Heroku Architecture Designer Certification Exam Answers
What You Will Learn
The Salesforce Certified Heroku Architecture Designer Exam is designed for professionals seeking to validate their expertise in designing scalable, secure, and resilient applications on the Heroku platform, specifically for integrations with Salesforce. By preparing for and passing this exam, you will learn how to:
Architect Heroku applications that seamlessly integrate with Salesforce, maximizing performance and reliability.
Implement secure authentication and authorization models using OAuth and Salesforce Identity.
Design data management strategies including the use of Heroku Postgres, Redis, and Salesforce Platform Events.
Build fault-tolerant, highly available applications that gracefully handle failure scenarios.
Apply best practices in DevOps, continuous integration, and continuous delivery tailored for Heroku environments.
Optimize app scalability, monitoring, and cost management for enterprise-level deployments.
Address security concerns such as data encryption, secure storage of credentials, and network access controls.
Leverage Heroku Private Spaces and Shield for enhanced compliance and governance.
This exam is an excellent way to demonstrate your ability to design cloud-native architectures that extend Salesforce with the Heroku platform.
Who Should Take This Exam?
The Heroku Architecture Designer certification is ideal for:
Salesforce architects and developers who want to deepen their expertise in cloud application architecture with Heroku.
Solution architects responsible for designing integration solutions that combine Salesforce CRM with custom Heroku applications.
DevOps engineers managing Salesforce-Heroku deployments seeking to validate best practices in app lifecycle management.
Cloud engineers and consultants who design scalable, secure, and resilient Salesforce-integrated systems.
Professionals aiming to demonstrate their skills in modern application architecture, cloud security, and enterprise integration patterns.
Passing this exam validates your ability to create solutions that extend Salesforce functionality using Heroku’s powerful, flexible platform.
Key Topics Covered
The exam tests your knowledge and skills across several critical domains:
1. Heroku Platform Architecture
Understanding of Heroku dynos, add-ons, buildpacks, and deployment pipelines.
Knowledge of ephemeral filesystem and environment variables.
Design patterns for scalable and resilient apps.
2. Salesforce Integration Patterns
Usage of Salesforce APIs (REST, SOAP, Bulk) in Heroku apps.
Event-driven integrations using Salesforce Platform Events and Heroku Connect.
OAuth authentication flows including JWT Bearer Token and Web Server Flow.
3. Security and Compliance
Secure storage and management of secrets in Heroku Config Vars.
Use of Heroku Private Spaces and Shield for network isolation and data encryption.
OAuth scopes, token management, and SSO integration using Salesforce Identity.
Best practices for audit logging, secure API communication, and vulnerability mitigation.
4. Data Management
Use of Heroku Postgres, Redis, and other add-ons.
Data synchronization and caching strategies.
Handling sensitive data with encryption at rest and in transit.
5. Scalability and Availability
Techniques for horizontal and vertical scaling on Heroku.
Implementing retries, circuit breakers, and fallback mechanisms.
Monitoring and alerting using Heroku Metrics and external tools.
6. DevOps and Application Lifecycle
CI/CD pipelines and automated testing strategies.
Deployment strategies including Review Apps and staging environments.
Rollback, zero-downtime deploys, and version control best practices.
Why Earn the Heroku Architecture Designer Certification?
Becoming certified not only boosts your credibility but also helps you stand out in the Salesforce ecosystem. This credential shows employers and clients that you have mastered the design and implementation of modern cloud applications that fully leverage Heroku’s capabilities to extend Salesforce solutions.
Conclusion
The Salesforce Certified Heroku Architecture Designer Exam is a valuable certification for cloud architects, developers, and engineers working with Salesforce and Heroku. It covers a broad range of topics essential to building secure, scalable, and maintainable cloud applications. Whether you’re aiming to advance your career or improve your organization’s cloud integration capabilities, this certification provides the skills and validation you need.
Sample Questions and Answers
What is the primary benefit of using Heroku Dynos in a Salesforce Heroku architecture?
