Quick Answer
The answer is the cluster placement group. This is the correct choice because a cluster placement group packs instances close together inside an Availability Zone, which provides the lowest possible latency and the highest packet-per-second network performance for tightly coupled workloads like high-performance computing or real-time data processing. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between the three AWS placement group types—spread, partition, and cluster—and to recognize that only the cluster strategy is designed for low-latency, high-throughput communication. A common trap is confusing partition placement groups, which isolate fault domains for large distributed systems, or spread placement groups, which maximize availability by placing instances on distinct hardware. Remember the memory tip: “Cluster for closeness, Spread for separation, Partition for parallel fault isolation.”
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network management and operations. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 new application that requires low latency between EC2 instances. Which THREE placement group strategies should the network engineer consider?
Cross-zone load balancing
Why wrong: This is a load balancer feature, not a placement group.
Spread placement group
Spreads instances across distinct hardware for high availability.
Availability Zone placement group
Why wrong: Not a valid placement group type.
Partition placement group
Spreads instances across logical partitions to reduce failure impact.
Cluster placement group
Packs instances close together for low latency.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Spread placement group
Options A, B, and C are valid placement group strategies. Option D is not a placement group type. Option E is not a placement group but a feature of Network Load Balancer.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Cross-zone load balancing
Why it's wrong here
This is a load balancer feature, not a placement group.
Spread placement group
Why this is correct
Spreads instances across distinct hardware for high availability.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Availability Zone placement group
Why it's wrong here
Not a valid placement group type.
Partition placement group
Why this is correct
Spreads instances across logical partitions to reduce failure impact.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Cluster placement group
Why this is correct
Packs instances close together for low latency.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
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.
Detailed technical explanation
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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
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.
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FAQ
Network Management and Operations — This question tests Network Management and Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Spread placement group — Options A, B, and C are valid placement group strategies. Option D is not a placement group type. Option E is not a placement group but a feature of Network Load Balancer.
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.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
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