages over Bulk API 1.0, such as:

It does not count against the daily limit of 5,000 batches per rolling 24-hour period.

It supports PK Chunking for queries, which automatically splits large data sets into manageable chunks based onthe primary key.

It simplifies the job lifecycle and reduces the number of API calls needed to perform a bulk operation.

Answer A is not valid because using Bulk API 2.0 for inserting data and REST API for querying data is not an optimal solution for handling large volumes of data in a day. REST API is a synchronous API that allows creating, updating, deleting, or querying individual records or small batches of records using HTTP methods. REST API has several limitations and drawbacks for this use case, such as:

It counts against the daily limit of 15,000 API requests per 24-hour period.

It does not support PK Chunking for queries, which means that large data sets may exceed the query timeout or heap size limits.

It requires more API calls and processing time to perform a bulk operation than Bulk API 2.0.

Answer B is not valid because using Bulk API 1.0 for both inserting and querying data is not a feasible solution for handling large volumes of data in a day. Bulk API 1.0 is a SOAP-based API that allows creating, updating, deleting, or querying millions of records asynchronously by uploading or downloading XML or CSV files. Bulk API 1.0 has several limitations and drawbacks compared to Bulk API 2.0, such as:

It counts against the daily limit of 5,000 batchesper rolling 24-hour period, which may not be enough to load and extract 90M and 30M records respectively.

It does not support JSON format for data files, which may not be compatible with some external systems or applications.

It requires more API calls andcomplexity to manage the job lifecycle and handle errors or retries than Bulk API 2.0.

Answer C is not valid because using Bulk API 1.0 for inserting data and REST API for querying data is not a suitable or reliable solution for handling large volumes ofdata in a day. As explained above, both Bulk API 1.0 and REST API have limitations and drawbacks that may affect the performance, efficiency, and scalability of the integration.

Using request and reply is the recommended integration pattern for this use case because it allows the support agents to send a request to the core banking system and receive a response with the bank account ID in real-time. This way, the support agents can inform the customers with the newly created bank account ID without anydelay or inconsistency. Using streaming API to generate push topic is not a good solution because it is used for event-driven integration, not for web-service integration. Using outbound message is also not a good solution because it is a Salesforce-specific feature that uses SOAP web services, which may not be compatible with the core banking system. Using Salesforce platform event is also not a good solution because it is used for event-driven integration, not for web-service integration. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer ResourceGuide, page 29-30

Answer D is valid because using middleware to handle the call out to the 10 different verification services is a scalable and reliable solution that can handle the complexity and variability of the integration. The middlewarecan orchestrate the calls to the different web services, consolidate the verification results, and handle any errors or retries. The middleware can then make a call-in to Salesforce and update the verificationstatus to “verified” using an API or a platform event12

Answer A is not valid because using Salesforce external service to make the call out to the 10 different verification services is not a feasible or efficient solution. Salesforce external service is a feature that allows invoking anexternal service from a flow and mapping its inputs and outputs to flow variables. However, this feature requires configuring an Apex action, a named credential, and an external service definition for each web service, which is not a low code solution. Moreover, this feature does not support checking the verification agencies untilthe result is verified, as it only invokes the external service once per flow interview3

Answer B is not valid because creating a trigger on the trainer record to make a callout to each verification agency is not a recommended or robust solution. Triggers are Apex code that execute before or after database events, such as insert, update, or delete. However, triggers cannot make callouts directly, as they are part of a database transaction and must complete quickly. To make a callout from a trigger, an asynchronous process such as a future method or a queueablejob must be used, which adds complexity and overhead to the integration. Moreover, triggershave limits on the number of callouts and asynchronous calls they can make per transaction, which may affect the scalability and reliability of the integration.

Answer C is not valid because making an Apex callout using @future annotation to make the call out to all different agencies is not a suitable or reliable solution. The @future annotation allows marking a method for execution at a later time when system resources become available. However, this annotation has several limitations and drawbacks, such as:

Future methods cannot return values, so they cannot update the trainer status to “verified” directly.

Future methods have limits on the number of callouts andfuture calls they can make per execution, which may affect the scalability and reliability of the integration.

Future methods run in their own thread and do not share any static variables or state with other methods, which makes it difficult to consolidatethe verification results from different agencies.

