A company uses several SaaS applications and wants employees to sign in once with a corporate account instead of maintaining separate passwords for each app. Which architecture is best?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
Distractor review
Shared generic accounts for each department.
Shared accounts reduce accountability and make it difficult to trace individual user activity.
Best answer
Federated single sign-on with a central identity provider.
This is the best choice because a central identity provider can authenticate the user once and then issue trusted access to multiple SaaS applications. It reduces password sprawl, simplifies account provisioning, and supports faster deprovisioning when an employee leaves. Federation also improves control because the business can manage identity from one place.
Distractor review
A separate username and password database in every SaaS application.
This increases password fatigue and creates more administrative overhead for onboarding, offboarding, and password resets.
Distractor review
A site-to-site VPN for every SaaS vendor.
VPNs can protect network paths, but they do not solve user authentication across multiple cloud applications.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A laptop is suspected of being used in a malware incident. It is still powered on and connected to Wi-Fi. What should the responder do before shutting it down?
Question 2
An employee reports a ransomware note on a file server. The server is still powered on, shares are still being accessed, and management wants service restored as quickly as possible. What should the incident response team do first?
Question 3
An employee reports a ransomware note on a finance laptop. The laptop is still powered on, connected to Wi-Fi, and the user says they were just working in a spreadsheet. Management wants the fastest safe response that also preserves evidence. What should the responder do first?
Question 4
You are handed a company laptop suspected in an insider theft case. Legal says the evidence may be needed in court. Which action best preserves admissibility?
Question 5
A developer wants to reduce the risk of SQL injection in a new customer search form. Which two changes are the best mitigations? Select two.
Question 6
A branch office uses a flat LAN, and a compromise on one user workstation could spread quickly to finance systems. Management wants finance workstations isolated from general users, but finance staff still need access to a central finance application and network printer. What is the best design change?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SY0-701 question test?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Federated single sign-on with a central identity provider. — Federated single sign-on is the best architecture for centralized access to multiple SaaS applications. The identity provider authenticates the user once and then shares trusted identity information with each application. That reduces repeated logins, lowers password management burden, and makes account lifecycle management easier for the security team. It is also a common enterprise design for improving usability without sacrificing control. Why others are wrong: Shared accounts remove accountability, and separate passwords in every app create too much sprawl. A VPN protects transport paths but does not provide unified identity across SaaS platforms.
What should I do if I get this SY0-701 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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