CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
Which AWS service provides a private connection from an on-premises network to AWS that bypasses the public internet and provides consistent network performance?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse AWS Site-to-Site VPN (which also connects on-premises to AWS) with a private connection, but VPN still traverses the public internet and cannot guarantee consistent performance, whereas Direct Connect is the only option that physically bypasses the internet.
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 Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect is the correct answer because it provides a dedicated, private network connection from an on-premises data center to AWS, completely bypassing the public internet. This ensures consistent network performance, lower latency, and higher bandwidth, as the connection is established through a standard 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps Ethernet fiber-optic cable linked to an AWS Direct Connect location.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS Site-to-Site VPN
Why it's wrong here
AWS Site-to-Site VPN creates an IPsec-encrypted tunnel between your on-premises network and an AWS VPN endpoint, but the underlying traffic travels over the public internet. Because internet routing and congestion are unpredictable, this service cannot guarantee consistent latency, jitter, or dedicated bandwidth—factors that a latency-sensitive or data-intensive workload may require.
- ✗
Amazon CloudFront
Why it's wrong here
Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that accelerates the distribution of web content by caching it at edge locations around the world. It is not a network transport or private connection service; it operates at Layer 7 for HTTP/HTTPS caching and delivery, and it cannot replace a dedicated physical or logical link from an on-premises datacenter to AWS.
- ✓
AWS Direct Connect
Why this is correct
AWS Direct Connect delivers a dedicated, physical network connection from your on-premises location to AWS data centers through a fiber-optic link, bypassing the public internet entirely. This private connection provides predictable network performance, lower latency, higher bandwidth, and reduced data transfer costs compared to internet-based connectivity, and it supports both VPC and public service endpoints through virtual interfaces.
- ✗
AWS Transit Gateway
Why it's wrong here
AWS Transit Gateway is a central hub for routing traffic between virtual private clouds (VPCs) and on-premises networks via attached VPN or Direct Connect connections. It is a managed route-management service, not a physical connectivity solution; without an underlying transport like Direct Connect or a Site-to-Site VPN, Transit Gateway cannot independently establish connectivity from on-premises to AWS.
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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.