The answer is to use AWS Resource Access Manager to share the transit gateway from the centralized network account with other accounts and attach their VPCs. This is correct because AWS RAM enables cross-account sharing of the transit gateway, allowing VPCs in different accounts to connect to a single, centrally managed hub for transitive routing, which eliminates the need for complex VPC peering meshes and simplifies IP address management. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to architect a scalable, secure multi-account network using Transit Gateway and RAM, often appearing as a distractor against solutions like VPC peering or VPN attachments. A common trap is assuming you must create a separate transit gateway per account, but RAM allows you to share one gateway across accounts while maintaining centralized control. Memory tip: think of RAM as the “key” that unlocks cross-account sharing, and Transit Gateway as the “hub” that routes traffic—together they form a single, shared network backbone.
ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network design. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 is deploying a critical application across multiple AWS accounts. The network team wants to simplify IP address management and ensure that VPCs in different accounts can communicate securely. The company has a centralized network account with a transit gateway. Which architecture should the company use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use AWS Resource Access Manager to share the transit gateway in the network account with other accounts and attach their VPCs.
Option A is correct because AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM) allows you to share a transit gateway from a centralized network account with other AWS accounts, enabling VPCs in those accounts to attach to the shared transit gateway. This simplifies IP address management by providing a single hub for inter-VPC routing and avoids the complexity of managing multiple VPC peering connections. The transit gateway supports transitive routing, so VPCs in different accounts can communicate securely through the centralized gateway without needing direct peering.
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.
✓
Use AWS Resource Access Manager to share the transit gateway in the network account with other accounts and attach their VPCs.
Why this is correct
RAM enables cross-account sharing of transit gateways.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create VPC peering connections between each VPC in different accounts.
Why it's wrong here
VPC peering creates a full mesh, which is complex to manage.
✗
Configure VPC endpoints in each account to communicate through the network account.
Why it's wrong here
VPC endpoints are for accessing AWS services privately.
✗
Set up AWS Direct Connect between accounts and route through the network account.
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect is for on-premises connectivity, not inter-account.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse VPC peering (which requires full mesh for transitive routing) with transit gateway (which provides transitive routing natively), or mistakenly think VPC endpoints can be used for inter-VPC communication instead of their intended purpose of private access to AWS services.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS Transit Gateway uses a hub-and-spoke architecture where all VPC attachments route through the transit gateway, enabling transitive routing across all attached VPCs. When shared via AWS RAM, the transit gateway remains in the owner account, but the participant accounts can create attachments and manage routes within their own VPC route tables. This approach supports up to 5,000 VPC attachments per transit gateway and integrates with AWS Direct Connect Gateway for hybrid connectivity, making it ideal for multi-account deployments with centralized network management.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Network Design — This question tests Network Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use AWS Resource Access Manager to share the transit gateway in the network account with other accounts and attach their VPCs. — Option A is correct because AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM) allows you to share a transit gateway from a centralized network account with other AWS accounts, enabling VPCs in those accounts to attach to the shared transit gateway. This simplifies IP address management by providing a single hub for inter-VPC routing and avoids the complexity of managing multiple VPC peering connections. The transit gateway supports transitive routing, so VPCs in different accounts can communicate securely through the centralized gateway without needing direct peering.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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 wants to connect multiple VPCs across different AWS accounts to a common on-premises network using AWS Transit Gateway. Which resource should be used to allow cross-account VPC attachments?
easy
A.AWS PrivateLink
B.VPC peering connection
C.AWS Organizations
✓ D.AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM)
Why D: AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM) allows sharing Transit Gateways across accounts. VPC peering does not attach to Transit Gateway. AWS Organizations is an organization management service but does not directly share Transit Gateways. AWS PrivateLink is for private connectivity to services.
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.