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200-901 Practice Question: Which THREE of the following are key…
Which THREE of the following are key characteristics of a RESTful API? (Choose three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between REST and SOAP, and the trap here is that candidates may confuse REST's statelessness with the need for session cookies (stateful behavior) or incorrectly associate REST with SOAP due to both being web service technologies.
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
✓
Resource-based URLs
Option A (Resource-based URLs) is correct because REST models everything as a resource identified by a URI, such as /users/123, so each endpoint represents a distinct resource rather than an action. Option B (Stateless communication) is correct because each REST request must contain all information needed to process it, and the server does not retain client session state between requests. Option E (Uses standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)) is correct because REST leverages HTTP verbs to perform CRUD operations on resources, with GET for retrieval, POST for creation, PUT for update/replace, and DELETE for removal. Option C (Uses SOAP protocol) is incorrect because SOAP is a separate XML-based messaging protocol, whereas REST is an architectural style that typically uses HTTP and can return JSON or XML. Option D (Relies on session cookies for state) is incorrect because REST is stateless and does not depend on server-side sessions or cookies to maintain client state.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Resource-based URLs
Why this is correct
Resource-based URLs expose each entity as a distinct addressable endpoint, so clients manipulate state through standard HTTP verbs rather than bespoke method names. This satisfies REST's uniform-interface constraint, letting the API scale statelessly and cache predictably across distributed callers.
- ✓
Stateless communication
Why this is correct
Statelessness means each request carries all context needed, so the server retains no client session between calls. This satisfies REST's constraint that every HTTP request be self-contained, letting any server instance handle it and enabling horizontal scaling without shared session state.
- ✗
Uses SOAP protocol
Why it's wrong here
REST is an architectural style using HTTP verbs and URIs; SOAP is a separate XML-based messaging protocol with its own envelope and WS-* standards, so a RESTful API does not use it. SOAP suits enterprise contracts needing formal schemas, transactions and WS-Security, not lightweight resource-based interfaces.
- ✗
Relies on session cookies for state
Why it's wrong here
REST is stateless: each request carries all context needed, so servers hold no client session between calls. Session cookies create server-side state, which is the stateful model of traditional web applications, and would be the right approach when a server must track a logged-in user across requests.
- ✓
Uses standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
Why this is correct
REST mandates a uniform interface, and standard HTTP verbs provide it: GET retrieves, POST creates, PUT updates, DELETE removes. This satisfies the constraint that resources be manipulated through uniform, predefined operations rather than arbitrary method names.
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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.