Integration-Architect Questions and Answers

 Reducing the batch size of asynchronous BULK API and submitting the legacy system in parallel mode are two recommendations that can improve the integration performance. The BULK API is designed to handle large-scale data loads, but it can also cause latency issues if the batch size is too large or the network bandwidth is insufficient. Reducing the batch size can help to avoid timeouts and improve throughput. Submitting the legacy system in parallel mode can also speed up the integration process by allowing multiple batches to be processed concurrently, as long as there are no dependencies or conflicts between them. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 21

The system constraint questions that should be considered when designing an integration to send orders from Salesforce to a fulfillment system are related to the performance, reliability, and scalability of the integration. The latency and idempotency of the integration are important factors that affect these aspects. Therefore, the questions A and D are relevant for the integration design. The question B is related to the business logic of the order validation, which is not a system constraint question. The question C is related to the implementation details of the Outbound Messaging interface, which is not a system constraint question either

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 feature that allows creating or updating user accounts in Salesforce based on SAML assertions.

References: [OpenID Connect Authentication Providers], [Registration Handler Interface], [SAML Single Sign-On for Communities].

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 details can 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 the Integration 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.

References: Certification - Integration Architect - Trailhead, [Integration Patterns and Practices]

The system requirement is to expose data from the on-premise applications to Salesforce for a more unified user experience in real-time. The possible actions that can fulfill this requirement are:

• Answer B is valid because developing custom APIs on the company’s network that are invokable by Salesforce can allow Salesforce to access the data from the on-premise applications in real-time. However, this action requires opening a firewall port or using a reverse proxy to allow Salesforce to communicate with the on-premise APIs securely3
• Answer C is valid because deploying MuleSoft to the on-premise network and designing externally facing APIs to expose the data can also enable Salesforce to access the data from the on-premise applications in real-time. MuleSoft is an integration platform that can connect various systems and applications using APIs and standard protocols. MuleSoft can also handle security, orchestration, transformation, and other integration aspects.
• Answer A is not valid because developing an application in Heroku that connects to the on-premise database via an ODBC string and VPC connection is not a real-time solution. Heroku is a cloud platform that can host web applications and services, but it cannot expose data from an on-premise database directly to Salesforce. To use Heroku for this purpose, an ETL tool or a middleware solution would be needed to synchronize the data between the on-premise database and Heroku, which would introduce latency and complexity to the integration.
• Answer D is not valid because running a batch job with an ETL tool from an on-premise server to move data to Salesforce is also not a real-time solution. ETL stands for extract, transform, and load, which is a process of moving data from one system to another in batches. ETL tools can be used for data migration or integration, but they cannot provide real-time access to data from on-premise applications to Salesforce. ETL tools also have limitations on data volume, frequency, and reliability.

1: Bulk API Limits 2: Bulk API Features 3: Integrating with Salesforce using Custom Web Services : MuleSoft Overview : Heroku Overview : ETL Overview

The integration architect should consider the impact of deleted records on system functionality, the ability to delete personal data in every system, and the ability to provide a 360-degree view of the customer. These are important requirements for ensuring that the company can comply with the privacy and data protection regulations, as well as deliver a customer-centric service. Option A is not correct because manual steps and procedures are not desirable for deleting personal data on demand. The integration architect should aim for an automated and reliable solution that minimizes human intervention and errors. Option D is not correct because restoring deleted records when needed may violate the privacy and data protection regulations, as well as the customer’s consent. The integration architect should ensure that the deletion of personal data is permanent and irreversible.

The message durability considerations that an Integration Architect should make when designing a solution to meet these business requirements are:

• When subscribing to Salesforce Event bus, ReplayID is used with a value of -2 to be able to see old and new events.
• High-volume event messages are stored for 72 hours (three days).

