ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
A company has a VPC with a public subnet and a private subnet. The private subnet instances need to access an S3 bucket. Which configuration provides the most secure and efficient access without traversing the internet?
⚠ Common exam trap
AWS often tests the misconception that a NAT Gateway is required for private subnet internet access, but the trap here is that S3 can be accessed privately via a Gateway Endpoint without any internet gateway or NAT, making options like B and D seem plausible but incorrect.
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
✓
Create a VPC Gateway Endpoint for Amazon S3 and associate it with the private subnet route table.
A VPC Gateway Endpoint for Amazon S3 allows instances in a private subnet to access S3 directly over the AWS network without traversing the internet, using a route table entry that targets the endpoint's prefix list. This provides the most secure and efficient access by keeping traffic within the AWS backbone, avoiding NAT Gateway costs and internet exposure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Establish a VPN connection to on-premises and route to S3 from there.
Why it's wrong here
Unnecessary and inefficient.
- ✗
Use a NAT Gateway in the public subnet to route traffic to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Traffic goes through the internet, which is less secure and adds latency.
- ✓
Create a VPC Gateway Endpoint for Amazon S3 and associate it with the private subnet route table.
Why this is correct
Gateway Endpoint provides private, secure access to S3 without internet.
- ✗
Configure a proxy server in the public subnet.
Why it's wrong here
Proxy adds complexity and maintenance overhead.
Visual reference
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This ANS-C01 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 ANS-C01 exam.