CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
A company hosts a web application on an Application Load Balancer in the us-east-1 AWS Region. Users are distributed across North America, Europe, and Asia. The company wants to improve application performance and availability for global users by using the AWS global network. The solution must provide two static anycast IP addresses that do not change over time and automatically route incoming traffic to the nearest healthy endpoint in the region. Which AWS service should the company use?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse CloudFront's edge caching with Global Accelerator's static IP and anycast routing; candidates often pick CloudFront because it also improves performance, but it does not provide fixed anycast IP addresses that remain unchanged over time.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS Global Accelerator with the Application Load Balancer configured as an endpoint
AWS Global Accelerator provides two static anycast IP addresses that serve as fixed entry points to the application. It uses the AWS global network to route traffic to the nearest healthy Application Load Balancer endpoint in us-east-1, automatically rerouting in case of endpoint failure. This meets the requirement for static IPs and performance improvement via the AWS backbone.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon CloudFront with the Application Load Balancer configured as a custom origin
Why it's wrong here
Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that caches content at edge locations to reduce latency. It does not provide static anycast IP addresses for forwarding TCP/UDP traffic directly to an origin; instead it uses a domain name and regional edge caches. CloudFront is optimized for delivering cacheable content (e.g., images, videos, APIs), not for providing fixed IP endpoints for application-level traffic routing based on health.
When this WOULD be correct
A company wants to deliver static and dynamic content with low latency and high transfer speeds, requiring caching at edge locations. The solution must support HTTPS termination and custom SSL certificates, and the origin is an Application Load Balancer. In this scenario, Amazon CloudFront with the ALB as a custom origin is the correct choice.
- ✓
AWS Global Accelerator with the Application Load Balancer configured as an endpoint
Why this is correct
AWS Global Accelerator provides two static anycast IP addresses that act as a fixed entry point. It uses the AWS global network to route traffic over UDP and TCP to the nearest healthy endpoint (e.g., an Application Load Balancer). This improves performance by reducing internet latency and provides automatic failover. The solution meets all the requirements: static IPs, global network routing, and health-based routing.
- ✗
Amazon Route 53 with latency-based routing policy
Why it's wrong here
Amazon Route 53 with latency-based routing uses DNS to route users to the endpoint with the lowest latency. However, DNS relies on resolver caches and does not provide static anycast IP addresses. The IP addresses returned by Route 53 are the actual endpoint IPs, which can change and are not anycast. This approach also does not provide the same level of TCP/UDP traffic optimization as AWS Global Accelerator.
When this WOULD be correct
A company wants to route users to the lowest-latency endpoint based on DNS queries, and does not require static IP addresses or immediate failover. For example, a simple web application with multiple regional endpoints where DNS caching is acceptable.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration
Why it's wrong here
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration is a service that speeds up uploads to Amazon S3 by using AWS edge locations. It is not designed to route general application traffic to compute endpoints like an Application Load Balancer, nor does it provide static anycast IP addresses for the application itself. It is specific to S3 uploads only.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to accelerate uploads of large files to an S3 bucket from geographically distributed users, and requires faster, more reliable transfers over long distances using AWS edge locations.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The CLF-C02 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓AWS Global Accelerator with the Application Load Balancer configured as an endpointCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
AWS Global Accelerator provides two static anycast IP addresses that act as a fixed entry point. It uses the AWS global network to route traffic over UDP and TCP to the nearest healthy endpoint (e.g., an Application Load Balancer). This improves performance by reducing internet latency and provides automatic failover. The solution meets all the requirements: static IPs, global network routing, and health-based routing.
✗Amazon CloudFront with the Application Load Balancer configured as a custom originWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
CloudFront provides a content delivery network (CDN) with edge caching, but it does not offer static anycast IP addresses. The IP addresses associated with CloudFront can change over time, and it is not designed to route traffic to the nearest healthy endpoint via anycast; instead, it uses DNS-based routing and edge locations.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company wants to deliver static and dynamic content with low latency and high transfer speeds, requiring caching at edge locations. The solution must support HTTPS termination and custom SSL certificates, and the origin is an Application Load Balancer. In this scenario, Amazon CloudFront with the ALB as a custom origin is the correct choice.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may mistakenly believe CloudFront provides static anycast IPs because it uses a global network of edge locations, but CloudFront relies on DNS resolution and does not offer fixed anycast addresses like Global Accelerator.
✗Amazon Route 53 with latency-based routing policyWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Route 53 with latency-based routing does not provide static anycast IP addresses; it relies on DNS resolution, which can be cached and does not offer the same level of traffic control and failover as Global Accelerator.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company wants to route users to the lowest-latency endpoint based on DNS queries, and does not require static IP addresses or immediate failover. For example, a simple web application with multiple regional endpoints where DNS caching is acceptable.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse latency-based routing with Global Accelerator's anycast IPs, thinking DNS routing provides similar performance and availability benefits without understanding the limitations of DNS caching and lack of static IPs.
✗Amazon S3 Transfer AccelerationWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration is designed to speed up uploads to S3 buckets, not to provide static anycast IP addresses or route traffic to an Application Load Balancer for global web application performance and availability.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to accelerate uploads of large files to an S3 bucket from geographically distributed users, and requires faster, more reliable transfers over long distances using AWS edge locations.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'acceleration' and 'global network' features, thinking S3 Transfer Acceleration can improve web application performance, but it is specific to S3 uploads and does not provide anycast IPs or load balancing.
Analysis generated from the official CLF-C02blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CLF-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CLF-C02 exam.