A) They provide permanent storage for application data
B) They allow automatic horizontal scaling of application processes
C) They replace Salesforce licenses
D) They are used to build Salesforce Lightning components
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Dynos are lightweight Linux containers that run application processes. They enable automatic horizontal scaling by increasing or decreasing the number of dynos based on demand, allowing apps to handle more traffic efficiently.
Which data store on Heroku is best suited for a transactional, relational database with strong ACID compliance?
A) Heroku Postgres
B) Heroku Redis
C) Apache Kafka on Heroku
D) Heroku Connect
Answer: A
Explanation: Heroku Postgres is a fully managed relational database service providing strong ACID compliance, making it ideal for transactional applications requiring reliable data consistency.
How does Heroku Connect facilitate integration between Salesforce and Heroku Postgres?
A) By streaming Apex events to Heroku
B) By synchronizing data between Salesforce objects and Heroku Postgres tables
C) By providing Lightning Web Components for Heroku
D) By allowing direct SQL queries to Salesforce data
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Connect syncs Salesforce objects and Heroku Postgres tables bidirectionally, keeping data consistent and enabling apps to work with Salesforce data in a relational database environment.
Which of the following is a key design consideration when architecting a Heroku app for high availability?
A) Use a single dyno type to reduce costs
B) Scale dynos across multiple availability zones and implement retries
C) Store all user session data locally on the dyno file system
D) Avoid autoscaling and use fixed dyno counts
Answer: B
Explanation: To achieve high availability, apps should run dynos across multiple availability zones (regions) and implement retry logic to handle transient failures gracefully.
What is the purpose of Heroku Pipelines in a continuous delivery architecture?
A) To manage the database schema versioning
B) To automate deployment workflow across staging and production environments
C) To monitor API usage quotas on Salesforce
D) To generate test data for apps
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Pipelines provide a visual workflow for continuous delivery, automating deployments through different stages (development, staging, production) to improve release quality and speed.
Which feature of Heroku enables real-time event streaming for decoupled architectures?
A) Heroku Postgres
B) Heroku Redis
C) Heroku Kafka
D) Heroku Connect
Answer: C
Explanation: Heroku Kafka is a fully managed Apache Kafka service that supports real-time event streaming, enabling event-driven and decoupled microservices architectures.
What is the recommended approach for managing environment-specific configuration in a Heroku app?
A) Hard-code configuration in source code
B) Use Heroku Config Vars (environment variables)
C) Store configuration in Salesforce Custom Settings
D) Use a shared database table for config values
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Config Vars provide a secure, flexible way to store environment-specific settings without hard-coding, supporting different configurations for dev, test, and production environments.
In a Salesforce-Heroku integration, which security practice should be followed to protect API credentials?
A) Store credentials in the Heroku app source code repository
B) Use Heroku Config Vars with encrypted environment variables
C) Use plain text credentials in application logs
D) Share credentials openly between all team members
Answer: B
Explanation: API credentials should be stored securely using Heroku Config Vars, which keep sensitive data out of source code and logs, minimizing exposure risk.
How can you ensure that a Heroku app handles spikes in user traffic without downtime?
A) Increase the size of a single dyno
B) Add more dynos and enable autoscaling
C) Restrict user access during peak hours
D) Disable logging to save resources
Answer: B
Explanation: Adding more dynos and enabling autoscaling allows Heroku to dynamically add or remove dynos based on traffic, preventing downtime during spikes.
What is the recommended method to implement session management in a stateless Heroku app?
A) Store sessions on the local dyno file system
B) Use a centralized session store like Heroku Redis
C) Store session data in Salesforce objects
D) Do not use sessions in web apps
Answer: B
Explanation: Since dynos are ephemeral and stateless, session data should be stored in an external, centralized store like Heroku Redis to ensure session persistence across dyno restarts.
Which tool would you use to monitor application performance and troubleshoot issues in a Heroku environment?
A) Heroku Metrics and Logs
B) Salesforce Setup Audit Trail
C) Heroku Connect Dashboard
D) Salesforce Lightning Inspector
Answer: A
Explanation: Heroku Metrics and Logs provide detailed insights into app performance, resource usage, errors, and logs, which are essential for troubleshooting and optimization.
