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

 Both Platform Events and Outbound Message offer declarative means for asynchronous near-real time needs. They aren’t best suited for real-time integrations (A). In both Platform Events and Outbound Messages, the event messages are retried by and delivered in sequence, and only once. Salesforce ensures there is no duplicate message delivery (B). Message sequence is possible in Outbound Message but not guaranteed with PlatformEvents. Both offer very high reliability. Fault handling and recovery are fully handled by Salesforce ©. Number of concurrent subscribers to Platform Events is capped at 2,000. An Outbound Message configuration can pass only 100 notifications in a single message to a SOAP end point (D). Both Platform Events and Outbound Message are highly scalable. However, unlike Outbound Message, only Platform Events have Event Delivery and Event Publishing limits to be considered (E). Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 23

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.

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

The API that should be used for the Salesforce platform event solution is Tooling API. Tooling API is a specialized API that exposes metadata used in developer tooling that you can access through REST or SOAP. You can use Tooling API to create, update,or delete platform event definitions and fields4 Streaming API is used to subscribe to platform events and receive notifications when they are published5

The end-to-end response time from the user’s perspective is the time elapsed between the user’s request and the user’s receipt of the final response. In the diagram, this corresponds to the sum of A and H, which are the durations of the synchronous calls from the user interface to the cloud-based application and back. The other durations (B to G) are either internal tothe cloud-based application or asynchronous calls that do not affect the user’s perception of response time. Therefore, the correct answer is D, because it represents the sum of A and H.

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 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 best solution for this scenario is to use a custom object to store the file location URL and redirect the community user to the on-premise file store when they click on the URL.This way, the community user can access the large design files without having to download them or use any external data source. Option A is not feasible because the Request and Reply integration pattern is not suitable for large files and would cause performance issues. Option B is not correct because Salesforce Connect cannot upload files to an external object, only data. Option D is not possible because Salesforce Files has a limit of 2 GB per file, and the design files are 2.5 GB in size. References:

Salesforce Connect Developer Guide

Salesforce Files Developer Guide

The Data Virtualization pattern allows Salesforce to access external data sources without storing the data in Salesforce. This reduces the data storage and synchronization costs and enables real-time access to the historical data. Salesforce Connect can be used to consume OData endpoints exposed by the ESB tool and display the external objects as related lists or custom components on the Case object

 Invoking middleware service to retrieve valid shipping methods is a solution that can allow the sales representatives to select between valid services for the customer’s country. The middleware service can act as a single point of entry for all shipping services and provide routing and transformation capabilities. Using middleware to abstract the call to the specific shipping services is a solution that can allow the sales representatives to request shipping estimates from the selected service. The middleware can hide thecomplexity and heterogeneity of the shipping services and provide mediation and orchestration capabilities. Using Platform Events to construct and publish shipper-specific events is not a solution, as Platform Events are used for event-driven integration,not for web-service integration. Storing shipping services in a picklist that is dependent on a country picklist is not a solution, as it does not address how to request shipping estimates from the shipping services. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 16-17

 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

The Salesforce Community Cloud should support OpenId Connect Authentication Provider and Registration Handler, and SAML SSO and just-in-time provisioning for self-registration and SSO. OpenId Connect is a protocol that allows users to authenticate with an external identity provider and access Salesforce resources. A registration handler is a class that implements the Auth.RegistrationHandler interface and defines how to create new users or update existing users in Salesforce from the information received from the identity provider. SAML SSO is a protocol that allows users to log in to Salesforce with a single credential from an identity provider. Just-in-time provisioning is a featurethat allows creating or updating user accounts in Salesforce based on SAML assertions.

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

Outbound Messaging and Platform Events are both suitable solutions for capturing and sending business events from Salesforce to an external system in real time. Outbound Messaging allows you to specify workflow rules that send SOAP messages with field values to designated endpoints1. Platform Events are secure and scalable messages that contain data and can be published and subscribed to using various APIs2. A trigger or a custom Apex controller can be used to publish platform events from Salesforce34. A callout is not a suitable solution because it is a synchronous request that may fail or timeout, and it also consumes API limits. A contract-first Outbound Messaging interface is not a valid option because Outbound Messaging uses a predefined WSDL that cannot be customized

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

Answer A is valid because the Remote Process Invocation fire and forget pattern allows sending a message from Salesforceto the ERP system without waiting for a response or acknowledgement. This enables near real-time integration and reduces the latency and complexity of the integration. The Flow Builder is a low code tool that can be used to invoke an Apex actionthat makes the HTTP callout to the REST endpoint on insert of the order object12

Answer C is valid because the Change Data Capture feature allows capturing changes in Salesforce data and publishing them as eventsto a streaming channel. The middleware can subscribe to the channel and receive the events that contain the order details. The replay Id is a unique identifier for each event that can be used by the middleware to resume from the last processed event in case of failures or interruptions. This ensures reliable and consistent integration between Salesforce and the ERP system3

Answer B is not valid because the Outbound Messaging feature uses SOAP messages to send notifications to external systems based on workflow rules. This requires configuring a SOAP endpoint and a WSDL file for the ERP system, which may not be compatible with the REST endpoint requirement. Moreover, Outbound Messaging does not guarantee delivery or order of messages, which may affect the accuracy and timeliness of the integration.

Answer D is not valid because the Platform Event feature allows publishing custom events from Salesforce to external systems or vice versa using a publish/subscribe model. However, this requires creating a platform event object and defining its fields and permissions, which may notbe a low code solution. Moreover, using the record type as the platform event name may not be a valid or meaningful option, as record types are used to define different business processes or user interfaces for an object.

