- A
Create a Network Load Balancer with a target group that has stickiness enabled and an SSL listener.
Why wrong: NLB does not support sticky sessions based on cookies; it only supports source IP stickiness.
- B
Launch EC2 instances as reverse proxy servers in front of the application servers, configure SSL on the reverse proxy, and use an Application Load Balancer to distribute traffic to the reverse proxies.
Why wrong: This adds unnecessary complexity and a single point of failure.
- C
Create a Classic Load Balancer with sticky sessions and SSL termination.
Why wrong: Classic Load Balancer is legacy and not recommended for new applications.
- D
Create an Application Load Balancer with a target group that has stickiness enabled and an HTTPS listener that terminates SSL.
ALB supports sticky sessions using duration-based cookies and SSL termination on the listener.
Quick Answer
The correct answer is to create an Application Load Balancer with a target group that has stickiness enabled and an HTTPS listener that terminates SSL. This configuration works because the ALB handles SSL/TLS decryption at the listener level, offloading the cryptographic overhead from backend instances, while the target group’s stickiness setting ensures that subsequent requests from the same user are routed to the same healthy target using a generated or application-based cookie. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how ALB integrates session affinity with TLS termination across multiple Availability Zones—a common design pattern for stateless backends. A frequent trap is assuming stickiness must be configured on the listener itself, but it is actually set at the target group level. Memory tip: think “Listener for crypto, Target Group for stickiness”—the ALB decrypts at the edge, then pins the session to a specific target.
ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network design. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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. The application requires that user sessions are maintained (sticky sessions) and that the ALB can offload SSL/TLS termination. Which configuration should they use?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Create an Application Load Balancer with a target group that has stickiness enabled and an HTTPS listener that terminates SSL.
Option D is correct because an Application Load Balancer (ALB) natively supports both sticky sessions (via a generated cookie or application-based cookie) and SSL/TLS termination at the HTTPS listener. This allows the ALB to decrypt traffic before forwarding it to targets over HTTP, reducing backend processing overhead while maintaining session affinity across multiple Availability Zones for high availability.
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.
- ✗
Create a Network Load Balancer with a target group that has stickiness enabled and an SSL listener.
Why it's wrong here
NLB does not support sticky sessions based on cookies; it only supports source IP stickiness.
- ✗
Launch EC2 instances as reverse proxy servers in front of the application servers, configure SSL on the reverse proxy, and use an Application Load Balancer to distribute traffic to the reverse proxies.
Why it's wrong here
This adds unnecessary complexity and a single point of failure.
- ✗
Create a Classic Load Balancer with sticky sessions and SSL termination.
Why it's wrong here
Classic Load Balancer is legacy and not recommended for new applications.
- ✓
Create an Application Load Balancer with a target group that has stickiness enabled and an HTTPS listener that terminates SSL.
Why this is correct
ALB supports sticky sessions using duration-based cookies and SSL termination on the listener.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse the capabilities of a Network Load Balancer (Layer 4) with those of an Application Load Balancer (Layer 7), assuming that NLB supports sticky sessions and SSL termination, or they may overcomplicate the solution by adding reverse proxies when the ALB already provides the required features natively.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Sticky sessions on an ALB are implemented using the AWSALBAPP cookie (for application-based stickiness) or the AWSALB cookie (for duration-based stickiness), which is generated and managed by the load balancer. SSL/TLS termination at the ALB uses the SNI (Server Name Indication) extension to support multiple certificates on the same listener, and the ALB can enforce security policies like TLS 1.2 or 1.3. In a real-world scenario, if the application requires end-to-end encryption, the ALB can be configured to re-encrypt traffic to targets using a separate HTTPS listener, but the question specifically asks for offloading, which means decryption at the ALB.
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
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
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 — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Network Design 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
Related ANS-C01 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Network Management and Operations practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Management and Operations.
Network Security, Compliance and Governance practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Security, Compliance and Governance.
Network Design practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Design.
Network Implementation practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Implementation.
ANS-C01 fundamentals practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 fundamentals.
ANS-C01 scenario practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 scenario.
ANS-C01 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free ANS-C01 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ANS-C01 question test?
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: Create an Application Load Balancer with a target group that has stickiness enabled and an HTTPS listener that terminates SSL. — Option D is correct because an Application Load Balancer (ALB) natively supports both sticky sessions (via a generated cookie or application-based cookie) and SSL/TLS termination at the HTTPS listener. This allows the ALB to decrypt traffic before forwarding it to targets over HTTP, reducing backend processing overhead while maintaining session affinity across multiple Availability Zones for high availability.
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 →
Keep practising
More ANS-C01 practice questions
- A company is designing a network security architecture for a multi-account environment using AWS Transit Gateway. The se…
- A company is using AWS Direct Connect to connect its on-premises network to AWS. The company wants to encrypt all traffi…
- A company uses AWS Transit Gateway to connect multiple VPCs and on-premises networks via AWS Site-to-Site VPN. The secur…
- A global e-commerce company uses a hub-and-spoke network topology with a transit VPC in us-east-1. Each spoke VPC has an…
- A company is designing a multi-VPC architecture in the same region. The VPCs need to communicate with each other using p…
- A company is deploying an application that requires low-latency communication between EC2 instances in two different AWS…
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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.