FME Server Question

 Q1) Which of these is not one of the three core capabilities of FME Server?

A. Automation

B. Real-time

C. NoSQL Database

D. Self-serve

Ans: (C) FME Server is many things - but it is not a NoSQL database!

Q2) I have a Server with two engines. Four users submit jobs at the same time. What happens?

A. Two jobs are processed. Two jobs are returned to their authors.

B. Two extra engines will fire up automatically to process all four jobs.

C. The four jobs will be processed simultaneously, sharing the two engines.

D. Two jobs are processed. The other two sit in a queue until an engine becomes free.

Ans: (D) Yes, the server core keeps a queue of jobs and submits them as engines become available. Extra engines will not fire up, even if you do have spare licenses, and jobs will never be ignored just because no engine is currently available.

Q3) If I wanted to find out about workspaces stored in a repository - for example I'm building a tool to catalogue my workspaces - what is the best way to do it?

A. Use the FME Server REST API

B. Scrape the contents of the Server repository page

C. Get a file listing from the repository folder

D. Connect to the FME Server database to query it directly

Ans: (A) The REST API is a quick, simple, and official method to query the workspace repositories. Querying the database directly is permissible, however, under no circumstances should you write into or update directly the contents of the database.

Q4) Which of these are good reasons for running engines on multiple operating systems at the same time? Pick all that apply.

A. A required format is only available on 32-bit or 64-bit, not both.

B. A required format is only available on Windows, or Linux, not both.

C. FME Desktop users author workspaces using a mix of Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms.

D. You want to process heavy-scale jobs on a more powerful platform.

Ans: (A,B,D) Basically some formats are only available on certain platforms and so you may need to mix of operating systems to cover all your requirements. You may also want to redirect large-scale jobs to a more powerful platform. However, it doesn't matter what platform the workspace author used; their jobs will run on whatever system FME Server is based on.

Q5) A Project can be shared only in the following circumstances:

A. You must own the Project. Only the Project owner can share it.

B. You must be a user with permission to manage security. Only such a user can share a Project.

C. You can own the Project OR be a user with permission to manage security (i.e. you can be one or the other).

 D. You cannot share a project once it has been imported to FME Server.

Ans: (C) If you own the Project then you can share it. But if you have permission to manage security, then you can share any Project.

Q6) If you choose to export a Project to a Resources folder (rather than download it) then what additional capability do you gain?

A. The ability to trigger a notification topic on completion of the export.

B. The ability to export the FME license for the server.

C. The ability to remove all components of the project as they are exported.

D. The ability to change ownership of the components to your own user account.

Ans:(A,C) When you choose to export to Resources, you'll see a Notification panel at the bottom of the export settings page. You can use that to select a topic to notify if the export succeeds or fails.

Q7) Checking the box to remove the contents of a Project removes all of the project components:

A. True

B. False

Ans:(B) A Project can contain users and roles. The remove tool won't remove the user carrying out the removal, nor will it remove any role for which that user is part of. Also it won't remove components you don't have permission to remove.

 

Q8) If I create a database connection that has superuser permissions then it would bypass any permission checks the database would make for creating and dropping tables. So how do you think I might prevent a user misusing that capability?

A. Remove that user's permission to run that workspace on FME Server

B. Remove that user's permissions to access the entire repository that workspace resides in

C. Remove permission to access that particular database connection for that user's role

D. Remove from their role permission to manage database connections

Ans:(C) If I want to deny a user access to a superuser database connection, then I (or a system admin) just removes permission to access that connection for that user's role.

Q9) Although simple, there is a major limitation to publishing data with a workspace. What do you think it is?

A. The data is only temporary and will be deleted once the workspace is run

B. The data is hidden within FME Server's system files and limited in its use

C. The data becomes available to anyone regardless of role and security settings

D. The workspace cannot be run using any other data than that's published with it

Ans:(B)The limitation is that a dataset published in this way can only be referenced by its own workspace or workspaces run from the same repository. Even then there is no browse capability in the FME Server web interface; the source dataset parameter would need setting manually.  Incidentally, none of the other answers are true: the data won't be deleted, it isn't open to anyone (unless they have specific access to this repository), and the workspace can be run using other data if required.

Q10) I copy a workspace into a resources folder using the upload tool. What then?

A. I can run it by browsing the resources, selecting the workspace, and clicking run

B. I can run it through the Manage > Workspaces menu tools

C. I can run it by calling it with the FMEServerJobSubmitter transformer in FME Desktop

D. I can't run it because it's not properly published to a repository

Ans:(D)Basically, if you don't publish the workspace properly, you aren't able to have Server run it.

Q11) Uploading an entire folder of files come with what restriction?

A. Folder upload only works on certain web browsers

B. Folder upload requires the folders to be zipped into a single file

C. Folder upload only works on Windows C: drive (not D:, E:, etc)

D. Folder upload requires FME Desktop to be installed on the computer being uploaded from

Ans:(A)Folder upload works in Chrome, but not in Firefox, Internet Explorer, or any other web browser.

Q12) I can make my workspace read specific data from the resources folders - but how do I stop the end-user from being able to change that?

A. Remove their security permissions for the Job Submitter service

B. Remove their security permissions for the Resources folders

C. Make the source dataset parameter optional for that Reader

D. Delete the published parameter for that source dataset from the workspace

Ans:(D)Yes, in the Navigator window look for a published parameter that relates to the source dataset, and remove it. The option to change the dataset will then not be presented to the user.

Q13) For each of these scenarios, tell me if it is a Data Download project, Data Upload, both, or neither.