1:Remote Process Invocation—Fire and Forget 2: Invoke an Apex Class That Makes a Callout 3: Change Data Capture : Replay Events Using Middleware : Outbound Messaging Implementation Guide : Platform Events Developer Guide

Timing aspects, real-time/near real-time (synchronous or asynchronous), batch and update frequency are relevant details that an integration architect should seek to specifically solve for integration architecture needs of the program. These details help to determine the appropriate integration pattern, technology, and solution for the business requirements. Core functional and non-functional requirements for User Experience design, Encryption needs, Community and license choices are important for the overall program design, but not specific to the integration architecture needs. Integration skills, SME availability, and Program Governance details are also important for the program execution, but not specific to the integration architectureneeds.

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

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.

Option D is correct because Tooling API is the Salesforce API that can be used to retrieve code coverage and test results for Apex classes and triggers. Tooling API provides REST and SOAP interfaces to access metadata about code, execute tests, and get test results12

Option A is incorrect because SOAP API is a Salesforce API that can be used to create, retrieve, update, or delete records, but not to get code coverage and test results. SOAP API uses a WSDL file to define the parameters for accessing data through the API3

Option B is incorrect because Analytics REST API is a Salesforce API that can be used to access data from reports and dashboards, but not from code coverage and test results. Analytics RESTAPI provides a programmatic way to interact with analyticsfeatures such as lenses, datasets, and dashboards4

Option C is incorrect because Metadata API is a Salesforce API that can be used to retrieve, deploy, create, update, or delete customization information, such as custom object definitions and page layouts, but not code coverage and test results. Metadata API is mainlyused for development tools or backup tools5

Named Credentials and Protected Custom Settings are two persistence mechanisms that can be used to ensure that secrets are protected from deliberate or inadvertent exposure. Named Credentials allow you to specify the URL of a callout endpoint and its required authentication parameters in one definition. Salesforce manages all the authentication for Apex callouts that specify a namedcredential as the callout endpoint, and you don’t have to add more authentication logic in your Apex code. Named Credentials can be defined to provide a secure and convenient way of settingup authenticated callouts, and they can also be usedin Lightning components, Visualforce pages, and flows1.

Protected Custom Settings are a type of custom settings that store application-specific data that is hidden from subscribers. They are only accessible by the managed package that created them, and they canbe used to store secrets such as encryption keys, passwords, or tokens. Protected Custom Settings can be accessed by Apex code, formulas, or validation rules within the same namespace as the settings2.

Encrypted Custom Fields are not a suitable mechanism for storing secrets, because they are not designed to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. Encrypted Custom Fields allow you to encrypt text fields using a standard encryption scheme. The encrypteddata is masked in reports, list views, and search results, but it can still be viewed by users who have the “View Encrypted Data” permission. Encrypted Custom Fields are intended to protect data from unauthorized access by users within your organization, not from external threats or malicious code3.

Protected Custom Metadata Types are another type of custom metadata types that store application-specific data that is hidden from subscribers. They are similar to Protected Custom Settings, but they have some advantages such as being deployable using change sets or Metadata API, being accessible by SOQL queries, and being able to reference other metadata types or settings. However, Protected Custom Metadata Types cannot be used to store secrets, because they do not support encryption or masking of sensitive data. Protected Custom Metadata Types are intended to store configuration datathat is specific to your managed package, not secrets that need to be secured.

Therefore, the correct answer is B and D, because Named Credentials and Protected Custom Settings are the only persistence mechanisms that can be used to securely store secretsin Salesforce.

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.

 The best solutions for minimizing potential downtime for users in this situation are to use named credentials and an enterprise ESB. Named credentials allow you to store the URLand authentication parameters of an external service in one definition, and then use it in Apex callouts or declarative integrations. If the URL of the external service changes, you only need to update the named credential once, and all the integrations that use it will be updated automatically. An enterprise ESB is a middleware layer that acts as a broker between different systems and services. It can provide routing, transformation, orchestration, and monitoring capabilities for integrations. If the URL of an external service changes, you only need to update the ESB configuration once, and all the integrations that use it will be updated automatically. Option B is not correct because remote site settings only allow you to specify the domains that are allowed for callouts from your org. They do not store any authentication parameters or provide any routing or transformation capabilities. Option C is not correct because content security policies are used to control what resources can be loaded on a Visualforce or Lightning page. They do not store any authentication parameters or provide any routing or transformation capabilities. References:

NamedCredentials

Streamline and Secure: Mastering Named Credentials in Salesforce

The Architect should determine the data access prevention requirements and then identify the system constraints before recommending a solution. The data access prevention requirements are the business rules and policies that define how to prevent deactivated employees from accessing Salesforce data. For example, the Architect should determine whether the HR system can send a notification to Salesforce when an employee is deactivated, or whether Salesforce needs to query the HR system periodically to check the employee status. Thesystem constraints are the technical limitations and challenges that may affect the integration solution. For example, the Architect should determine whether the HR system supports outbound or inbound integration, what are the security and authenticationprotocols, what are the data formats and protocols, and what are the performance and scalability requirements. The frequency of the integration is not as important as the requirements and constraints, as it can be adjusted based on the business needs and technical feasibility. The data volume requirements and loading schedule are not relevant for this scenario, as they are more applicable for data migration or replication scenarios.