200-901 Software Development and Design Practice Question
A developer is designing a microservices-based network management system. One requirement is that when a new device is discovered, multiple other services must be notified asynchronously to perform tasks like inventory update, monitoring setup, and log collection. Which architectural pattern best fits this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between synchronous (REST) and asynchronous (event-driven) communication patterns, and the trap here is assuming that RESTful APIs can be used for asynchronous notifications when they are inherently synchronous unless combined with additional mechanisms like webhooks or polling.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Event-driven architecture
The event-driven architecture is correct because it enables asynchronous, decoupled communication between services. When a new device is discovered, an event (e.g., a message on a message broker like Kafka or RabbitMQ) is published, and multiple subscriber services (inventory, monitoring, logging) react independently without blocking the discovery service. This pattern directly supports the requirement for loose coupling and asynchronous notification.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Event-driven architecture
Why this is correct
Event-driven architecture decouples producers from consumers: the discovery service publishes a device-discovered event to a broker, and inventory, monitoring and logging services subscribe independently, each reacting asynchronously without the publisher waiting. This satisfies the stem's requirement that multiple services be notified asynchronously, and lets new subscribers be added without modifying the discovery service.
- ✗
Model-View-Controller (MVC)
Why it's wrong here
MVC is a design pattern for user interfaces, not for inter-service communication.
- ✗
RESTful API
Why it's wrong here
RESTful APIs are synchronous request-response interfaces; a caller must invoke each service individually, so no asynchronous fan-out to inventory, monitoring and logging occurs. It is tempting because REST is the default way microservices expose endpoints, and it would be correct for defining how a service is queried or invoked on demand.
- ✗
Monolithic architecture
Why it's wrong here
A monolith bundles all functionality into one deployable unit, so inventory, monitoring and logging cannot be notified as separate asynchronous services. It is tempting because it is the simplest starting architecture for small systems, and it would be correct for a single-team application where independent scaling and decoupled notification are not required.
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