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 designing a hybrid network architecture that connects an on-premises data center to AWS via AWS Direct Connect. The on-premises network uses BGP to advertise routes to AWS. The company wants to ensure that the on-premises network can reach all VPCs in the AWS account using a single Direct Connect virtual interface. Which solution should the architect use?
Create a Direct Connect gateway and associate all VPCs directly.
Why wrong: A Direct Connect gateway cannot associate VPCs directly; it requires a transit gateway or virtual private gateway.
B
Create a transit gateway and a Direct Connect gateway. Attach the VPCs to the transit gateway and associate the transit gateway with the Direct Connect gateway.
This setup allows multiple VPCs to communicate over a single Direct Connect virtual interface.
C
Create VPC peering connections between all VPCs and the on-premises network.
Why wrong: VPC peering is not supported with on-premises networks.
D
Create a virtual private gateway and attach all VPCs to it.
Why wrong: A virtual private gateway can only be attached to a single VPC.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a transit gateway and a Direct Connect gateway. Attach the VPCs to the transit gateway and associate the transit gateway with the Direct Connect gateway.
Option B is correct because a transit gateway acts as a central hub for VPC-to-VPC and on-premises connectivity, and when associated with a Direct Connect gateway via a transit virtual interface, it allows a single Direct Connect connection to reach multiple VPCs. The Direct Connect gateway terminates the BGP session from on-premises and forwards traffic to the transit gateway, which then routes to the attached VPCs. This design scales to many VPCs without requiring multiple virtual interfaces or complex 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.
✗
Create a Direct Connect gateway and associate all VPCs directly.
Why it's wrong here
A Direct Connect gateway cannot associate VPCs directly; it requires a transit gateway or virtual private gateway.
✓
Create a transit gateway and a Direct Connect gateway. Attach the VPCs to the transit gateway and associate the transit gateway with the Direct Connect gateway.
Why this is correct
This setup allows multiple VPCs to communicate over a single Direct Connect virtual interface.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create VPC peering connections between all VPCs and the on-premises network.
Why it's wrong here
VPC peering is not supported with on-premises networks.
✗
Create a virtual private gateway and attach all VPCs to it.
Why it's wrong here
A virtual private gateway can only be attached to a single VPC.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume a Direct Connect gateway can directly connect to multiple VPCs, but it requires a transit gateway to enable multi-VPC connectivity, as the Direct Connect gateway alone only supports a single VPC via a virtual private gateway.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the Direct Connect gateway uses a BGP session with the on-premises router to exchange routes, and when associated with a transit gateway, the transit gateway propagates those routes to all attached VPCs using its route tables. The transit gateway supports transitive routing, meaning traffic from on-premises can reach any VPC in the same AWS account without additional virtual interfaces. In a real-world scenario, this design is critical for enterprises with dozens of VPCs that need centralized connectivity, as it avoids the 50-route limit per virtual interface and simplifies BGP configuration.
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: Create a transit gateway and a Direct Connect gateway. Attach the VPCs to the transit gateway and associate the transit gateway with the Direct Connect gateway. — Option B is correct because a transit gateway acts as a central hub for VPC-to-VPC and on-premises connectivity, and when associated with a Direct Connect gateway via a transit virtual interface, it allows a single Direct Connect connection to reach multiple VPCs. The Direct Connect gateway terminates the BGP session from on-premises and forwards traffic to the transit gateway, which then routes to the attached VPCs. This design scales to many VPCs without requiring multiple virtual interfaces or complex 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 →
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.