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Acquia Site Factory Pro study materials
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Acquia Site Factory Pro practice questions

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Question 1Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Which statement best describes the core architecture of Acquia Site Factory?

  1. A single Drupal codebase is deployed for all sites. Correct answer.
  2. Each site runs its own separate Drupal codebase on a dedicated server.
  3. A static site generator publishes all sites from one repository.
  4. Sites share one database but use separate code directories.

Explanation

Site Factory is a multi-site platform in which one shared Drupal codebase serves many independently managed sites. Each site still has its own content, configuration, and database, so the sites remain logically separate despite sharing code.

Question 2Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What is the primary function of the Site Factory Management Console?

  1. It centrally administers sites, users, and platform settings. Correct answer.
  2. It stores the uploaded files for every factory site.
  3. It replaces Drupal's administrative interface on each site.
  4. It hosts the public web traffic for all factory sites.

Explanation

The Management Console is the central administrative surface for the factory. Platform teams use it to create and organize sites, manage users and groups, and change platform-level settings, while each site keeps its own Drupal administration.

Question 3Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What is a site group in Site Factory used for?

  1. It defines the server stack that hosts a single site.
  2. It controls the cron schedule for all sites globally.
  3. It groups sites and scopes admin permissions. Correct answer.
  4. It provides a shared database for related sites.

Explanation

Site groups are organizational containers that let platform teams bundle related sites together. Group administrators can then be granted authority over only the sites in their assigned groups, which supports delegated governance.

Question 4Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How does Site Factory isolate site content at the database layer?

  1. All sites write to one database with a site ID column.
  2. Databases are shared within a site group only.
  3. Each site is provisioned its own database. Correct answer.
  4. Sites use read-only replicas of a central database.

Explanation

Site Factory gives every site its own database, so content and configuration are isolated by design. This isolation limits the blast radius of database changes and supports per-site backup and restore operations.

Question 5Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How is custom code typically deployed across a Site Factory estate?

  1. Code is copied manually into each site's file directory.
  2. Each site owner uploads modules through their site's admin UI.
  3. A shared codebase is deployed for all sites. Correct answer.
  4. Each site runs a separate branch deployed independently.

Explanation

Site Factory uses a shared codebase that is deployed to the platform and used by every site. Platform teams therefore manage modules, themes, and core updates once rather than site by site.

Question 6Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What does the site duplication feature in Site Factory create?

  1. A read-only clone used only for load testing.
  2. A backup of the platform's management console database.
  3. A second domain that points to the same site database.
  4. A new site copied from an existing site. Correct answer.

Explanation

Duplication creates a new site initialized from an existing site's content and configuration, which is useful for templates and rapid site launches. The duplicate is a separate site with its own database rather than an alias of the source.

Question 7Site Factory platform architecture and governance

A newly created Site Factory site typically receives which default address?

  1. A subdomain under the factory domain. Correct answer.
  2. A localhost URL accessible only from the server.
  3. A domain purchased automatically from a registrar.
  4. A random IP address assigned by the load balancer.

Explanation

New sites receive a default platform address based on their machine name under the factory domain. Custom domains can be added later once DNS and certificate requirements are met.

Question 8Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Which role has the broadest administrative authority in Site Factory?

  1. Site builder
  2. Platform admin Correct answer.
  3. Site owner
  4. Group admin

Explanation

The platform administrator role spans the whole factory, including platform settings and cross-group administration. Group administrators and site-level roles are intentionally narrower in scope.

Question 9Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What can a group administrator manage in Site Factory?

  1. Only the platform's billing and contract settings.
  2. All sites across the factory, including other groups.
  3. Server-level SSH access for the entire stack.
  4. Sites and users in their assigned groups. Correct answer.

Explanation

Group administrators are scoped to the site groups assigned to them. This delegation lets them manage local sites and users without granting factory-wide control.

Question 10Site Factory platform architecture and governance

When a site is archived in Site Factory, what happens to its data?

  1. Its data is retained and the site can be restored later. Correct answer.
  2. Its files are moved to the public files directory of another site.
  3. Its content is merged into the management console.
  4. Its database is immediately dropped and unrecoverable.

Explanation

Archiving is a reversible state that preserves the site's data so it can be restored if needed. Permanent deletion is a separate, more destructive action that should follow an approved retention process.

Question 11Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How should a platform team apply a Drupal core security update across many factory sites?

  1. Disable the affected module on every site manually.
  2. Ask each site owner to patch their own codebase.
  3. Update each site individually through its own admin UI.
  4. Deploy the patched shared codebase and run updates. Correct answer.

