200-901 Understanding and Using APIs Practice Question
This 200-901 practice question tests your understanding of understanding and using apis. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
When designing a REST API for managing network devices, which two principles should be followed to ensure statelessness?
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.
Option A is correct because 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.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
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.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Responses are idempotent for all POST requests.
Why it's wrong here
POST is not idempotent; multiple identical POST requests may create multiple resources.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
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.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, statelessness means the server does not use any HTTP session or server-side storage (e.g., HttpSession in Java, $_SESSION in PHP) to track client state. Instead, the client includes all necessary authentication tokens, resource identifiers, and parameters in each request, often via headers like Authorization or in the URI. In real-world scenarios, this design allows horizontal scaling because any server instance can handle any request without needing shared session state, which is critical for load-balanced environments.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Understanding and Using APIs — This question tests Understanding and Using APIs — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: All state information is stored on the client. — Option A is correct because 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.
What should I do if I get this 200-901 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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