SF-Data-Arch Data Migration Practice Question
A data architect is migrating 10 million Case records and their related Case Comments from a legacy system to Salesforce Service Cloud. The legacy system stores Case Comments in a separate table with a foreign key to the Case. The architect plans to use Bulk API 2.0 for the migration. What is the most critical consideration for maintaining referential integrity between Cases and Case Comments during the load?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is thinking that External IDs can bypass the need for the parent record to exist, or that parallel loading can maintain relationships.
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
✓
Load Cases first, then load Case Comments with the correct ParentId referencing the Salesforce Case ID.
Referential integrity requires that parent records exist before children. Therefore, Cases must be loaded first, and their Salesforce IDs captured to populate the ParentId on Case Comments. Using an External ID on Case can facilitate mapping. Parallel loading or relying solely on External IDs without loading Cases first would fail.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Load Cases and Case Comments simultaneously using parallel processing to save time.
Why it's wrong here
Loading simultaneously risks creating comments before their parent Cases exist, leading to orphaned records or failures. Salesforce requires the parent record to exist before creating a child with a lookup. Parallel processing does not guarantee order, so referential integrity would be compromised. Sequential loading is necessary.
- ✓
Load Cases first, then load Case Comments with the correct ParentId referencing the Salesforce Case ID.
Why this is correct
To maintain referential integrity, Cases must be loaded first to generate Salesforce IDs. Then, Case Comments can be loaded with the ParentId set to the corresponding Case ID. This requires mapping legacy Case IDs to Salesforce IDs, often via an External ID field on Case. This sequential approach ensures that each comment is linked to an existing Case.
- ✗
Disable validation rules on Case Comments to avoid errors during the load.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling validation rules may prevent some errors, but it does not address referential integrity. The core issue is ensuring the parent Case exists before the comment. Validation rules are separate from relationship constraints. This action alone would not maintain referential integrity.
- ✗
Use an External ID field on Case Comments to link to the legacy Case ID without loading Cases first.
Why it's wrong here
Even with an External ID, the parent Case must exist in Salesforce for the lookup relationship to be established. Salesforce does not support creating a child record with a lookup to a non-existent parent. The External ID on Case Comments would need to reference an External ID on Case, but the Case record must still be present. So loading Cases first is still required.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Salesforce exam blueprint
This SF-Data-Arch practice question is part of Courseiva's free Salesforce 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 SF-Data-Arch exam.