- A
A NAT gateway in the VPC.
Why wrong: NAT gateway is for outbound internet from private subnets; not needed for RDS access.
- B
A security group that allows inbound/outbound traffic to the RDS database.
Security group acts as a firewall to control traffic between Lambda and RDS.
- C
VPC subnet IDs for the Lambda function.
Lambda needs to be placed in a subnet within the VPC to access resources.
- D
An IAM role with permissions to access RDS.
Why wrong: IAM role is for authentication and authorization, not network connectivity.
- E
An internet gateway attached to the VPC.
Why wrong: Internet gateway provides internet access, not required for VPC internal communication.
Question 421 of 1,616
Configuring Lambda to Access a VPC: Security Groups and Subnets
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of development with aws services. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A developer is building a serverless application using AWS Lambda. The Lambda function needs to access a VPC to connect to an RDS database. Which TWO resources must the developer configure to allow the Lambda function to access the VPC?
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
✓
A security group that allows inbound/outbound traffic to the RDS database.
Option B is correct because a security group acts as a virtual firewall for the Lambda function, controlling inbound and outbound traffic. To connect to an RDS database in a VPC, the Lambda function's security group must allow outbound traffic to the RDS database's security group on the database port (e.g., 3306 for MySQL), and the RDS security group must allow inbound traffic from the Lambda security group. This two-way rule ensures the Lambda function can establish a TCP connection to the database.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A NAT gateway in the VPC.
- ✓
A security group that allows inbound/outbound traffic to the RDS database.
Why this is correct
Security group acts as a firewall to control traffic between Lambda and RDS.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
VPC subnet IDs for the Lambda function.
Why this is correct
Lambda needs to be placed in a subnet within the VPC to access resources.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
An IAM role with permissions to access RDS.
Why it's wrong here
IAM role is for authentication and authorization, not network connectivity.
- ✗
An internet gateway attached to the VPC.
Why it's wrong here
Internet gateway provides internet access, not required for VPC internal communication.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the resources needed for VPC access (subnet IDs and security groups) with network infrastructure components (NAT gateway, internet gateway) or database-level permissions (IAM role), but the question specifically asks for the two resources that enable the Lambda function to connect to the VPC network layer, not the database service itself.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When you configure a Lambda function to access a VPC, AWS creates an elastic network interface (ENI) in each specified subnet, which gives the function a private IP address within the VPC. The security group attached to the Lambda function must allow outbound traffic to the RDS database's security group on the appropriate port (e.g., TCP 5432 for PostgreSQL), and the RDS security group must allow inbound traffic from the Lambda security group; this is a common pattern for microservices architectures where Lambda processes data from a database without exposing the database to the internet.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Visual reference
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DVA-C02 question test?
Development with AWS Services — This question tests Development with AWS Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A security group that allows inbound/outbound traffic to the RDS database. — Option B is correct because a security group acts as a virtual firewall for the Lambda function, controlling inbound and outbound traffic. To connect to an RDS database in a VPC, the Lambda function's security group must allow outbound traffic to the RDS database's security group on the database port (e.g., 3306 for MySQL), and the RDS security group must allow inbound traffic from the Lambda security group. This two-way rule ensures the Lambda function can establish a TCP connection to the database.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This DVA-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 DVA-C02 exam.
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