A. The user logs on to a web page, draws an area on the map, and is sent a copy of the data within that area

B. The user submits a dataset to a web site that scans the data for errors, and returns a corrected copy

C. The user publishes a workspace that writes data to the user's account in an online PostGIS database

D. The user starts a GIS application, clicks File > Add Data to Map, and pastes in a URL from FME Server

Ans: #1 is a simple download of data. #2 is obviously both. #3 is neither. Publishing a workspace is not Data Upload and writing to a database is not Data Download. #4 would be a special type of Data Download. In FME we call it Data Streaming; the workspace runs and the output is sent directly to the application that requested it.

Q14) When a workspace is not registered against any service, how can you run it? Select all that apply.

A. With the FMEServerJobSubmitter transformer

B. With the run dialog in the web interface

C. With the URL specified under Advanced > Webhook URL in the run dialog

D. By setting it to run under a schedule

Ans: (A,D) You cannot run the workspace in the web interface (the run button won't work unless services are available) or with a URL (none will be provided).

Q15) When a workspace is registered against the Data Download service (and no other), how can you run it? Select all that apply.

A. With the FMEServerJobSubmitter transformer

B. With the run dialog in the web interface

C. With the URL specified under Advanced > Webhook URL in the run dialog

D. By setting it to run under a schedule

Ans: (A,B,C,D) It will actually run under all of these tools. Of course, only the web dialog and the URL return a zip file for download. The others just output the data to the specified workspace location.

Q16) Why is the FeatureReader the preferred option [for filtering data in a self-serve system]? Pick all the reasons that apply:

A. It can be quicker and more resource efficient

B. It allows multiple areas to be used as the existing areas

C. It works with raster data

D. It has more choices for spatial filtering

Ans: (A,D)The FeatureReader is more efficient where the source dataset is a format that has a spatial index, because it won't have to read all of the source data. It also has more filtering choices than a Clipper transformer (though not a SpatialFilter)  The FeatureReader does allow multiple areas to be used, and it does support raster data - however so does the Clipper transformer, so there is no difference between the two in those scenarios. Additionally, the two are equivalent in performance where there is no spatial index (i.e. both will need to read the full dataset)

Q17) How well do you know the types of FME published parameters? Decide which of the following are real parameters

A. Color

B. Double

C. Password

D. Text (Multiline)

Ans: (A,C,D)There are over 25 types of published parameters.

Q18) If the Generic Writer parameter is published to determine what format to write data in a data download system, what would the Generic Reader parameter be used for?

A. To determine what format of data to read in a Data Download system

B. To determine what format of data to read in a Data Upload system

C. To determine the correct Styler transformer to use in the workspace

D. To determine whether I'm connected to a Data Upload or a Data Download system

Ans: (B) Right, I'm uploading some data and I'm going to tell FME Server what format it is. Why would I care (#1) about what format of data is being read in a Data Download system (and how could I tell)? Similarly (#3) it's the output format that determines which Styler to use, not the input format. #4 is just plain nonsense!

Q19) All notification setups must have which of these:

A. Triggers AND Actions 

B. Triggers OR Actions Or both

C. Triggers OR Actions, but never both

D. None of the above

Ans: (A) In FME Server Automations it is necessary for all of the components to be used in a setup. This is because the system is designed to allow FME Server to react to incoming Notifications, if you designed an Automation that only contained an incoming Trigger the Automation could not be started because the incoming message is not being passed forward to anything. Likewise if you only had an Action in the Automation, this can never send a notification if it does not receive an event to kick it off. For this reason all components are required to Start an Automation.

Q20) Tell me, which one of these statements is correct:

A. SMTP and IMAP can both be used as either a Trigger and/or a Action protocol

B. SMTP can be used as both a Trigger and a Action; IMAP can only be used for a Trigger

C. SMTP can only be used for a Action; IMAP can be used as both a Trigger and a Action

D. SMTP can only be used for a Action; IMAP can only be used for a Trigger

Ans: (B)

Q21) I want my workspace to send me an email when it is run, so I know when people are using it to download data. When I publish it, what should I register it to?

A. The Notification Service

B. The Data Download Service

C. The Email (SMTP) Protocol

D. The Workspace Subscriber Protocol

Ans: (B) I'm setting it up for people to download data, so I register it as a Data Download service. It's as simple as that. To get a notification I just have to pick a topic to trigger in the Data Download settings. Of course, to get an email I must set up an Email Action connected to that topic - but that has nothing at all to do with how I register the workspace!

Q22) I've got a workspace that reads 50,000 features, transforms them, and writes them out. If I want to send a single notification that the features have been read, which combination of transformers would be of most use?

A. Creator/FeatureWriter/FMEServerNotifier

B. Creator/FMEServerJobSubmitter

C. Creator/FeatureReader/FMEServerNotifier

D. FeatureHolder/Sampler/FMEServerNotifier

Ans: (D)

 

Q23) Which of the Receiver transformers has a parameter to stop it running continuously? Select all that apply.

A. SQSConnector

B. WebSocketReceiver

C. JMSReceiver

D. TCPIPReceiver

Ans: (A, D) The SQSConnector has the ability to switch to a number of messages to read, and the TCPIPReceiver has the option to close the connection once the publishing client disconnects.

Q24) Writing to a database in a High Capacity Message Streaming setup requires that the transaction interval is set to what value?

A. <Not Set>

B. Zero

C. One (1)

D. Infinity (∞)

Ans: (C) Setting the transaction interval to one means that each message is committed as it arrives. Any other value (in this list at least) would probably mean the data is never committed until the workspace was manually closed.