ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
A company is designing a network for a three-tier web application. The web tier must be able to scale out and in automatically based on CPU utilization. The database tier must be highly available and use Multi-AZ deployment. Which combination of AWS services should the architect use?
⚠ Common exam trap
AWS often tests the misconception that a Network Load Balancer is suitable for all web applications, but the trap here is that the web tier requires Layer 7 features (like HTTP header inspection) for proper scaling and routing, which only the Application Load Balancer provides.
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
✓
Application Load Balancer, Auto Scaling group, Amazon RDS Multi-AZ
An Application Load Balancer (ALB) operates at Layer 7, which is ideal for distributing HTTP/HTTPS traffic to a web tier that scales out and in automatically via an Auto Scaling group based on CPU utilization. Amazon RDS Multi-AZ provides synchronous standby replication across Availability Zones, ensuring high availability for the database tier by automatically failing over to the standby in case of an outage.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Network Load Balancer, Auto Scaling group, Amazon RDS Multi-AZ
Why it's wrong here
NLB is for TCP/UDP, not HTTP/HTTPS unless using TCP pass-through.
- ✗
Application Load Balancer, Auto Scaling group, Amazon DynamoDB
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is a NoSQL database, not suitable for all relational workloads.
- ✓
Application Load Balancer, Auto Scaling group, Amazon RDS Multi-AZ
Why this is correct
ALB handles HTTP/HTTPS traffic, Auto Scaling adjusts capacity, and RDS Multi-AZ provides HA.
- ✗
Classic Load Balancer, Auto Scaling group, Amazon RDS Single-AZ
Why it's wrong here
Classic Load Balancer is legacy; Single-AZ does not provide high availability.
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