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 network for a three-tier web application. The web tier must be accessible from the internet, while the application and database tiers must be in private subnets. The company wants to minimize the number of load balancers. Which design should be used?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Place an internal Application Load Balancer in a private subnet and use a NAT gateway for internet access.
Why wrong: Internal ALB cannot receive internet traffic directly.
B
Place an internet-facing Network Load Balancer in a public subnet and use it for all tiers.
Why wrong: NLB does not support application-layer routing.
C
Place an internet-facing Application Load Balancer in a public subnet, web tier instances in public subnets, and app/database instances in private subnets.
Allows direct internet access to web tier; app tier remains private.
D
Place an internet-facing Application Load Balancer in a private subnet.
Why wrong: Internet-facing ALB must be in public subnets.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Place an internet-facing Application Load Balancer in a public subnet, web tier instances in public subnets, and app/database instances in private subnets.
Option C is correct because an internet-facing Application Load Balancer (ALB) in a public subnet can receive internet traffic and forward it to web tier instances in public subnets, while the application and database tiers remain in private subnets with no direct internet access. This design uses a single load balancer to handle all external traffic, minimizing the number of load balancers while maintaining security boundaries.
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.
✗
Place an internal Application Load Balancer in a private subnet and use a NAT gateway for internet access.
Why it's wrong here
Internal ALB cannot receive internet traffic directly.
✗
Place an internet-facing Network Load Balancer in a public subnet and use it for all tiers.
Why it's wrong here
NLB does not support application-layer routing.
✓
Place an internet-facing Application Load Balancer in a public subnet, web tier instances in public subnets, and app/database instances in private subnets.
Why this is correct
Allows direct internet access to web tier; app tier remains private.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Place an internet-facing Application Load Balancer in a private subnet.
Why it's wrong here
Internet-facing ALB must be in public subnets.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume all internal tiers must be in private subnets and forget that the web tier itself must be in public subnets to receive traffic from the internet-facing ALB, or they mistakenly think an internal ALB can be made internet-facing via a NATgateway.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
An internet-facing ALB has public IP addresses assigned to its network interfaces and uses the Internet Gateway (IGW) to handle inbound traffic from the internet. The ALB can terminate TLS, perform host- or path-based routing, and forward traffic to targets in either public or private subnets, but the web tier instances must be in public subnets to allow the ALB to route traffic directly without requiring a NAT device. In a real-world scenario, the web tier instances would have security group rules restricting inbound traffic to only the ALB's security group, while the app and database tiers would use separate security groups to allow traffic only from the web tier.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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: Place an internet-facing Application Load Balancer in a public subnet, web tier instances in public subnets, and app/database instances in private subnets. — Option C is correct because an internet-facing Application Load Balancer (ALB) in a public subnet can receive internet traffic and forward it to web tier instances in public subnets, while the application and database tiers remain in private subnets with no direct internet access. This design uses a single load balancer to handle all external traffic, minimizing the number of load balancers while maintaining security boundaries.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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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