Explanation

Because all sites share one codebase, a core security update is applied by deploying the patched code to the platform. Database updates are then run where required for each site as part of the release process.

Question 12Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What is required before a custom domain can serve a Site Factory site?

  1. The site must be converted to a static HTML export.
  2. DNS points to the platform and the domain is mapped. Correct answer.
  3. The domain must first be used by the management console.
  4. The domain must be registered with Acquia as a subdomain.

Explanation

A custom domain must resolve to the Site Factory platform through DNS and must be added to the target site's domain configuration. Certificate coverage must also be in place for HTTPS to work correctly.

Question 13Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What is the Site Factory API primarily used for?

  1. Automating site creation and management tasks. Correct answer.
  2. Replacing the need for DNS configuration.
  3. Serving cached pages directly to browsers.
  4. Compiling Twig templates into production HTML.

Explanation

The API exposes programmatic operations for managing sites and related platform objects. Teams use it to automate provisioning and governance workflows at scale rather than performing repetitive console actions.

Question 14Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What information does the Site Factory audit log capture?

  1. Admin actions and platform configuration changes. Correct answer.
  2. Page views and visitor analytics for each site.
  3. Only failed user login attempts.
  4. Database query execution times for performance tuning.

Explanation

Audit logs record administrative activity and configuration changes so governance teams can trace who changed what. They support accountability and incident review rather than marketing analytics or query profiling.

Question 15Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How does Site Factory typically support enterprise single sign-on?

  1. By disabling authentication for trusted networks.
  2. By integrating with an external identity provider using SAML. Correct answer.
  3. By requiring every site to maintain separate credentials.
  4. By storing user passwords in a shared text file.

Explanation

Enterprise SSO is normally implemented by federating Site Factory with an external identity provider through SAML. This centralizes authentication and lets organizations enforce their own access policies.

Question 16Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What role does Varnish play in a Site Factory environment?

  1. It provides the database replication layer.
  2. It caches HTTP responses for Drupal. Correct answer.
  3. It manages SSL certificate issuance.
  4. It stores the canonical Drupal configuration.

Explanation

Varnish sits in front of the web tier and caches HTTP responses to reduce repeated requests to Drupal. This improves performance and helps absorb traffic spikes across many sites.

Question 17Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How is Apache Solr search typically provisioned for Site Factory sites?

  1. Each site gets an isolated Solr core. Correct answer.
  2. All sites share one index with no separation.
  3. Search is disabled because Solr is not supported.
  4. Solr runs inside each site's database container.

Explanation

Search indexes must be isolated so one site's content does not appear in another site's results. Site Factory therefore provisions separate Solr cores or indexes for sites that use Solr search.

Question 18Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How are uploaded files stored for sites on Site Factory?

  1. Each site has its own file directory and storage path. Correct answer.
  2. Files are stored only in the database as blobs.
  3. Files are stored on the visitor's browser using local storage.
  4. All sites share a single public files directory.

Explanation

Each site is given its own file directory so uploaded assets remain scoped to that site. This separation prevents one site from reading or overwriting another site's files.

Question 19Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Which practice best prevents one site's configuration from affecting another site?

  1. Storing all configuration in the theme's template files.
  2. Sharing a single settings.php file across all sites.
  3. Editing configuration directly in the production database.
  4. Using site-specific configuration directories and overrides. Correct answer.

Explanation

Site-specific configuration directories and overrides keep each site's settings scoped to that site. This supports safe configuration management across a shared codebase without cross-site leakage.

Question 20Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How does Site Factory handle cron for a large number of sites?

  1. Cron runs per site and can be staggered. Correct answer.
  2. All sites run cron at the exact same second.
  3. Cron is disabled to avoid performance issues.
  4. A single cron run executes only for the management console.

Explanation

Each site runs its own cron tasks, and the platform can stagger schedules to avoid overwhelming shared infrastructure. This keeps routine maintenance running while spreading load over time.

Question 21Site Factory platform architecture and governance

In a Site Factory multi-site architecture, how is an incoming request routed to the correct site?

  1. The browser sends a site ID header that the database uses for routing.
  2. A random load balancer selects any site with available capacity.
  3. Drupal's global $conf array identifies the site by user IP address.
  4. The server maps the hostname to the site's virtual host. Correct answer.

Explanation

Routing is hostname-based: the web server resolves the requested domain to the correct site's virtual host and database settings. This is why domain configuration is a prerequisite for serving a site correctly.

