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200-901 Practice Question: When designing a REST API for managing network…
When designing a REST API for managing network devices, which two principles should be followed to ensure statelessness?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between statelessness and other REST principles like idempotency or versioning; the trap here is that candidates confuse 'statelessness' with 'idempotency' or 'backward compatibility', leading them to select options that are valid REST practices but do not address the statelessness constraint.
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
✓
All state information is stored on the client.
Statelessness in REST requires that all session state be stored on the client, not the server. Each request must be self-contained, meaning the server does not retain any client context between requests. This aligns with the REST architectural constraint defined by Roy Fielding, where the server treats each request independently.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
All state information is stored on the client.
Why this is correct
This is a key principle of statelessness: the client holds session state.
- ✗
The server maintains session data and identifies clients via cookies.
Why it's wrong here
This is stateful; the server should not maintain session state.
- ✗
API endpoints include version numbers to support backward compatibility.
Why it's wrong here
Versioning is a good practice but not related to statelessness.
- ✓
Each request from client to server must contain all information needed to understand and complete the request.
Why this is correct
Self-descriptive messages ensure the server does not rely on stored context.
- ✗
Responses are idempotent for all POST requests.
Why it's wrong here
POST is not idempotent; multiple identical POST requests may create multiple resources.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-901 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-901 exam.