ANS-C01 Network Implementation Practice Question
A company has a Direct Connect connection with a private virtual interface (VIF) to a VPC. The on-premises network uses BGP to advertise a route for 10.0.0.0/8. The VPC CIDR is 10.1.0.0/16. The company wants to ensure that all traffic from the VPC to on-premises uses the Direct Connect connection, but if the Direct Connect fails, traffic should fail over to a VPN connection. Which configuration achieves this?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse MED and local preference, incorrectly assuming MED controls outbound path selection, when in fact local preference is the correct attribute for influencing traffic leaving an AS, while MED influences inbound traffic from a neighboring AS.
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
✓
Configure a BGP local preference of 200 on the Direct Connect VIF and 100 on the VPN connection, and use the same ASN for both.
B is correct because BGP local preference is an administrative weight used to prefer one path over another within the same AS. By setting a higher local preference (200) on the Direct Connect VIF and a lower value (100) on the VPN, the on-premises router will prefer the Direct Connect path for outbound traffic. If the Direct Connect fails, the BGP session drops, and the VPN route with the lower local preference becomes active, providing failover. Using the same ASN for both connections ensures the routes are compared as equal under BGP best-path selection.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create a static route in the VPC route table pointing to the VPN with a metric of 100, and let BGP propagate the Direct Connect route.
Why it's wrong here
Static routes with higher metric are less preferred, but BGP routes are dynamic; this approach may not work as intended.
- ✓
Configure a BGP local preference of 200 on the Direct Connect VIF and 100 on the VPN connection, and use the same ASN for both.
Why this is correct
Higher local preference is preferred; thus Direct Connect will be primary and VPN backup.
- ✗
Set the MED attribute on the Direct Connect VIF to 100 and on the VPN to 200.
Why it's wrong here
Lower MED is more preferred, so Direct Connect (MED 100) would be primary, but the VPN MED should be higher (200) is actually correct for backup; however, MED is typically used between multiple entry points into the same AS, not for failover order between different connections.
- ✗
Configure AS path prepend on the Direct Connect side to advertise a longer AS path.
Why it's wrong here
Longer AS path is less preferred, making Direct Connect the backup path.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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