Future methods are not guaranteed to execute at a specific time or order, which may affect the timeliness and accuracy of the integration.

1: Orchestration Pattern 2: RemoteProcess Invocation—Request and Reply 3: External Services : Apex Developer Guide: Triggers : Apex Developer Guide: Using Future Methods

The integration architect should consider whether the fulfillment system can make a callback into Salesforce and whether it can implement a contract-first Outbound Messaging interface. A callback is a wayfor the fulfillment system to send a response or an acknowledgment back to Salesforce after receiving an order1. This can help ensure data consistencyand reliability between the two systems. A contract-first Outbound Messaging interface is an approach where the integration is designed based on a predefined XML schema that defines the structure and content of the messages2. This can help ensure interoperability and compatibility between the two systems. The other two questions are not relevant for the integration architect to consider. The fulfillment system does not need to create new addresses within the Order Create service, as this is a function of Salesforce3. The product catalog data does not need to be identical at all times in both systems, as long as there is a mapping or synchronization mechanism to handle any discrepancies

Change Data Capture (CDC) is the best option to meet the requirement. CDC is a type of streaming event that notifies subscribers of changes to Salesforce records, such as creation, update, delete, and undelete operations. By subscribing to CDC events for the course registration data, the LMS can receive real-time updates and sync with Salesforce. Streaming API is another type of streaming event that notifies subscribers of changes to Salesforce records that match a SOQL query. However, Streaming API has some limitations, such as not supporting all SOQL features and not capturing delete and undelete operations. Platform Event is a type of streaming event that delivers custom notifications within the Salesforce platform or from external sources. Platform Event is not suitable for this requirement because it is not tied to Salesforce records and requires custom logic to publish and subscribe. Outbound Message is a workflow action that sends SOAP messages with field values to designated endpoints. Outbound Message is not suitable for this requirement because it does not support complex data types, such as sObjects or collections.

The three systems from the current system landscape that can beretired with the implementation of Salesforce are Case Management System, Sales Activity System, and Email Marketing System. These systems can be replaced by Salesforce Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, and Marketing Cloud respectively, which provide similar orbetter capabilities for managing cases, sales activities, and email campaigns. Option A is not correct because Order Management System cannot be retired with the implementation of Salesforce. The company wants to reuse their existing enterprise capabilities for order management processes, which are likely to be complex and customized. Salesforce does not provide a native order management solution for B2C commerce scenarios. Option E is not correct because Quoting System cannot be retired with the implementation of Salesforce. The company wants to reuse their existing enterprise capabilities for quoting processes, which are likely to be complex and customized. Salesforce does not provide a native quoting solution for B2C commerce scenarios.

The correct answer is A, C, and D. These are three relevant details that a Salesforce Integration Architect should seek to specifically solve for Integration architecture needs of the program. These detailscan help the Integration Architect to understand the scope, requirements, and constraints of the integration solution, and to choose the appropriate tools, methods, and patterns. The details are:

Source and Target system, Directionality, data volume & transformation complexity along with any middleware that can be leveraged. This detail can help theIntegration Architect to identify the systems involved in the integration, the direction of data flow, the amount and complexity of data to be exchanged, and the middleware or platform capabilities that can facilitate the integration.

Timing aspects - real-time/near real-time (synchronous or asynchronous), batch; update frequency. This detail can help the Integration Architect to determine the latency, reliability, and scalability requirements of the integration solution, and to choose the suitable integration protocols and techniques.

Integration Style - Process based, Data based, Virtual integration. This detail can help the Integration Architect to select the appropriate integration style that matches the business needs and objectives. Process based integration focuses on orchestrating business processes across systems, data based integration focuses on synchronizing data across systems, and virtual integration focuses on providing a unified view of data across systems.

The integration consultant should have considered monitoring the Platform Events created per hour limits across the Salesforce instance. This is because Platform Events have a limit on the number of events that can be published or delivered per hour, depending on the edition and license type. If this limit is exceeded, the trigger on the Platform Events may fail or be delayed. Option B is not correct because debug logs for Platform Event triggers are not useful for monitoring performance. Debug logs are used for troubleshooting issues or errors in the trigger logic, not for measuring the throughput or latency of the events. Option C is not correct because validating the Platform Event definition matches leads definition is not a monitoring task, but a design task. The integration consultant should have ensured that the Platform Event definition matches leads definition before deploying the integration to production. Option D is not correct because monitoring the volume of leads that are created in Salesforce is not relevant for this integration. The volume of leads does not affect the trigger on the Platform Events, as long as the Platform Events created per hourlimits are not exceeded.

