KCNA Cloud Native Architecture Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✓

  It provides a single entry point for client requests and handles cross-cutting concerns

  Why this is correct

  An API gateway fronts the services, so clients call one stable endpoint instead of tracking individual service addresses. It centralises cross-cutting concerns such as authentication, rate limiting, routing and TLS termination, decoupling clients from service topology.

• ✗

  It replaces the need for service meshes

  Why it's wrong here

  An API gateway routes north-south client traffic to backend services; it does not provide the mutual TLS, retries, circuit breaking or sidecar proxies that service meshes deliver for east-west traffic. It is tempting because both sit in the request path, so a mesh is the right answer when the requirement is service-to-service resilience.

• ✗

  It stores application state

  Why it's wrong here

  An API gateway is stateless, forwarding and transforming requests; state belongs in databases, caches or dedicated stores. It is tempting because gateways can cache responses and hold connection pools, so a gateway is the right answer when the requirement is centralising authentication, rate limiting or request routing.

• ✗

  It performs service-to-service communication

  Why it's wrong here

  An API gateway handles client-to-service traffic; service-to-service calls flow directly or through a mesh sidecar, not back through the gateway. It is tempting because the gateway does forward requests onward, so it is the right answer when external clients need one stable entry point rather than internal inter-service calls.

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