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Network Security, Compliance and GovernancehardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

ANS-C01 Network Security, Compliance and Governance Practice Question

A company has a VPC with a public subnet and a private subnet. An EC2 instance in the private subnet needs to download patches from the internet. The company wants to minimize data transfer costs and avoid exposing the private instance to inbound traffic from the internet. Which solution meets these requirements?

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 ensure the patches are hosted in S3. Route private subnet traffic to the endpoint.

A VPC Gateway Endpoint for Amazon S3 provides private connectivity to S3 without traversing the internet, eliminating data transfer costs and avoiding exposure to inbound traffic. Option D is incorrect because assigning a public IP and using an internet gateway would expose the instance to inbound traffic. Option B (NAT gateway) and Option C (NAT instance) incur data transfer costs and are not required when the patches are in S3 and can be accessed via a gateway endpoint.

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 VPC Gateway Endpoint for Amazon S3 and ensure the patches are hosted in S3. Route private subnet traffic to the endpoint.

    Why this is correct

    No NAT cost, no inbound exposure, and uses AWS private network.

  • Attach an internet gateway to the VPC and route the private subnet's default route to a NAT gateway in the public subnet.

    Why it's wrong here

    NAT gateway incurs costs and allows outbound only, but not minimal cost.

  • Launch a NAT instance in the public subnet and route the private subnet's default route to it.

    Why it's wrong here

    NAT instance has management overhead and cost.

  • Attach an internet gateway to the VPC and assign a public IP to the EC2 instance.

    Why it's wrong here

    Exposes instance to inbound traffic.

Visual reference

Inside (Private) PC-A 10.0.0.1 PC-B 10.0.0.2 NAT Router Outside (Public) 203.0.113.1 Inside Global Server PAT: many private IPs share one public IP via unique port numbers

Quick reference

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Storage ClassMin DurationRetrievalUse Case
S3 StandardNoneImmediateFrequently accessed data
S3 Standard-IA30 daysImmediateInfrequent access, rapid retrieval
S3 One Zone-IA30 daysImmediateNon-critical infrequent data
S3 Intelligent-TieringNoneImmediate–hoursUnknown or changing access patterns
S3 Glacier Instant90 daysMillisecondsArchive with instant retrieval
S3 Glacier Flexible90 daysMinutes–hoursArchive, flexible retrieval
S3 Glacier Deep Archive180 daysHoursLong-term compliance archive

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JA

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.