The correct answer is to configure the ALB as internet-facing and place the EC2 instances in multiple Availability Zones. An internet-facing ALB is required because it receives traffic directly from users over the internet, routing it to healthy targets, while deploying instances across multiple AZs ensures the application survives an entire AZ failure without downtime. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of high availability design patterns for load balancers, often appearing as a trap where candidates confuse internal versus internet-facing ALBs or mistakenly propose a single-AZ deployment. A common memory tip is to remember that “internet-facing” equals public traffic ingress, and “multi-AZ” equals fault tolerance—if either is missing, the architecture is not highly available. For quick recall, think “ALB HA: public face + spread across space.”
ANS-C01 Network Implementation Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network implementation. 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 designing a highly available architecture for a web application using an Application Load Balancer (ALB) across multiple Availability Zones. Which TWO actions should be taken to ensure high availability?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Register EC2 instances in multiple Availability Zones.
Option A is correct because the ALB must be internet-facing to receive traffic from users. Option D is correct because the EC2 instances should be in multiple AZs to survive an AZ failure. Option B is incorrect because an internal ALB is not accessible from the internet. Option C is incorrect because a single AZ is not highly available. Option E is incorrect because a Network Load Balancer is for TCP/UDP, not HTTP.
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.
Register EC2 instances in multiple Availability Zones.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides fault tolerance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Place the EC2 instances in a single Availability Zone.
Why it's wrong here
Single AZ is not highly available.
✗
Configure the ALB as internal.
Why it's wrong here
Internal ALB is not accessible from internet.
✓
Configure the ALB as internet-facing.
Why this is correct
Internet-facing ALB receives user traffic.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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.
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 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 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 — This question tests Network Implementation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Register EC2 instances in multiple Availability Zones. — Option A is correct because the ALB must be internet-facing to receive traffic from users. Option D is correct because the EC2 instances should be in multiple AZs to survive an AZ failure. Option B is incorrect because an internal ALB is not accessible from the internet. Option C is incorrect because a single AZ is not highly available. Option E is incorrect because a Network Load Balancer is for TCP/UDP, not HTTP.
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.
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 is designing a highly available architecture for a web application using an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in multiple Availability Zones. Which TWO configurations are required to achieve high availability?
medium
✓ A.The ALB must be configured with subnets in at least two Availability Zones
✓ B.The ALB must be internet-facing
C.At least three EC2 instances must be registered with the ALB
D.A NAT gateway must be deployed in each Availability Zone
E.Cross-zone load balancing must be enabled on the ALB
Why A: Option A is correct because ALB must have subnets in at least two Availability Zones. Option B is correct because the ALB must be internet-facing to be accessible from the internet. Option C is wrong because cross-zone load balancing is enabled by default and not required for high availability. Option D is wrong because a single NAT gateway is a single point of failure. Option E is wrong because a single instance per AZ is sufficient.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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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.
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