Question 22Site Factory platform architecture and governance

A site owner leaves the organization. What is the governed way to transfer control of their site?

  1. Create a new site and abandon the old one without cleanup.
  2. Let any group administrator claim the site without review.
  3. Share the previous owner's password with the new owner.
  4. A platform admin reassigns ownership and logs the change. Correct answer.

Explanation

Ownership changes should go through a platform administrator and be recorded in the audit trail. This preserves accountability and avoids shared credentials or orphaned sites.

Question 23Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How should a platform team plan for disaster recovery of Site Factory sites?

  1. Use platform backups and document restore procedures. Correct answer.
  2. Disable backups to improve write performance.
  3. Rely on site owners to keep local copies of their content.
  4. Assume the shared codebase also contains all site databases.

Explanation

Disaster recovery depends on regular platform backups plus tested restore procedures and defined retention. Teams should document recovery objectives and verify that restores work rather than assuming data is protected.

Question 24Site Factory platform architecture and governance

A critical bug affects one site's custom module. What deployment approach is consistent with Site Factory's shared-code model?

  1. Patch only that site's copy of the module on its server.
  2. Hotfix the single site through its database directly.
  3. Fix it in the shared codebase and release to all sites. Correct answer.
  4. Create a separate code branch and deploy it only to that site.

Explanation

All sites use the same codebase, so code fixes are made once and released through the normal deployment process. Site-specific server patching or database hotfixes create drift and are not sustainable.

Question 25Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Which factors most directly constrain the number of sites a Site Factory estate can host?

  1. The count of administrative users in the console.
  2. The number of Drupal themes installed in the codebase.
  3. The total number of nodes across all sites.
  4. Infrastructure capacity and subscribed limits. Correct answer.

Explanation

Site capacity is driven by the infrastructure resources available and the limits of the subscribed platform plan. Themes, content volume, and console user counts may affect performance but are not the primary hosting constraints.

Question 26Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What is the primary purpose of the Site Factory Management Console?

  1. To edit Drupal module code directly on the production server
  2. To manage sites, users, groups, and domains centrally Correct answer.
  3. To replace the need for a version control repository
  4. To host the public web traffic for every child site

Explanation

The Management Console is the control plane for provisioning sites and for administering users, groups, and domains across the estate. It orchestrates operations but does not serve public pages or act as a code editor.

Question 27Site Factory platform architecture and governance

In Site Factory, what does a codebase represent?

  1. A DNS zone containing all custom domains for the estate
  2. A per-site database snapshot used for scheduled backup restoration
  3. A group of users granted permission to create new sites
  4. Shared application code used by a set of sites Correct answer.

Explanation

A codebase is the Drupal application stack, including core, contributed modules, themes, and any distribution, that associated sites execute. Multiple codebases can exist so different groups of sites can run different application stacks.

Question 28Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What is the main governance purpose of a site group in Site Factory?

  1. To bundle sites that share a single database
  2. To organize sites and scope delegated administration Correct answer.
  3. To define which Varnish cache bins are purged
  4. To set the PHP version used by each site

Explanation

Groups are logical containers that organize sites and let group administrators manage only the sites assigned to them. They do not merge databases or control low-level infrastructure settings such as PHP versions or cache bins.

Question 29Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Which resource is provisioned separately for each Site Factory site?

  1. The Drupal core code directory
  2. The Varnish caching layer
  3. The Solr server binary
  4. The site database Correct answer.

Explanation

Each site receives its own database, which isolates content and configuration data at the database level. The codebase is shared, and caching and search services are provided as shared infrastructure.

Question 30Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Which site attribute must be unique across a Site Factory estate?

  1. The site's primary menu label
  2. The site slogan
  3. The site name (machine name) Correct answer.
  4. The site owner's email address

Explanation

The site name is used to derive the site directory, database identifier, and default URL, so it must be unique across the estate. Human-readable labels and owner contact details can repeat without breaking routing or storage.

Question 31Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What is the role of the acsf module in a Site Factory environment?

  1. It stores each site's content in a shared database
  2. It automatically writes custom modules for each site
  3. It integrates sites with Site Factory services and Drush Correct answer.
  4. It replaces Drupal core with a Site Factory-specific fork

Explanation

The acsf module supplies common Site Factory integration code, including Drush commands used for operations such as site creation, duplication, and updates. It does not replace Drupal core or generate custom module code.

Question 32Site Factory platform architecture and governance

When a new code release is deployed to a codebase, which sites receive the change?