A Salesforce Event bus is a messaging service that allows you to publish and subscribe to events in Salesforce or from external sources. ReplayID is a property of an event message that indicates its position in the event stream. By using ReplayID with a value of -2, you can replay all events stored in the retention window, which can help you see the stages of order processing in Salesforce. High-volume event messages are a type of event message that can handle large volumes of data and are optimized for performance and scalability. High-volume event messages are stored for 72 hours (three days) in the event bus, which means they can be replayed within that time frame. The other options are not correct. Using ReplayID with a value of -1 means you can only see new events that are published after your subscription. High-volume event messages are not stored for 24 hours (one day), but for 72 hours (three days).

The three systems from the current system landscape that can be retired 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 or better 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.

 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 the complexity 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

• Option A is correct because Salesforce B2C Commerce to Service Cloud Connector is an integration solution that allows service agents to see order history from a B2C Commerce system. Salesforce B2C Commerce to Service Cloud Connector is a pre-built package that integrates Salesforce B2C Commerce and Service Cloud using REST APIs and Platform Events. It enables service agents to view, edit, cancel, and refund orders from B2C Commerce within the Service Cloud console. It also supports features such as customer verification, order search, order details, and order history.
• Option B is incorrect because a REST API offered by Commerce Platform is not an integration solution that allows service agents to see order history from a B2C Commerce system. A REST API offered by Commerce Platform is a set of web services that expose the functionality and data of the Commerce Platform to external applications. It can be used to create, update, delete, or query resources such as products, catalogs, customers, or orders. However, a REST API offered by Commerce Platform is not a complete integration solution, as it requires additional development, configuration, and maintenance to connect with Service Cloud and display the order history in the Service Cloud console.
• Option C is incorrect because Mulesoft Anypoint Platform is not an integration solution that allows service agents to see order history from a B2C Commerce system. Mulesoft Anypoint Platform is a platform that enables developers to build, manage, and monitor integrations and APIs across various systems and applications. It can be used to connect Salesforce B2C Commerce and Service Cloud using various connectors, protocols, and transformations. However, Mulesoft Anypoint Platform is not a pre-built integration solution, as it requires additional development, configuration, and maintenance to connect with Service Cloud and display the order history in the Service Cloud console.
• Option D is incorrect because a REST API offered by Salesforce Platform is not an integration solution that allows service agents to see order history from a B2C Commerce system. A REST API offered by Salesforce Platform is a set of web services that expose the functionality and data of the Salesforce Platform to external applications. It can be used to create, update, delete, or query resources such as objects, records, metadata, or Apex classes. However, a REST API offered by Salesforce Platform is not a complete integration solution, as it requires additional development, configuration, and maintenance to connect with B2C Commerce and display the order history in the Service Cloud console.

References: Salesforce B2C Commerce to Service Cloud Connector : Salesforce B2C Commerce to Service Cloud Connector Implementation Guide : Commerce API Explorer : MuleSoft | Integration Platform for Connecting SaaS and Enterprise Applications : REST API Developer Guide

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 hour limits are not exceeded.

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 each record in the request body, and the 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 for creating nested data 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 a series 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.

References: 1: SObject Collections | REST API Developer Guide | Salesforce Developers 2: SObject Tree | REST API Developer Guide | Salesforce Developers 3: Batch | REST API Developer Guide | Salesforce Developers : [Composite | REST API Developer Guide | Salesforce Developers]

Using a Connected App for each external system integration is a good solution because it can provide security, auditing, and monitoring features for each integration. A Connected App is an application that can connect to Salesforce using APIs and OAuth as an authentication protocol. A Connected App can also enforce policies such as IP restrictions, login hours, and session timeout for each integration. Using a shared integration user for the three external system integrations is not a good solution because it violates the principle of least privilege, as well as makes it difficult to audit the activities of each system. Using a shared Connected App for the three external system integrations is also not a good solution because it does not allow for granular control and visibility of each integration. Using a unique integration user for each external system integration is not enough to meet the security and auditing requirements, as it does not provide any mechanism for authentication, authorization, or encryption. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 20-21

