CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
A media company streams live video to a global audience. The application runs on Application Load Balancers in two AWS Regions (us-east-1 and eu-west-1). The company's clients require the use of a fixed set of static IP addresses for firewall allowlisting. The company needs to route user traffic to the nearest healthy endpoint to minimize latency. Which AWS service should the company use?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse Amazon CloudFront's ability to use a custom origin with static IPs (via AWS WAF or origin shield) as providing static IPs for the client-facing side, but CloudFront's edge IPs are dynamic and not suitable for firewall allowlisting, whereas Global Accelerator explicitly provides two static Anycast IPs that remain fixed.
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
AWS Global Accelerator provides two static Anycast IP addresses that serve as fixed entry points for traffic, which are then routed over the AWS global network to the nearest healthy endpoint (e.g., Application Load Balancer in us-east-1 or eu-west-1). This minimizes latency by directing users to the closest Region while preserving the static IPs required for firewall allowlisting. Unlike CloudFront, Global Accelerator does not cache content and is optimized for TCP/UDP traffic, making it ideal for live video streaming where low latency and static IPs are critical.
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
Why it's wrong here
Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that delivers content from edge locations, but it uses a large pool of dynamic IP addresses, not a fixed set of static IPs. While it can help reduce latency, it cannot provide the static IP addresses required for firewall allowlisting.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to deliver static and dynamic content with low latency and high transfer speeds, and does not require static IP addresses for allowlisting. CloudFront would be correct for content delivery network (CDN) use cases with edge caching.
- ✓
AWS Global Accelerator
Why this is correct
AWS Global Accelerator uses the AWS global network to route user traffic to the nearest healthy endpoint, improving performance and reliability. It provides two static anycast IP addresses that remain fixed, allowing clients to add them to firewall allowlists. This meets both the latency and static IP requirements.
- ✗
Network Load Balancer
Why it's wrong here
A Network Load Balancer (NLB) operates at the regional level and can handle TCP/UDP traffic with static IP addresses, but it is not a global service. The company needs a single set of static IPs that can route traffic to multiple Regions; an NLB cannot provide that global routing capability.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to distribute TCP/UDP traffic across multiple targets in a single AWS Region, requiring ultra-low latency and handling millions of requests per second, while preserving the source IP address of clients for backend processing.
- ✗
Amazon Route 53 latency-based routing
Why it's wrong here
Amazon Route 53 with latency-based routing can route users to the Region with the lowest latency, but it returns different IP addresses (e.g., the IPs of the load balancers in different Regions) depending on the user's location. This variability prevents clients from using a fixed set of static IPs for firewall allowlisting.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to route traffic to the nearest healthy endpoint based on latency, and clients can accept dynamic IP addresses or use DNS-based routing without requiring a fixed set of static IPs.
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 AcceleratorCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
AWS Global Accelerator uses the AWS global network to route user traffic to the nearest healthy endpoint, improving performance and reliability. It provides two static anycast IP addresses that remain fixed, allowing clients to add them to firewall allowlists. This meets both the latency and static IP requirements.
✗Amazon CloudFrontWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Amazon CloudFront does not provide a fixed set of static IP addresses for firewall allowlisting; its IP addresses can change. The question requires static IPs, which CloudFront cannot guarantee.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to deliver static and dynamic content with low latency and high transfer speeds, and does not require static IP addresses for allowlisting. CloudFront would be correct for content delivery network (CDN) use cases with edge caching.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think CloudFront can provide both content delivery and static IPs, but it does not offer a fixed IP set; Global Accelerator is the correct service for static IPs and traffic routing.
✗Network Load BalancerWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Network Load Balancer (NLB) operates at the transport layer and does not provide global traffic routing, static IP address management across multiple regions, or health-based routing to the nearest endpoint. It is designed for regional load balancing, not global acceleration with fixed IPs.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to distribute TCP/UDP traffic across multiple targets in a single AWS Region, requiring ultra-low latency and handling millions of requests per second, while preserving the source IP address of clients for backend processing.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse NLB's ability to provide static IPs (via Elastic IPs) with the global static IP capability of Global Accelerator, overlooking the need for multi-region routing and latency-based endpoint selection.
✗Amazon Route 53 latency-based routingWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Amazon Route 53 latency-based routing does not provide static IP addresses for firewall allowlisting; it resolves to dynamic IP addresses of resources like ALBs, which change over time.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to route traffic to the nearest healthy endpoint based on latency, and clients can accept dynamic IP addresses or use DNS-based routing without requiring a fixed set of static IPs.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse latency-based routing with Global Accelerator's similar latency optimization, overlooking the static IP requirement in the question.
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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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on CLF-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company runs a multiplayer gaming application on AWS. The application uses UDP for real-time communication between players. Players in different geographic regions report high latency and connection instability. The company wants to improve performance by directing user traffic to the nearest healthy application endpoint and using a static IP address for the application. Which AWS service should the company use to meet these requirements?
medium- A.Amazon CloudFront
- ✓ B.AWS Global Accelerator
- C.Amazon Route 53
- D.AWS Direct Connect
Why B: AWS Global Accelerator uses the AWS global network to route UDP traffic over optimized paths to the nearest healthy application endpoint, reducing latency and jitter. It provides two static anycast IP addresses that act as a fixed entry point, masking changes to underlying infrastructure. This directly addresses the need for low-latency UDP communication and a static IP for the gaming application.
Variation 2. A company wants to deploy their application globally and needs AWS to automatically route users to the nearest healthy application endpoint with improved network performance. Which AWS service uses the AWS global network backbone for routing optimization?
medium- A.Amazon CloudFront
- ✓ B.AWS Global Accelerator
- C.Amazon Route 53 with latency routing
- D.Amazon VPC peering
Why B: AWS Global Accelerator uses the AWS global network backbone to optimize the path from users to applications. It routes traffic over the AWS internal network rather than the public internet, improving performance and reliability. It also automatically directs users to the nearest healthy endpoint, meeting the requirement for global deployment with automatic failover.
JA
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.