The first thing an integration architect should validate if a callout from a Lightning Web Component to an external endpoint is failing is the endpoint domain has been added to Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS). CORS is a mechanism that allows web browsers to make requests to servers on different origins, such as different domains, protocols, orports. CORS requires the server to send back a special header that indicates whether the browser is allowed to access the resource or not. If the endpoint domain is not added to the CORS whitelist in Salesforce, the browser will block the callout and throwan error. Option B is not correct because Content Security Policies (CSP) are used to control what resources can be loaded on a Visualforce or Lightning page, such as scripts, stylesheets, images, etc. CSP does not affect the callout from a Lightning WebComponent to an external endpoint. Option C is not correct because outbound firewall rules are used to restrict the network traffic from Salesforce to external systems. Firewall rules are configured at the network level, not at the Salesforce level. OptionD is not correct because Remote Site Settings are used to specify the domains that are allowed for callouts from Apex code, not from Lightning Web Components. References:

Working with CORS and CSP to Call APIs from LWC

[Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)]

 The BatchApexErrorEvent object allows handling errors that occur during Batch Apex execution. By subscribing to this event,the integration can retry the invoice generation for the failed records or perform other recovery actions. This is a resilient and scalable solution that does not require custom code in the Batch Apex job itself or in the middleware1

 Using a third party integration tool to stage records off platform is a solution that can handle the high volume of data and avoid hitting the API limits for the REST API call to the external system. A third party integration tool can also provide features such as data transformation, error handling, and logging. Due to high volume of records, number of concurrent requests can hitthe limit for the REST API call to external system is not a solution, but a problem that needs to be addressed. Due to high volume of records, the external system will need to use a BULK API Rest endpoint to connect to Salesforce is not a solution, as therequirement is to send data from Salesforce to the external system, not vice versa. Due to high volume of records, Salesforce will need to make a REST API call to external system is not a solution, as it does not address how to handle the high volume of data and avoid hitting the API limits. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 18-19

Answer A is valid because creating an Auth provider in the package and setting the consumer key and consumer secretof the connected app in the central org can allow the package to authenticate with the central org using OAuth 2.0. An Auth provider is a configuration that specifies how to connect to an external service that uses a specific identity protocol. A connectedapp is an application that can access Salesforce resources using APIs and standard protocols. The consumer key and consumer secret are credentials that identify the connected app to Salesforce.

Answer C is valid because creating a connected app in the central org and adding the callback URL of each org the package is installed in to redirect to after successful authentication can enable the package to obtain an access token from the central org using OAuth 2.0. The callback URL is a parameter that specifies where the user should be redirected after granting or denying permission to access Salesforce resources. The access token is a credential that can be used to invoke the custom Apex REST endpoint in the central org.

Answer E is valid because using the Auth Provider configured and selecting the identity type as Named Principal with OAuth 2.0 as the protocol and selecting Start Authentication Flow on Save can initiate the authentication flow when installing the package. The identity type determines how the package accesses Salesforce resources on behalf of users or an application. The Named Principal identity type means that the package uses a single credential, such as a username and password or an access token, to access Salesforce resources for all users.TheStart Authentication Flow on Save option means that the package will prompt the user to enter the credential when saving the Auth Provider configuration.

Answer B is not valid because contacting Salesforce support and creating a case to temporarily enable API access for managed packages is not a necessary or recommended action. API access for managed packages is enabled by default and does not require any special permission or configuration from Salesforce support. Moreover, this action does not addressthe security requirement of using a specific integration account in the central org that will be authorized after installation of the package.

Answer D is not valid because using an encrypted field to store the password that the security team enters and using password management for external orgs and setting the encryption method to TLS 1.2 is not a secure or reliable solution. An encrypted field is a custom field that encrypts sensitive data at rest and masks it on the user interface. However, this fielddoes not prevent unauthorized access or leakage of data, as it can be decrypted by users who have the View Encrypted Data permission or by Apex code that runs in system mode. Moreover, this field does not support encryption methods such as TLS 1.2, which are used for securing data in transit, not at rest.