What is the benefit of using Heroku Private Spaces in enterprise architectures?
A) It provides shared public routing for apps
B) It enables network isolation and VPN connections to Salesforce environments
C) It disables SSL by default
D) It removes the need for API authentication
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Private Spaces offer network isolation, secure private routing, and the ability to connect with Salesforce via VPN or private links, enhancing security for enterprise-grade apps.
When would you choose to use Heroku Redis over Heroku Postgres?
A) For storing long-term transactional data
B) For caching, session storage, and real-time analytics
C) For storing Salesforce records directly
D) For handling bulk data exports
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Redis is optimized for fast, in-memory data storage, making it ideal for caching, session management, and real-time analytics, whereas Postgres is for durable, relational data.
What is a common use case for Apache Kafka on Heroku in a Salesforce-Heroku integration?
A) Real-time synchronization of Salesforce records to external systems
B) Running batch Apex jobs
C) Hosting Salesforce Lightning apps
D) Managing Salesforce user permissions
Answer: A
Explanation: Kafka supports event-driven architectures by streaming Salesforce change events in real-time to external systems, enabling responsive integrations.
How does Heroku ensure the security of data in transit for applications?
A) By enforcing SSL/TLS encryption on all inbound and outbound traffic
B) By disabling HTTPS by default
C) By using only HTTP for faster connections
D) By storing all data in plain text on disk
Answer: A
Explanation: Heroku enforces SSL/TLS encryption to protect data transmitted between clients and apps, ensuring confidentiality and integrity.
What is the best practice for database schema migrations in a Heroku environment?
A) Run schema changes directly on production without testing
B) Use Heroku Release Phase to run migrations before app restarts
C) Use manual SQL scripts without automation
D) Avoid migrations entirely
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Release Phase allows running database migrations during deployment, before new app versions start, ensuring safe and automated schema updates.
How can you automate deployment workflows from GitHub to Heroku?
A) By manually uploading code via FTP
B) By configuring GitHub Actions or Heroku GitHub Integration for continuous deployment
C) By emailing code to Heroku support
D) By copying files to the Heroku server
Answer: B
Explanation: GitHub Actions and Heroku GitHub Integration enable automated CI/CD pipelines that deploy code to Heroku on every push or merge, streamlining workflows.
What is the primary advantage of using Heroku Add-ons?
A) They require no configuration or billing
B) They extend app functionality with managed services like databases, monitoring, and caching
C) They replace Salesforce AppExchange apps
D) They slow down app performance
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Add-ons are third-party managed services integrated into the platform, providing extended functionality like data stores, monitoring tools, caching, etc., with minimal setup.
Which Heroku feature helps to implement circuit breaker patterns for resilient app design?
A) Heroku Connect
B) Heroku Redis with Pub/Sub and rate limiting logic
C) Heroku Postgres extensions
D) Salesforce Chatter
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Redis can be used to implement circuit breakers and rate limiting using Pub/Sub features and counters to prevent cascading failures in distributed apps.
What strategy should you use to integrate Heroku apps with Salesforce user identity for SSO?
A) Use Salesforce Identity and OpenID Connect with Heroku OAuth 2.0
B) Store Salesforce passwords in Heroku config vars
C) Use hard-coded user credentials in the app
D) Avoid using SSO for Heroku apps
Answer: A
Explanation: Salesforce Identity supports OpenID Connect, allowing Heroku apps to authenticate users via Salesforce SSO, providing seamless user experience and secure identity management.
How can you implement data backup and recovery for Heroku Postgres?
A) Use Heroku PGBackups for automated daily backups
B) Rely solely on Salesforce backup tools
C) Backup data manually by copying files from dynos
D) Do not perform backups, as Heroku guarantees zero data loss
Answer: A
Explanation: Heroku PGBackups offers automated and manual backups for Heroku Postgres, enabling point-in-time recovery and disaster preparedness.
What is the typical use of Heroku Review Apps in development workflows?