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

The recommendations that the Salesforce integration architect should make to fulfill the requirements around caching, queuing, error handling, alerts, retries, event handling, etc. are based on the best practices and capabilities of the middleware tools. The recommendation B is valid because middleware tools can provide true message queueing for integration scenarios that require asynchronous processing, guaranteed delivery, load balancing, etc. The recommendation D is valid because middleware tools can handle various events that may occur during the integration process, such as logging errors, sending notifications, triggering recovery actions, etc. The recommendation E is valid because middleware tools can support the publish/subscribe pattern for event-driven integration, where the middleware can route messages from publishers to subscribers based on topics or filters. The recommendation A is not valid because transforming a fire-and-forget mechanism to request-reply does not improve performance, but rather increases the latency and complexity of the integration. The recommendation C is not valid because message transformation and protocol translation are tasks that are better suited for middleware tools than Salesforce, as they can handle different formats and protocols more efficiently and flexibly23

1: Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide 2: Integration Patterns and Practices 3: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Certification Exam Guide

An API gateway is a component that acts as a single point of entry for all cloud applications to access on-premise resources and services. It can provide security, routing, transformation, and other features to facilitate integration. An API gateway component should be deployable behind a DMZ or perimeter network, which is a subnetwork that separates the internal network from the external network and provides an additional layer of security. The middleware solution should also be capable of establishing a secure API gateway between cloud applications and on-premise resources, which may involve using protocols such as HTTPS, SSL/TLS, or VPN. The OAuth security protocol is not a requirement for choosing a middleware solution, as it is a standard for authorizing access to resources on behalf of a user. The middleware solution’s ability to interface directly with databases via an ODBC connection string is also not a requirement, as it is a specific feature that may or may not be needed depending on the integration scenario. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 14-15

Creating Salesforce Cases using the Salesforce REST, SOAP or Bulk API is a solution that can allow the logging service to create case records in Salesforce based on the exceptions received from the middleware platform. This way, the logging service can use the standard APIs to interact with Salesforce and leverage the features and functionality of the case object. Creating Salesforce Cases conditionally using automatic Case creation rules is a solution that can allow the logging service to create case records in Salesforce based on predefined criteria and actions. This way, the logging service can reduce the number of API calls and avoid creating unnecessary or duplicate cases. Receiving Application Events through Change Data Capture (CDC) is not a solution that is related to this requirement, as CDC is used for capturing data changes in Salesforce and sending them to external systems, not for receiving data from external systems. Subscribing to the Application Exceptions using the Salesforce Streaming API is also not a solution that is related to this requirement, as Streaming API is used for subscribing to events or notifications from Salesforce, not for sending data to Salesforce. Reference: Salesforce Integration Architecture Designer Resource Guide, page 25-26

Streaming API is the best option for sending real-time notifications of changes to Salesforce data. Streaming API uses a publish-subscribe model to push relevant data to subscribers without polling. Streaming API supports PushTopic events, which are based on SOQL queries that define the data changes to listen for. The affiliate company can subscribe to a PushTopic event on the NTO Salesforce org and receive notifications whenever the data that matches the query changes. This way, the affiliate company can be informed of any updates to the opportunities in the NTO Salesforce instance.

 The integration architect should require bulk load for Einstein Analytics and callouts to RESTful services for the Community Cloud portal and Einstein Analytics. Bulk load is a capability that allows loading large volumes of data into Einstein Analytics from external sources, such as the Patient Prescriptions System. This can be done securely by using encryption in transit and at rest, and by masking or removing any identifiable patient information from the data. Callouts to RESTful services are a capability that allows making requests to external web services from Salesforce, such as the Patient Prescriptions System. This can be done securely by using identity tokens or certificates for authentication and authorization, and by using encryption in transit and at rest12

References: How to Load Data into Einstein Analytics, Strengthen Your Data’s Security with Shield Platform Encryption

 These are three considerations that an Integration Architect should consider when recommending Platform Event as an Integration solution. Platform Events are a type of event-driven architecture that allows you to publish and subscribe to custom events in Salesforce and external systems. Platform Events have some limitations and features that an Integration Architect should be aware of, such as:

