ANS-C01 Network Security, Compliance and Governance Practice Question
A company has a VPC with public and private subnets. The private subnets need to access the internet for software updates. Which AWS service should be used to provide internet access to instances in the private subnets without assigning public IP addresses?
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
✓
NAT gateway in a public subnet.
A NAT gateway allows instances in private subnets to initiate outbound traffic to the internet. Option B is wrong because Internet Gateway alone does not provide NAT; it requires public IPs. Option C is wrong because VPN does not provide direct internet access. Option D is wrong because VPC endpoint is for accessing AWS services.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
NAT gateway in a public subnet.
Why this is correct
NAT gateway enables outbound internet access for private instances.
- ✗
Internet gateway attached to the VPC.
Why it's wrong here
Internet gateway requires instances to have public IPs; private instances don't have them.
- ✗
VPC Gateway Endpoint for Amazon S3.
Why it's wrong here
Gateway Endpoint only provides access to S3 and DynamoDB, not general internet.
- ✗
Site-to-Site VPN connection.
Why it's wrong here
VPN connects to on-premises, not directly to internet.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every ANS-C01 question from scratch — 1,621 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on ANS-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company has a VPC with public and private subnets. The security team wants to allow instances in a private subnet to download software updates from the internet but prevent inbound internet traffic. Which AWS service should be used?
easy- A.Internet gateway
- B.AWS Site-to-Site VPN
- C.VPC peering connection
- ✓ D.NAT gateway
Why D: A NAT gateway allows outbound internet traffic from private subnets while blocking unsolicited inbound traffic. Option D is correct. Option A is wrong because an internet gateway enables bidirectional traffic, which would allow inbound traffic. Option B is wrong because AWS Site-to-Site VPN is used for hybrid connectivity between on-premises and AWS, not for outbound internet access from private subnets. Option C is wrong because VPC peering connects VPCs together, not to the internet.
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.