A) To preview pull requests with ephemeral test environments
B) To deploy production apps without testing
C) To create permanent staging environments
D) To backup production data
Answer: A
Explanation: Heroku Review Apps automatically create temporary environments to test and review code changes from pull requests, improving code quality before merging.
What key Salesforce feature should you leverage to reduce API call limits when integrating with Heroku?
A) Use Bulk API and Heroku Connect for efficient data syncing
B) Use synchronous REST API calls for each record
C) Poll Salesforce every second for data changes
D) Use Salesforce UI for manual data entry
Answer: A
Explanation: Bulk API and Heroku Connect minimize API calls by batching operations and syncing data asynchronously, helping stay within Salesforce API limits.
How does Heroku’s ephemeral filesystem affect app design?
A) It allows permanent file storage across restarts
B) Files written to the dyno filesystem are lost on restart, so persistent storage requires add-ons like Amazon S3
C) Files stored on dynos are replicated automatically
D) It has no effect on app design
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku dynos have ephemeral filesystems; any files written are lost when the dyno restarts. Persistent files must be stored externally (e.g., Amazon S3).
When architecting a multi-tenant SaaS app on Heroku, what is a key consideration?
A) Use a single shared database with tenant IDs to segregate data
B) Use separate Heroku apps and databases per tenant
C) Avoid tenant isolation for simplicity
D) Use Salesforce as the only database
Answer: A
Explanation: Many multi-tenant apps use a shared database with tenant-specific data segregation (via tenant IDs), balancing resource efficiency with security and performance.
What is the benefit of using Heroku’s autoscaling feature?
A) It reduces costs by scaling down dynos during low traffic
B) It disables logging during peak traffic
C) It limits the number of dynos to one at all times
D) It only works with Postgres databases
Answer: A
Explanation: Autoscaling dynamically adjusts the number of dynos based on traffic, reducing costs by scaling down when demand is low and scaling up during peaks.
Which method provides the most secure way to access Salesforce data from Heroku apps?
A) Use OAuth 2.0 JWT Bearer Token Flow with certificate-based authentication
B) Use username and password stored in config vars
C) Access Salesforce data without authentication
D) Use Salesforce SOAP API with hard-coded credentials
Answer: A
Explanation: OAuth 2.0 JWT Bearer Token Flow with certificates offers secure, non-interactive authentication for server-to-server integration, reducing risks related to password exposure.
What type of Heroku Dyno is recommended for running background jobs and asynchronous tasks?
A) Web Dynos
B) Worker Dynos
C) One-off Dynos
D) Performance Dynos only
Answer: B
Explanation: Worker Dynos run background or asynchronous jobs, separate from Web Dynos which handle HTTP requests, improving scalability and reliability.
How can Salesforce Platform Events be consumed reliably by Heroku apps?
A) By polling Salesforce REST API frequently
B) By subscribing to Salesforce Streaming API using CometD protocol on Heroku
C) By importing data manually once a week
D) By exporting CSV files from Salesforce UI
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku apps can use the Salesforce Streaming API and CometD protocol to subscribe to platform events, enabling real-time, push-based event handling.
What role does Heroku Shield play in Salesforce-Heroku architecture?
A) It provides encryption at rest and in transit with compliance to HIPAA and PCI standards
B) It disables HTTPS for faster connections
C) It is used to debug Lightning components
D) It allows direct access to Salesforce org metadata
Answer: A
Explanation: Heroku Shield provides advanced security features like encryption at rest/in transit and compliance certifications, making it suitable for regulated, sensitive data workloads.
What is the main advantage of using the Heroku Elements marketplace?
A) To buy Salesforce licenses
B) To find and integrate add-ons, buildpacks, and buttons that extend Heroku apps
C) To deploy Heroku apps directly from GitHub
D) To monitor Salesforce API usage
Answer: B
Explanation: The Heroku Elements marketplace offers a variety of add-ons, buildpacks, and buttons that extend the functionality of Heroku applications with minimal setup.
Which Heroku feature allows you to run one-off administrative or maintenance tasks?
