ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
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?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates 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.
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
✓
Use BGP and set a higher local preference for routes learned via Direct Connect, and enable BGP graceful shutdown on the Direct Connect router
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 If the Direct Connect fails, the BGP session goes down, the routes are withdrawn, and traffic automatically fails over to the VPN without manual intervention.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.
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.
- ✗
Use BGP and advertise the same prefixes with a lower MED on the VPN connection
Why it's wrong here
Lower MED makes VPN less preferred, not failover.
- ✗
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.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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