The correct answer is to use BGP and set a higher local preference for routes learned via Direct Connect, ensuring the Direct Connect path is preferred over the VPN backup. This works because BGP local preference is an attribute that influences outbound traffic within an AS; by assigning a higher value to routes received over Direct Connect, the router always selects that path first. When the Direct Connect link fails, the BGP session drops, those routes are withdrawn, and the lower local preference routes learned via the VPN automatically take over, providing seamless failover without manual intervention. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of BGP path selection and hybrid network resilience—a common trap is confusing local preference with AS path prepending or MED, but remember that local preference is the first tiebreaker for outbound traffic. A useful memory tip: "Higher local pref, higher priority—Direct Connect wins until it's gone."
ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network design. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 with AWS Direct Connect and a VPN backup. They have two on-premises sites connected via MPLS. They want to ensure that if the Direct Connect fails, traffic automatically fails over to the VPN without manual intervention. Which routing configuration should they use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use BGP and set a higher local preference for routes learned via Direct Connect, and enable BGP graceful shutdown on the Direct Connect router
Option B is correct because using BGP with a higher local preference for routes learned via Direct Connect ensures that the Direct Connect path is preferred over the VPN backup. If the Direct Connect fails, the BGP session goes down, the routes are withdrawn, and traffic automatically fails over to the VPN without manual intervention. BGP graceful shutdown is not required for failover but can be used to gracefully drain traffic before maintenance.
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.
✗
Configure static routes with equal cost pointing to Direct Connect and VPN
Why it's wrong here
Static routes require manual failover.
✓
Use BGP and set a higher local preference for routes learned via Direct Connect, and enable BGP graceful shutdown on the Direct Connect router
Why this is correct
Higher local preference ensures Direct Connect is preferred; graceful shutdown triggers failover.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use BGP and advertise the same prefixes with a lower MED on the VPN connection
Create a VPC peering connection between the VPC and on-premises network
Why it's wrong here
VPC peering does not provide Direct Connect failover.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse MED with local preference, thinking that a lower MED on the VPN would make it a backup, but MED is a metric for inbound traffic and is compared only when paths come from the same neighboring AS, whereas local preference is the correct attribute for outbound path selection within an AS.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
BGP local preference is an attribute that is exchanged within an AS and influences outbound traffic; a higher local preference (e.g., 200 vs. 100) makes the Direct Connect path preferred. When the Direct Connect BGP session fails, the routes are withdrawn, and the VPN BGP routes (with lower local preference) become active. In a real-world scenario, you might also use AS path prepending on the VPN side to further deprioritize it, but local preference is the standard mechanism for primary/backup within a single AS.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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: Use BGP and set a higher local preference for routes learned via Direct Connect, and enable BGP graceful shutdown on the Direct Connect router — Option B is correct because using BGP with a higher local preference for routes learned via Direct Connect ensures that the Direct Connect path is preferred over the VPN backup. If the Direct Connect fails, the BGP session goes down, the routes are withdrawn, and traffic automatically fails over to the VPN without manual intervention. BGP graceful shutdown is not required for failover but can be used to gracefully drain traffic before maintenance.
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.
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Question Discussion
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