A) Worker Dynos
B) Heroku CLI with one-off dynos
C) Heroku Connect
D) Heroku Pipelines
Answer: B
Explanation: One-off dynos allow you to run administrative or maintenance commands in a temporary dyno without affecting the running app.
What is the role of buildpacks in a Heroku app deployment?
A) To handle database migrations
B) To compile, build, and configure the app environment during deployment
C) To monitor application health
D) To manage Salesforce licenses
Answer: B
Explanation: Buildpacks prepare the application environment by compiling code and installing dependencies during the Heroku deployment process.
Which logging system does Heroku use for centralized application logs?
A) Salesforce Event Logs
B) Heroku Logplex
C) AWS CloudWatch
D) Salesforce Debug Logs
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Logplex aggregates logs from all dynos and add-ons into a centralized stream that can be routed to external logging services.
What is a best practice for managing secrets and sensitive data in Heroku apps?
A) Embed secrets in the source code
B) Use Heroku Config Vars and integrate with third-party secret management tools if needed
C) Store secrets in public repositories
D) Use plain text environment variables in logs
Answer: B
Explanation: Using Heroku Config Vars keeps secrets out of the codebase and integrates well with secret management solutions for enhanced security.
How can you reduce latency for users located in different geographical regions in a Heroku app?
A) Use Heroku Private Spaces only
B) Deploy apps across multiple Heroku regions and use CDN services like Cloudflare
C) Use only one dyno in the US region
D) Avoid autoscaling
Answer: B
Explanation: Deploying apps in multiple regions and using Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) reduces latency by bringing content closer to end users.
What is the significance of dyno types in Heroku?
A) They define the pricing and performance characteristics of the app containers
B) They specify the number of API calls allowed
C) They determine the number of Salesforce licenses
D) They control the color theme of the Heroku dashboard
Answer: A
Explanation: Different dyno types offer varied CPU, memory, and networking resources at different price points, enabling flexible scaling based on app needs.
What does a Heroku Release Phase allow you to do?
A) Run tests after deployment only
B) Run scripts or commands before the new release is deployed to handle tasks like database migrations
C) Automatically rollback a deployment
D) Scale dynos
Answer: B
Explanation: The Release Phase runs commands during deployment before the new release is deployed, allowing safe schema migrations or setup scripts.
Which Heroku add-on can be used for full-text search capability within a Heroku app?
A) Heroku Redis
B) Heroku Postgres
C) Heroku Elasticsearch
D) Heroku Kafka
Answer: C
Explanation: Heroku Elasticsearch provides powerful full-text search and analytics capabilities, integrated as an add-on.
How do you monitor the health and performance of Heroku Postgres databases?
A) Using Heroku Postgres Dashboard and pg_stat_statements extension
B) Using Salesforce debug logs
C) Using Heroku Pipelines
D) Using Heroku Connect logs
Answer: A
Explanation: The Heroku Postgres Dashboard offers monitoring and performance metrics, and the pg_stat_statements extension helps analyze query performance.
What is the purpose of Heroku Autoscaling metrics?
A) To measure app CPU and response time for scaling decisions
B) To track Salesforce user licenses
C) To log database changes
D) To store app environment variables
Answer: A
Explanation: Autoscaling relies on metrics like CPU load and response times to determine when to add or remove dynos.
In a Salesforce-Heroku integration, what is a major benefit of using Platform Events over polling?
A) Events provide asynchronous, near real-time data delivery reducing API calls
B) Events require no authentication
C) Events provide guaranteed delivery without retries
D) Events eliminate the need for Heroku Connect
Answer: A
Explanation: Platform Events push notifications asynchronously, reducing API usage and latency compared to frequent polling.
How can you optimize cost in a Heroku application running multiple environments?
A) Use separate Heroku apps for each environment with appropriate dyno sizing and scale down unused environments
B) Run all environments in one app with multiple config vars
C) Use only production dynos for all environments
D) Use Heroku Shield in all environments regardless of need
Answer: A
Explanation: Isolating environments into separate apps and adjusting dyno types helps control costs and environment stability.