Leverage Change Data Capture to track changes to the Contact object and write a CometD subscriber on the homegrown application. This solution meets the requirements of keeping Salesforce and the homegrown application synchronized for consistency, using event-driven and asynchronous integration. Change Data Capture is a feature that allows you to receive near real-time notifications of changes to Salesforce records, such as inserts, updates, deletes, and undeletes. You can use Change Data Capture to track changes to the Contact object, and publish them as events to an event bus. CometD is a protocol that allows you to subscribe to events from the event bus using a streaming API. You can write a CometD subscriber on the homegrown application, and use it to receive the events and update the customer data accordingly. References: Certification - Integration Architect - Trailhead, [Change Data Capture Developer Guide], [Streaming API Developer Guide]

Change Data Capture is a feature that enables you to receive near-real-time changes of Salesforce records, including create, update, delete, and undelete operations. Change Data Capture retainschange events in the event bus for up to three days, so you can resume data replication from the point of failure. Change Data Capture also provides a consistent and reliable way to synchronize data changes with external systems, without the need for custom triggers or code. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 24

Event Monitoring is used to track user activity, such as loginsand running reports, but it is not related to Platform Events. Subscribe to an AssetTokenEvent stream to monitor OAuth 2.0 authentication activity is also not related to Platform Events. When an event definition is deleted, it’s permanently removed and can’t berestored. This means that the event definition and its associated data are no longer available for subscribers or queries.

The best use case for leveraging the existing SAML integration to connect Salesforce with other internal systems is to make Apex SOAP outbound integrations to external web servicesmore secure. SAML can be used to authenticate the Salesforce org as the service provider and obtain a session ID from the external system as the identity provider. This session ID can then be used to make SOAP calls to the external web service without exposing any credentials in the Apex code. Option A is not correct because formula fields with HYPERLINK() do not support SAML authentication. Option C is not correct because Apex REST outbound integrations require OAuth or basic authentication, not SAML. Option D is not correct because API inbound integrations from an external Java client require OAuth or basic authentication, not SAML. References:

Named Credentials as Callout Endpoints

SAML SSO with Salesforce as the Service Provider

The integration consultant should consider the following authorization and authentication needs while integrating the DMS and ESB with Salesforce:

Users should be authorized to view information specific to the customer they are servicing without a need to search for customer. This means that the integration should providea seamless and contextual access to the customer billing information and generated bills from the DMS and ESB, based on the customer record or case that the user is working on in Salesforce.

Consider Enterprise security needs for access to DMS and ESB. This means that the integration should comply with the security policies and standards of the Enterprise, such as encryption, auditing, logging, monitoring, etc.

Users should be authenticated into DMS and ESB without having to enter username and password. This means that the integration should use a single sign-on (SSO) mechanism that allows users to access multiple systems with one login credential, such asOAuth or SAML34

The Fire and Forget pattern is suitable for this business use case because it allows sending a message from Salesforceto the remote system without waiting for a response or acknowledgement. This reduces the latency and complexity of the integration and enables asynchronous processing of the orders in the remote system. The platform event defined in Salesforce can be used to publish the order details to the remote system, which can subscribe to the event and create the order accordingly1

Option B is a correct finding, because it means that the company can use their cloud-based ETL tools to extract data from the legacy systems via the APIs exposed by the on-premise middleware, transform the data as needed, and load the data into Salesforce using queues. Queues are a way of managing asynchronous operations, such as bulk data loading, by placing them in a queue and executingthem when resources are available1.

Option C is also a correct finding, because it meansthat the company can expose their legacy data to the cloud via their on-premise middleware APIs. APIs are a way of enabling communication and data exchange between different systems using standard protocols and formats2. By providing APIs to access their legacy data, the company can use any cloud-based tool or application that can consume those APIs toretrieve and manipulate the data.

Option A is not a correct finding, because it means that the company cannot access their legacy data from the cloud, which prevents them from using their cloud-based ETL tools or any other cloud-based integration solution. If only on-premise systems are allowed to access the legacy systems, then the company would need to use an on-premise integration tool or application to copy the data to Salesforce.

Option D is not a correct finding, because it does not affect the ability to copy legacy data in Salesforce. Queues are useful for on-premise integration, but they are not necessary for copying data to Salesforce. The company can use other methods, such as direct API calls or batch processes, to load data into Salesforce without using queues.

