Quick Answer
The answer is the Application Load Balancer (ALB), which is the correct choice for distributing incoming traffic evenly across healthy EC2 instances in multiple Availability Zones. An ALB operates at Layer 7 of the OSI model, intelligently routing HTTP and HTTPS traffic based on content, while its built-in health checks automatically remove unhealthy targets from the pool, ensuring even distribution only to healthy instances. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of when to choose a Layer 7 load balancer over a Layer 4 option like NLB, which handles TCP/UDP traffic and lacks HTTP-aware routing. A common trap is selecting Route 53 with simple routing, but that only maps a domain to a single IP without load balancing, or CloudFront, which caches content rather than distributing application traffic. Memory tip: ALB = Application = HTTP/HTTPS awareness, so if the traffic is web-based and needs content-based routing, think ALB first.
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network implementation. 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 web application across multiple Availability Zones in a single region. They want to distribute incoming traffic evenly across all healthy EC2 instances. Which AWS service should be used as the entry point?
Application Load Balancer (ALB)
Layer 7 load balancer with health checks.
Amazon CloudFront
Why wrong: CDN, not a load balancer.
Network Load Balancer (NLB)
Why wrong: Operates at Layer 4, not for HTTP traffic.
Amazon Route 53 with simple routing
Why wrong: Does not perform load balancing or health checks.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Application Load Balancer (ALB)
Option B is correct because an Application Load Balancer distributes traffic across targets in multiple AZs and performs health checks. Option A is wrong because NLB is for TCP/UDP, not HTTP. Option C is wrong because Route 53 with simple routing does not load balance across instances. Option D is wrong because CloudFront distributes content, not application traffic.
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.
Application Load Balancer (ALB)
Why this is correct
Layer 7 load balancer with health checks.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon CloudFront
Why it's wrong here
CDN, not a load balancer.
Network Load Balancer (NLB)
Why it's wrong here
Operates at Layer 4, not for HTTP traffic.
Amazon Route 53 with simple routing
Why it's wrong here
Does not perform load balancing or health checks.
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.
Network Implementation — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Network Implementation practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All ANS-C01 questions
1,705 questions across all exam domains
AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
ANS-C01 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Management and Operations.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Security, Compliance and Governance.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Design.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Implementation.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 fundamentals.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 scenario.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Network Implementation — This question tests Network Implementation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Application Load Balancer (ALB) — Option B is correct because an Application Load Balancer distributes traffic across targets in multiple AZs and performs health checks. Option A is wrong because NLB is for TCP/UDP, not HTTP. Option C is wrong because Route 53 with simple routing does not load balance across instances. Option D is wrong because CloudFront distributes content, not application traffic.
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.
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 →
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.
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.