What type of Heroku Dyno would you use for short-lived processes such as database migrations or administrative scripts?
A) Web Dyno
B) Worker Dyno
C) One-off Dyno
D) Performance Dyno
Answer: C
Explanation: One-off dynos are designed for running short-lived tasks independently of the main app dynos.
What is the primary difference between Heroku Redis and Heroku Postgres?
A) Redis is relational; Postgres is a key-value store
B) Redis is an in-memory data store optimized for speed; Postgres is a relational database optimized for persistence and complex queries
C) Redis supports SQL queries; Postgres does not
D) Redis is used for storing large blobs; Postgres is not
Answer: B
Explanation: Redis is a fast, in-memory key-value store suitable for caching and sessions, whereas Postgres is a persistent relational database.
How does Heroku guarantee that user data is not lost during dyno restarts?
A) By replicating the ephemeral dyno filesystem
B) By encouraging developers to use persistent storage add-ons like Heroku Postgres or Amazon S3
C) By backing up the dyno filesystem hourly
D) By never restarting dynos
Answer: B
Explanation: Since dyno filesystems are ephemeral, data must be stored in external, persistent services to avoid data loss.
Which authentication protocol is supported by Heroku OAuth 2.0 for Salesforce SSO?
A) SAML 1.1
B) OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code and JWT Bearer Token flows
C) Basic Authentication only
D) LDAP
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku supports OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code and JWT Bearer Token flows for secure, scalable authentication integrated with Salesforce Identity.
Which Heroku feature allows developers to easily add support for languages or frameworks not supported by default?
A) Heroku Pipelines
B) Custom Buildpacks
C) Heroku Connect
D) One-off Dynos
Answer: B
Explanation: Custom Buildpacks let developers define the build and runtime environment for languages or frameworks outside the default supported list.
What is the main advantage of using a CDN with Heroku-hosted apps?
A) Improves security by blocking all traffic
B) Reduces latency and improves content delivery speed worldwide
C) Replaces the need for dynos
D) Removes the need for SSL
Answer: B
Explanation: A CDN caches static and dynamic content closer to users, reducing latency and speeding up content delivery globally.
What is a key consideration when using Heroku Connect with large Salesforce datasets?
A) Avoid syncing all objects at once; use selective sync and incremental updates to improve performance
B) Sync all Salesforce objects regardless of size
C) Use Heroku Redis instead of Postgres
D) Disable SSL for faster sync
Answer: A
Explanation: Large datasets should be synced selectively and incrementally to avoid performance bottlenecks and reduce sync times.
How can you ensure data consistency when integrating Salesforce and Heroku Postgres using Heroku Connect?
A) Heroku Connect automatically manages synchronization with conflict detection and resolution options
B) Use manual data exports and imports
C) Use batch Apex jobs only
D) Disable syncing to avoid conflicts
Answer: A
Explanation: Heroku Connect supports automatic bidirectional syncing with options to handle conflicts and maintain consistency.
Which of the following best describes the purpose of a Heroku “dyno formation”?
A) The way Heroku routes database queries
B) The configuration that defines the number and types of dynos an app runs
C) The process of packaging app code for deployment
D) The user interface for Heroku metrics
Answer: B
Explanation: Dyno formation is a configuration defining how many dynos of each type are running for an app.
What does a “slug” represent in Heroku’s deployment architecture?
A) A compiled and compressed copy of the application ready for execution by dynos
B) A slow dyno type
C) The database backup file
D) The logging configuration
Answer: A
Explanation: A slug is the pre-packaged, compressed version of your app, built by buildpacks and deployed to Heroku dynos.
What is the recommended approach to scaling a web app on Heroku?
A) Increase the number of dynos and/or upgrade dyno types based on traffic and performance metrics
B) Increase database storage only
C) Use more add-ons without changing dynos
D) Deploy multiple apps with duplicated code
Answer: A
Explanation: Scaling web apps involves adding more dynos and/or upgrading dyno types depending on traffic demand and performance.