User Interface API should be used to implement this integration. User Interface API is a RESTful API that allows you to create native mobile apps and custom web apps with the look and feel of Salesforce’s Lightning Experience. User Interface API provides access to metadata, data, and UI components, such as layouts, actions, picklists, and record types. User Interface API also handles security, performance, and compatibility across different devices and browsers. References: Certification - Integration Architect - Trailhead, [User InterfaceAPI Developer Guide]

The Partner WSDL is the best option for creating an integration that might be used for more than one Salesforce organization and different metadata.The Partner WSDL is loosely typed and can reflect against any configuration of Salesforce. It is static and does not change if modifications are made to an organization’s Salesforce configuration. Therefore, it is more flexible and adaptable than the Enterprise WSDL, which is strongly typed and bound to a specific configuration of Salesforce1

The continuation class in Apex allows you to makelong-running requests to external web services and process their responses in a callback method. This is useful for scenarios where the response time exceeds the normal Apex limits, such as 10 seconds for synchronous transactions or 120 seconds for asynchronous transactions. By using continuation, you can avoid hitting these limits and provide a better user experience1

The Connect REST API is designed to access Chatter feeds and social data such asusers, groups, followers, and files. By using this API, the integration can query the Chatter posts that include the #thanksNTO hashtag and post them to Twitter using another API. The REST API, Streaming API, and Apex REST are not specific to Chatter and do not provide the same level of functionality and ease ofuse as the Connect REST API2

Data Visualization is the type of integration that allows users to view real-time data from anexternal system without storing it in Salesforce. This can be achieved by using Lightning Web Components, Visualforce pages, or Canvas apps that display data from the external system using APIs or web services. Data Synchronization, Process Orchestration,and Batch Processing are types of integration that involve moving data between systems, which is not required by the business requirement. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 9

The mobile device should make a REST Apex inbound call to meet the requirement. A REST Apex inbound call allows the mobile device to invoke custom Apex logic on Salesforce using a RESTful interface. The Apex logiccan then access the geolocation field using the user’s OAuth token and update it with the GPS coordinates from the mobile device. The geolocation field is secured with Field Level Security, so the user can view the value without changing it. A SOAP API inbound call or a REST API inbound call would not be able to access the custom geolocation field, as they are not supported by the standard Salesforce objects and fields. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 20

Option D is correct because Platform Shield Encryption allows you to encrypt standard fields and use them in workflow rules. Platform Shield Encryption uses AES 256-bit encryption to protect sensitive data atrest, while preserving platform functionality12

Option A is incorrect because Cryptography Class is a set of Apex methods for creating digests, message authentication codes, signatures, and encryption. It does not provide a way to encrypt standard fields or use them in workflow rules3

Option B is incorrect because Data Masking is a feature that replaces sensitive data in sandboxes with dummy data. It does not encrypt data in production or allow the use of encrypted data in workflow rules45

Option C is incorrect because Classic Encryption is a feature that encrypts custom fields with 128-bit AES encryption. It does not support standard fields or workflow rules67

The integration architect should consider Change Data Capture Events and High Volume Platform Events for using the Streaming API with minimal data loss. Change Data Capture Events capture changes to Salesforce records and deliver them as events to subscribers. High Volume Platform Events are custom events that can be published and consumed at a large scale. Both types of events support reliable event delivery, which means that events are stored for 72 hours and can be replayed by subscribers in case of connection loss or failure. This ensures that data loss is minimized, even when the client re-connects every couple of days12

Using an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) to determine which shipping service to use, and transform requests to the necessary format is a good solution because it can provide routing, transformation, mediation, and orchestration capabilities for integrating different services. An ESB can also abstract the complexity and heterogeneity of the services from the client application, which simplifies the integration. Using Outbound Messaging to requestcosts and delivery times from Shipper delivery services with automated error retry is not a good solution because Outbound Messaging is a Salesforce-specific feature that uses SOAP web services, which may not be compatible with all shipping services. UsingAPEX REST Service to implement routing logic to the various shipping service is also not a good solution because it can introduce performance and scalability issues, as well as increase the maintenance cost and complexity of the code. Using Enterprise Service Bus user interface to collect shipper-specific form data is not a valid option because an ESB does not have a user interface component. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 16-17