  1. Only the first site created from that codebase
  2. Only sites whose owners request the deployment
  3. All sites associated with that codebase Correct answer.
  4. Only sites in the default group

Explanation

Deployment applies to the codebase as a whole, so every site using that codebase executes the deployed code. Per-site ownership and group membership do not change which code version runs.

Question 33Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Which pair of interfaces is intended for administering many Site Factory sites at once?

  1. The Management Console and the Site Factory API Correct answer.
  2. The MySQL client and the Apache config files
  3. The Varnish CLI and the Solr admin console
  4. The Drupal administrative toolbar and the update.php page

Explanation

Bulk and programmatic site operations are performed through the Management Console and the Site Factory API. Lower-level tools such as MySQL, Varnish, Solr, and Apache are infrastructure components, not estate administration interfaces.

Question 34Site Factory platform architecture and governance

After deploying a code release that includes database updates, what must the platform team do for the affected sites?

  1. Reinstall each site from the original distribution
  2. Run the Site Factory update process for each affected site Correct answer.
  3. Delete each site's database so it can be rebuilt automatically
  4. Disable the update hooks and rely on configuration synchronization

Explanation

Site Factory deploys code once, but each site has its own database, so schema updates must be applied per site through the Site Factory update workflow. Skipping this step leaves update hooks pending and can break site behavior.

Question 35Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Which approach best validates a code change before it reaches all production sites?

  1. Deploy directly to production and monitor the audit log
  2. Apply the change only to the factory site first
  3. Test representative sites in staging, then promote through the pipeline Correct answer.
  4. Ask each site owner to test the change after production deployment

Explanation

The Acquia Cloud deployment pipeline provides lower environments where code can be tested against representative sites before promotion to production. Production-first testing exposes every site on the codebase to unverified code.

Question 36Site Factory platform architecture and governance

A team wants every new site to start with a standard set of content types and permissions. Which Site Factory pattern supports this?

  1. Let site owners install modules after provisioning
  2. Maintain a template site and duplicate it for new sites Correct answer.
  3. Use a separate database for each content type
  4. Create each site manually and copy configuration by hand

Explanation

Duplicating a template site copies its content and configuration into a new site, giving a repeatable baseline for new properties. Manual copying is error-prone and produces inconsistent configurations across the estate.

Question 37Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What does associating a site with a different codebase allow?

  1. The site to opt out of caching entirely
  2. The site to bypass the normal deployment pipeline
  3. The site to share another site's database
  4. The site to run a different code version Correct answer.

Explanation

Codebases are independent application stacks, so moving a site to another codebase lets it run that stack's code and distribution. It does not permit bypassing deployment controls or sharing databases between sites.

Question 38Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How are administrative permissions scoped across Site Factory's management tiers?

  1. Through Drupal user ID 1 on each child site
  2. Through database size and storage quota limits
  3. Through platform-wide, group-level, and site-level roles Correct answer.
  4. Through IP address ranges assigned to each administrator

Explanation

Site Factory uses platform administrators, group administrators, and site-level roles, each with a progressively narrower scope. Permissions are role-based and are not determined by network address, user ID, or storage consumption.

Question 39Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Which governance control best limits uncontrolled self-service site creation?

  1. Disabling the Site Factory API for all users
  2. Allowing every authenticated user the site-creation permission
  3. Granting site-creation permission within groups and monitoring subscription quotas Correct answer.
  4. Requiring each new site to use a unique codebase

Explanation

Site creation is governed by permissions and group membership, and subscription quotas cap the total number of sites. Granting blanket permission or creating a codebase per site does not provide effective oversight.

Question 40Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Why should production code changes be made through version control rather than edited on the server?

  1. Because version control is only needed for custom themes
  2. Because it keeps the codebase reproducible and deployable Correct answer.
  3. Because server edits are faster and preferred for hotfixes
  4. Because it removes the need to run database updates

Explanation

The codebase is deployed from a repository, so tracking changes there ensures consistency, auditability, and rollback capability. Direct server edits create configuration drift and are overwritten by the next deployment.

Question 41Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What is the relationship between the factory and the child sites in Site Factory?

  1. The factory is a backup server used only during outages
  2. The factory is the management control plane Correct answer.
  3. The factory serves the public pages for every child site
  4. The factory stores all child sites' content in one database

Explanation

The factory hosts the Management Console and orchestration services, while child sites are the Drupal websites being managed. Content remains in per-site databases, and public traffic is served by the sites environment.

Question 42Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How are per-site settings typically organized in a Site Factory multisite codebase?