Which Heroku add-on supports messaging and event streaming between services?
A) Heroku Postgres
B) Heroku Kafka
C) Heroku Redis
D) Heroku Connect
Answer: B
Explanation: Heroku Kafka is a managed Apache Kafka service for building event-driven architectures and streaming data pipelines.
How does Heroku handle database failover in Heroku Postgres?
A) Provides automated follower promotion to primary during failover with minimal downtime and connection retries handled transparently by client libraries
B) Manual failover required by admins
C) Database is not replicated
D) Failover deletes the database
Answer: A
Explanation: Automated failover ensures resilience and high availability.
What is the advantage of using Heroku’s Private Spaces with VPN connectivity?
A) Secure, private network connections between Heroku apps and on-premise or cloud resources, improving security and compliance
B) Unlimited free dynos
C) Faster dyno startup times
D) Direct file sharing between dynos
Answer: A
Explanation: VPN connectivity extends private networks securely.
How does the Heroku platform support container-based deployments?
A) Supports Docker image deployments alongside traditional Git deployments, allowing more control over build environment and dependencies
B) Only Git push is supported
C) Docker is not supported
D) Only compiled binaries can be deployed
Answer: A
Explanation: Heroku supports Docker via container registry and runtime.
When designing a multi-region Heroku app, what is a major challenge, and how is it addressed?
A) Data synchronization latency; addressed by using region-aware data stores, CDN for static assets, and eventual consistency patterns
B) Heroku does not support multi-region apps
C) Ephemeral filesystems synchronize automatically
D) Use multiple Git repos per region
Answer: A
Explanation: Multi-region apps require careful data design to avoid latency and consistency issues.
What is the typical workflow for scaling a Heroku Postgres database vertically?
A) Upgrading the plan to a higher tier with more resources, often requiring brief maintenance windows
B) Adding more Postgres instances manually
C) Increasing dyno size affects database size
D) No vertical scaling possible
Answer: A
Explanation: Upgrading database plans provides more CPU, RAM, and IOPS.
Which is a key benefit of using Heroku Pipelines in an automated release process?
A) Simplifies promotion of apps from staging to production with built-in approval workflows and integrated CI support
B) Automates backups only
C) Runs background jobs automatically
D) Manages database migrations only
Answer: A
Explanation: Pipelines streamline continuous delivery.
How do Heroku ephemeral dynos affect stateful applications, and what is the best practice?
A) Ephemeral dynos lose any local state on restart; best practice is to externalize state to databases or caches and design stateless web dynos
B) Dynos maintain state persistently
C) Store state in environment variables
D) Use dyno metadata for state
Answer: A
Explanation: Stateless design is critical for reliability on Heroku.
What does Heroku’s Metrics API provide, and how can it be used?
A) Programmatic access to application and dyno metrics for custom monitoring, alerting, and auto-scaling integration
B) Access to billing information only
C) No API available for metrics
D) Provides logs only
Answer: A
Explanation: Metrics API supports custom operational tooling.
What is the impact of the Heroku router on HTTP request handling?
A) Routes incoming HTTP requests across multiple web dynos, managing sticky sessions if configured, and transparently handling dyno restarts and scaling
B) Routes only static content
C) Directly connects clients to dynos without load balancing
D) Does not affect request routing
Answer: A
Explanation: The router manages load balancing and request distribution.
How can you securely manage API keys and secrets for a Heroku app?
A) Store them in Config Vars and use encrypted environment variables, avoiding inclusion in code or logs
B) Hardcode them in the source code
C) Write them to the ephemeral filesystem
D) Share them via email to developers
Answer: A
Explanation: Config Vars keep secrets secure and separate from code.
When integrating third-party services in a Heroku app, what architectural consideration is important?
A) Handle network latency and failure by implementing retries, circuit breakers, and fallback strategies to maintain app resilience
B) Assume third-party services are always available
C) Hardcode service endpoints in the app
D) Store third-party credentials in the ephemeral filesystem
Answer: A
Explanation: Resilience patterns improve robustness against external service failures.