• Inability to query event messages using SOQL. Platform Events are not stored in Salesforce database, but in an event bus that retains them for 24 hours. You cannot use SOQL to query event messages, but you can use the EventLogFile object or the Event Monitoring feature to access them.
• Inability to create a Lightning record page for platform events. Platform Events are not standard or custom objects, but a special type of sObject that can be inserted into the event bus. You cannot create a Lightning record page for platform events, but you can use Apex triggers, Lightning web components, or CometD clients to subscribe to them.
• When you delete an event definition, it’s permanently removed and can’t be restored. An event definition is a metadata type that defines the schema and properties of a platform event message. You can create or modify event definitions in Salesforce Setup or using Metadata API. However, if you delete an event definition, it’s permanently removed from your org and can’t be restored. You also lose access to any event messages that use that event definition.

References: Certification - Integration Architect - Trailhead, [Platform Events Developer Guide]

 Make a callout to the payment gateway through ESB supporting error handling and logging for audit purposes. This solution meets the requirements of integrating with an external RESTful service, ensuring real-time updates to the CSR, and supporting post payment processes. ESB stands for Enterprise Service Bus, which is a software architecture model that allows communication between different applications via a common bus. ESB can handle the callout to the payment gateway service, and provide error handling, logging, routing, transformation, and orchestration capabilities. ESB can also integrate with other systems or services that are involved in the post payment processes, such as billing, invoicing, or reporting. References: Certification - Integration Architect - Trailhead, [Enterprise Integration Patterns]

The continuation class in Apex allows you to make long-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

References: Callout Limits and Limitations

The HttpCalloutMock interface allows testing HTTP callouts by returning a predefined response in a test context. By implementing HttpCalloutMock to return responses per RAML specification, the Apex REST API Clients unit tests can confirm that the API requests and responses match the expected format and values. Calling the Apex REST API Clients in a test context to get the mock response is also necessary to verify the adherence to the RAML specs. Calling the HttpCalloutMock implementation from the Apex REST API Clients or requiring the Apex REST API Clients to implement the HttpCalloutMock are not valid options because the HttpCalloutMock interface is implemented by a separate class that is passed as a parameter to the Test.setMock method2

References: 1: Idempotent REST APIs 2: Testing HTTP Callouts by Implementing the HttpCalloutMock Interface

Remote Site Settings and Named Credentials are solutions that should be implemented to minimize potential downtime for users in this situation. Remote Site Settings allow you to specify external domains that your organization can access during API calls or integrations. Named Credentials allow you to store authentication information for external services in a secure way. By using Named Credentials, you can easily update the URL of the external service without changing any code or configuration that references it. Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) and Remote Site Settings are not solutions that should be implemented in this situation because ESB is a middleware that facilitates communication between different systems, not a way to update the URL of an external service. Event Monitoring and Content Security Policies are also not solutions that should be implemented in this situation because Event Monitoring is used to track user activity and performance metrics, not to monitor external service availability. Content Security Policies are used to control what resources can be loaded on a web page, not to update the URL of an external service.

 Configuring Identity Type, Certificate, and CSRF Protection for OData connection are three configurations that an Integration Architect should recommend to secure requests coming from Salesforce. Identity Type is used to specify the authentication method for the OData connection, such as Basic Authentication, OAuth 2.0, or Named Principal. Certificate is used to enable SSL/TLS encryption for the OData connection, which protects the data in transit from eavesdropping or tampering. CSRF Protection is used to prevent cross-site request forgery attacks, which exploit the trust between the user and Salesforce by sending malicious requests from another website. Configuring Special Compatibility for OData connection is not a configuration that is related to security, but rather to compatibility issues with different versions or implementations of OData. Configuring CSRF Protection on External Data Source is not a configuration that can be done in Salesforce, but rather on the external data source itself. Reference: Salesforce Connect: Custom Adapters Developer Guide, page 9-10

Event Monitoring is used to track user activity, such as logins and 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 be restored. This means that the event definition and its associated data are no longer available for subscribers or queries.