ANS-C01 Network Implementation Practice Question
A company is implementing a hybrid network using AWS Direct Connect and VPN backup. The company has two Direct Connect connections from different providers and a site-to-site VPN as a backup. The company wants to ensure that traffic is always routed through the Direct Connect connections when they are healthy, and only fails over to the VPN if both Direct Connect connections fail. Which BGP configuration should be used on the customer gateway device (CGW) to achieve this?
⚠ Common exam trap
The ANS-C01 exam often tests the confusion between BGP attributes that influence outbound vs. inbound traffic; the trap here is that candidates mistakenly apply MED or AS_PATH prepending (which affect inbound path selection) when the question explicitly asks for controlling outbound traffic from the customer side.
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
✓
Set a lower BGP Local Preference value for routes received from the VPN connection.
BGP Local Preference is a well-known mandatory attribute used to influence outbound traffic from the AS. By setting a lower Local Preference value for routes received from the VPN connection, the customer gateway device (CGW) will prefer routes learned via Direct Connect (which have a default or higher Local Preference) over those learned via VPN. This ensures traffic is routed through Direct Connect connections when they are healthy, and only fails over to the VPN if both Direct Connect connections fail.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Set a lower BGP Local Preference value for routes received from the VPN connection.
Why this is correct
Lower Local Preference makes the VPN routes less preferred, so Direct Connect routes are used when available.
- ✗
Apply a BGP community tag to routes received over the VPN to signal less preference.
Why it's wrong here
Community tags require additional policy configuration and are not directly used for route preference.
- ✗
Set a higher BGP Multi-Exit Discriminator (MED) value for routes advertised over the VPN.
Why it's wrong here
Setting a higher BGP Multi-Exit Discriminator (MED) value for routes advertised over the VPN would instruct AWS to prefer Direct Connect paths when sending traffic *to* the customer network. This configuration influences the *inbound* traffic flow *into* the customer's AS, not the *outbound* traffic flow *from* the customer gateway (CGW) *to* AWS, which is the requirement. MED is correctly used to influence how an external AS (AWS) routes traffic *towards* your network, making it a tempting but incorrect choice for the CGW's outbound path selection.
- ✗
Prepend AS_PATH on routes advertised over the Direct Connect connections.
Why it's wrong here
This would make Direct Connect routes less preferred, which is opposite of the goal.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.