  1. Settings are placed in a site-specific directory Correct answer.
  2. Settings are managed exclusively through Varnish
  3. Settings are stored only in the site's database
  4. Settings are placed in one global settings.php with no overrides

Explanation

The multisite layout gives each site a site-specific settings location, allowing site-level configuration to differ while sharing the codebase. A single global settings file without overrides cannot express per-site values, and Varnish does not manage application settings.

Question 43Site Factory platform architecture and governance

Which elements belong in a formal site lifecycle policy?

  1. The list of contributed modules installed on the site
  2. Ownership, archival triggers, retention periods, and deletion approval Correct answer.
  3. Only the site's visual theme and logo
  4. The IP addresses of the Varnish cache servers

Explanation

A lifecycle policy defines who owns a site, when it should be archived, how long data is retained, and who may approve deletion. Theme choices, module lists, and cache-server addresses are configuration or infrastructure details, not lifecycle governance.

Question 44Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How does Site Factory handle a site that needs both a primary domain and an additional alias domain?

  1. It sets one primary domain and redirects the others Correct answer.
  2. It serves different content on each domain automatically
  3. It requires a separate site for each domain
  4. It rejects alias domains to keep routing simple

Explanation

A site can have multiple domains, with one designated primary domain used for canonical URLs and the additional domains redirecting to it. Creating separate sites or serving different content per domain would fragment the property.

Question 45Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What is the main architectural risk of running many sites from one shared codebase?

  1. Each site must maintain its own copy of Drupal core
  2. Database backups become impossible
  3. A defect can affect every site on the codebase Correct answer.
  4. Sites cannot share a common theme

Explanation

Shared code means a single deployment propagates to all associated sites, so a defect has estate-wide blast radius. This is why staging validation, phased rollouts, and rollback plans are important governance practices.

Question 46Site Factory platform architecture and governance

A platform team must enable a new module for only a subset of sites. Which architecture-aligned approach is most appropriate?

  1. Install the module directly on each target site's server via Drush
  2. Enable the module globally and ask other site owners to ignore it
  3. Create a separate codebase for the module and assign only the target sites Correct answer.
  4. Create a new database for each target site and copy the module into it

Explanation

Site Factory supports multiple codebases, so a subset of sites can run a different application stack while remaining under the same factory. Direct server installs are overwritten by deployment, and databases do not contain module code.

Question 47Site Factory platform architecture and governance

One site's database has grown far beyond the others. What is the most sound governance response?

  1. Delete the site immediately to protect the shared platform
  2. Disable backups for that site to save storage
  3. Investigate growth, apply retention, and plan for dedicated capacity if needed Correct answer.
  4. Move the site to a separate codebase to reduce its database size

Explanation

Large databases can affect backup windows, restore times, and subscription limits, so the team should analyze growth and plan retention or dedicated capacity. Deleting the site or disabling backups creates unacceptable data-loss risk.

Question 48Site Factory platform architecture and governance

What is the correct sequence for releasing a security update that includes a database schema change?

  1. Deploy the code only to the factory site and skip child sites
  2. Run update.php on production, then deploy the new code
  3. Clear caches first, then deploy code, then delete the update hooks
  4. Deploy code, run the Site Factory update process, then clear caches Correct answer.

Explanation

The new code must be present before update.php can execute the new update hooks, and caches are cleared after updates complete. Reversing the order or skipping child sites leaves databases inconsistent with the deployed code.

Question 49Site Factory platform architecture and governance

How does Site Factory's architecture isolate failures between child sites?

  1. Varnish automatically repairs failed site code
  2. Each site runs on a dedicated physical server
  3. Separate databases isolate data failures, but shared code propagates code faults Correct answer.
  4. All sites share one database, so failures are fully isolated by transactions

Explanation

Per-site databases prevent one site's data corruption from directly affecting another, while shared code means a code-level fault can reach all sites on the codebase. Dedicated servers and automatic code repair are not part of the Site Factory model.

Question 50Site Factory platform architecture and governance

A platform team wants to prevent site builders from installing unapproved modules. Which control is most effective?

  1. Restrict codebase changes to the reviewed deployment pipeline Correct answer.
  2. Remove the Site Factory API key from all users
  3. Rely on the audit log to detect modules after they are enabled
  4. Give each site its own codebase so builders can install freely

Explanation

Module code enters a Site Factory estate through the codebase, so controlling codebase changes and reviewing additions prevents unapproved modules from being deployed. Audit logs can detect actions after the fact but do not prevent installation.