mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped

A company runs a multi-tier web application on Amazon EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones. The application has separate backend services for serving images and handling API requests, each running on different sets of EC2 instances. The company needs a load balancer that can inspect incoming HTTP/HTTPS requests and route them to the correct target group based on the URL path (e.g., /images to one group, /api to another). The solution must also offload SSL/TLS termination and perform health checks on the instances. Which AWS service should the company use?

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A company runs a multi-tier web application on Amazon EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones. The application has separate backend services for serving images and handling API requests, each running on different sets of EC2 instances. The company needs a load balancer that can inspect incoming HTTP/HTTPS requests and route them to the correct target group based on the URL path (e.g., /images to one group, /api to another). The solution must also offload SSL/TLS termination and perform health checks on the instances. Which AWS service should the company use?

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.

A

Best answer

Application Load Balancer

Correct. Application Load Balancer (ALB) is a Layer 7 load balancer that can route traffic based on URL path, host header, and other request attributes. It also offloads SSL/TLS and performs health checks.

B

Distractor review

Network Load Balancer

Incorrect. Network Load Balancer (NLB) operates at Layer 4 and routes traffic based on TCP/UDP protocol and port numbers. It cannot inspect HTTP request content like URL paths.

C

Distractor review

Classic Load Balancer

Incorrect. Classic Load Balancer is a legacy Elastic Load Balancer that operates at both Layer 4 and basic Layer 7, but it does not support sophisticated path-based routing. It also lacks many modern features and is not recommended for new applications.

D

Distractor review

AWS CloudFront

Incorrect. AWS CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that accelerates content delivery and can cache responses at edge locations. While it can be placed in front of a load balancer, it is not a load balancer itself and cannot route traffic to EC2 instances based on URL paths.

Common exam trap

Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic

NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.

Technical deep dive

How to think about this question

NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.

KKey Concepts to Remember

  • Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
  • PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
  • Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
  • NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.

TExam Day Tips

  • Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
  • Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
  • Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.

Related practice questions

Related CLF-C02 practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

More questions from this exam

Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.

Question 1

A developer needs to launch a test server for a new application prototype. The developer logs into the AWS Management Console, selects an Amazon EC2 instance type, configures the security group, and starts the instance. The instance is running within two minutes, and the developer did not need to submit a formal request to the company's IT procurement team or wait for approval from a cloud administrator. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this scenario best demonstrate?

Question 2

A solutions architect is planning a new web application on AWS. The workload will include 3 Amazon EC2 instances (t3.medium) running 24/7, an Application Load Balancer, and an Amazon RDS for MySQL db.t3.small database. The architect needs to estimate the monthly cost for the first year, considering different purchasing options (On-Demand, 1-year All Upfront Reserved Instance, and Compute Savings Plan). Which AWS tool should the architect use to create this estimate?

Question 3

A company's development team frequently needs temporary test environments. A developer can log into the AWS Management Console, select an Amazon EC2 instance type, configure storage, and launch the instance within minutes without any interaction with the IT infrastructure team. This capability is an example of which essential characteristic of cloud computing?

Question 4

A company's finance team needs to analyze AWS spending in detail. They require a report that includes hourly cost data for each AWS service, each individual resource (e.g., a specific EC2 instance), and any cost allocation tags applied. The team plans to export this data to an Amazon S3 bucket and then import it into a custom business intelligence (BI) analytics dashboard. Which AWS tool should the finance team use to generate this level of detailed cost data?

Question 5

A company uses AWS for its development environment. The finance team wants to set a monthly budget of $10,000. They want to receive an email notification when the actual costs reach 80% of the budget ($8,000) and again when costs exceed the budget. The team needs a managed AWS service that can automatically send these alerts without requiring custom code or third-party tools. Which AWS service should the team use?

Question 6

A company uses AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The security team needs to enforce a policy that restricts SSH access (port 22) from the internet (0.0.0.0/0) in all VPCs across all accounts. The team wants to centrally define the allowed rules and automatically apply them to newly created VPCs and security groups, while also automatically remediating any existing non-compliant security groups. Which AWS service should the team use?

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this CLF-C02 question test?

Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Application Load Balancer — The correct answer is Application Load Balancer (ALB) because it operates at Layer 7 of the OSI model and can route traffic based on request content such as URL path, host header, HTTP method, and query string. It also supports SSL/TLS termination and health checks. Network Load Balancer operates at Layer 4 and cannot inspect HTTP headers for path-based routing. Classic Load Balancer is a legacy option that does not support advanced path-based routing. AWS CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that caches content at edge locations, not a load balancer for routing internal traffic to target groups based on URL paths.

What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?

Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.

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