This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network design. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 company has an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in front of an Auto Scaling group of EC2 instances. The ALB is configured with a target group that has a health check path of /health. Some instances are failing health checks and being marked unhealthy, but the application logs show the instances are healthy. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The security group for the instances does not allow inbound traffic from the ALB's security group on the health check port
The health check is failing because the security group for the instances is not allowing traffic from the ALB. Option A is correct. Option B (health check path) is working as configured. Option C (slow start) does not cause health check failures. Option D (stickiness) does not affect health checks.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
The health check path is incorrect
Why it's wrong here
The path is correctly configured as /health.
✗
The target group's slow start duration is too long
Why it's wrong here
Slow start does not cause health check failures.
✓
The security group for the instances does not allow inbound traffic from the ALB's security group on the health check port
Why this is correct
The ALB's health checks must be allowed by the instance security group.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
The ALB's stickiness is preventing health checks
Why it's wrong here
Stickiness does not affect health checks.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related ANS-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Network Design — This question tests Network Design — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The security group for the instances does not allow inbound traffic from the ALB's security group on the health check port — The health check is failing because the security group for the instances is not allowing traffic from the ALB. Option A is correct. Option B (health check path) is working as configured. Option C (slow start) does not cause health check failures. Option D (stickiness) does not affect health checks.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related ANS-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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