IDMC Platform Fundamentals and Architecture
What this domain tests
The Platform Fundamentals and Architecture domain tests whether you can place each IDMC service, choose a runtime, and explain how metadata and identity flow through the platform. Expect service-selection questions, questions about Secure Agent versus serverless, and questions about org and sub-org boundaries.
Core rules
- IDMC is a multi-tenant cloud platform. Cloud Data Integration (CDI) moves and transforms data; Cloud Application Integration (CAI) orchestrates processes and APIs; Cloud Data Quality profiles and validates; Metadata Command Center catalogs and traces lineage; MDM and Data Marketplace serve mastered and shared data.
- A Secure Agent is customer-installed software that provides connectivity to private networks and on-premises systems. Serverless runtime is Informatica-hosted and suits public cloud endpoints. The agent is not a data store.
- An organization is the tenant boundary. Sub-orgs partition users, assets, and permissions inside it; they do not create a separate tenant.
- Assets are metadata-driven: connections, mappings, tasks, and schedules are reusable objects. CLAIRE supplies AI-assisted recommendations, but a designer remains accountable for logic.
Worked example
A team must read an on-premises Oracle ERP and write Delta tables on Databricks in a private network. Put a Secure Agent in the VPC that can reach both Oracle and the Databricks workspace endpoint. Serverless alone cannot reach the private Oracle host. The mapping runs on the agent; Databricks remains the target compute for Delta writes.
Traps
Confusing CAI with CDI; assuming a sub-org is a separate tenant; treating the Secure Agent as storage; and assuming serverless can reach any private endpoint.