ANS-C01 Network Management and Operations Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network management and operations. Examine the command output carefully: the correct answer depends on what the output actually shows, not on general recall alone. 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 deployed a web application on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The application is experiencing intermittent timeouts. CloudWatch metrics show that the ALB's RequestCount is within normal limits, but TargetResponseTime occasionally spikes to 10 seconds. 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 EC2 instances are experiencing high CPU utilization during peak periods.
High CPU utilization on the EC2 instances can cause slow response times, leading to timeouts. The ALB distributes requests, so RequestCount may appear normal while individual instances struggle.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 ALB is configured with an incorrect idle timeout value.
Why it's wrong here
Idle timeout affects idle connections, not request processing time.
✗
The ALB's cross-zone load balancing is disabled.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling cross-zone can cause uneven load, but RequestCount would show imbalance.
✓
The EC2 instances are experiencing high CPU utilization during peak periods.
Why this is correct
High CPU leads to slow responses, matching the symptom of occasional spikes in TargetResponseTime.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The security group for the EC2 instances is blocking traffic from the ALB.
Why it's wrong here
A blocking security group would cause outright failures, not intermittent timeouts.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Disabling cross-zone can cause uneven load, but RequestCount would show imbalance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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.
Identify which ANS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Network Management and Operations — This question tests Network Management and Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The EC2 instances are experiencing high CPU utilization during peak periods. — High CPU utilization on the EC2 instances can cause slow response times, leading to timeouts. The ALB distributes requests, so RequestCount may appear normal while individual instances struggle.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which ANS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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