1Z0-184-25 Question 137
Select 2Your organization is building a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solution in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure using PL/SQL stored procedures. The solution must retrieve relevant knowledge-base records from an Autonomous Database table, then call an external Large Language Model (LLM) service via REST to generate final answers. You use UTL_HTTP from within PL/SQL to call the LLM's endpoint and plan to store the entire conversation in a separate auditing table. Which two considerations should you keep in mind to ensure both optimal performance and security in this scenario?
- A
Ensure database access to the external REST endpoint is properly secured using Oracle Wallet and TLS certificates.
- B
Pass the entire knowledge base (all rows) to the external LLM to offload retrieval logic from the database.
- C
Use Oracle Text indexes or similar search features to efficiently retrieve only the most relevant text before calling the LLM.
- D
Allow all outbound connections through UTL_HTTP without any network restrictions for simplicity.
- E
Store your LLM API credentials in a secured location, such as the Oracle Wallet or a secure credentials store, not in plain-text PL/SQL code.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, C
Explanation
A retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solution in Oracle Cloud typically involves querying an Autonomous Database, then invoking an external LLM to produce contextually rich answers. By securing the outbound REST call (option 1) and efficiently retrieving relevant data from the database (option 3), you preserve both performance and security. Official Oracle documentation, such as the UTL_HTTP and Oracle Wallet usage guides, outlines best practices for configuring secure network connections and managing credentials in PL/SQL. Proper text indexing and retrieval prevent unnecessary data transfer costs and ensure the LLM gets only the most pertinent documents.
- A. Correct.
Option 1 is correct. When calling external services via UTL_HTTP, you must configure and secure the connection using Oracle Wallet and TLS. This ensures that sensitive data (like API keys and conversation text) remains protected during transmission.
- B. Incorrect.
Option 2 is incorrect. Sending the entire knowledge base to the LLM would be inefficient and could increase costs and latency. It is better to perform targeted retrieval within the database.
- C. Correct.
Option 3 is correct. Indexing your knowledge base (e.g., with Oracle Text or other search capabilities) allows you to quickly find and pass only the relevant information to the LLM, improving performance and accuracy.
- D. Incorrect.
Option 4 is incorrect. Allowing unrestricted outbound connections poses serious security risks. Instead, you should restrict network access and carefully manage which external endpoints can be reached.
- E. Incorrect.
Option 5 is partially correct advice on credential handling, but is not listed among the two top priority considerations when specifically focusing on performance and security of the RAG workflow. In production, you should still avoid storing credentials in plain text and use a secure store or Oracle Wallet.