Anypoint Platform's architecture is logically separated into a control plane and a runtime plane. The control plane is a set of cloud-hosted services for designing, managing, and monitoring APIs and integrations. The runtime plane is where the Mule applications and API proxies actually execute.

API Manager is a core component of the control plane's management center. It is used to manage API proxies, apply policies, govern access, and monitor API performance from a central web interface. These are all management and administrative functions, defining the behavior of the runtime, and are therefore characteristic of the control plane.

A. Runtime Replica: This is not a standard Anypoint Platform component name, but any replica of a runtime would inherently be part of the execution environment, which is the runtime plane.

B. Runtime Fabric: This is a containerized deployment target for Mule applications. It is a specific type of runtime plane where applications are executed and managed.

C. Anypoint Connectors: These are modules used within Mule applications to facilitate connectivity to other systems. They execute as part of the application code within the Mule runtime, placing them in the runtime plane.

1. MuleSoft Documentation, "Anypoint Platform Architecture": This document explicitly illustrates the separation between the control and runtime planes. The diagram shows that the "Management Center," which includes API Manager, resides in the MuleSoft-managed control plane. The runtime plane is shown separately and includes components like Runtime Fabric and CloudHub workers. (Source: MuleSoft Docs > Anypoint Platform > Architecture Overview).

2. MuleSoft Documentation, "About Anypoint Platform": This page describes the various components. It states, "API Manager enables you to manage, govern, and secure your APIs from a single web interface." This management function is a defining characteristic of the control plane. (Source: MuleSoft Docs > Anypoint Platform > Get Started > About Anypoint Platform).

3. MuleSoft Documentation, "Runtime Fabric Architecture": This document clarifies that Runtime Fabric operates in the customer-hosted runtime plane, while it is managed and monitored via the MuleSoft-hosted control plane. This distinction reinforces that Runtime Fabric itself is not part of the control plane. (Source: MuleSoft Docs > Runtime Fabric > Architecture).