Quick Answer
Amazon CloudWatch is the correct choice for Direct Connect BGP session monitoring because it natively publishes the `bgp_session_state` metric for private virtual interfaces, where a value of 0 indicates the session is down and 1 indicates it is up. By creating a CloudWatch alarm on this metric, you can trigger an SNS notification the moment the BGP session fails, enabling real-time alerting without additional third-party tools. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding that CloudWatch, not Direct Connect itself or Route 53, is the service responsible for collecting and alerting on BGP health metrics—a common trap is assuming you need a separate monitoring service like Amazon Inspector. Remember the memory tip: "BGP state is CloudWatch's fate"—if you need to watch the session state, think CloudWatch metrics and alarms.
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network management and operations. 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 using AWS Direct Connect with a private VIF. They want to monitor the BGP session status and receive alerts if the session goes down. Which AWS service should they use?
VPC Flow Logs
Why wrong: Flow logs capture IP traffic, not BGP status.
Amazon CloudWatch
Direct Connect metrics including BGP status are available in CloudWatch.
AWS Config
Why wrong: Config tracks resource configuration changes, not real-time BGP status.
AWS CloudTrail
Why wrong: CloudTrail records API calls, not BGP status.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon CloudWatch
Amazon CloudWatch is the correct service because it can monitor the BGP session status of a Direct Connect private VIF by publishing metrics such as 'bgp_session_state' (0=down, 1=up) and 'connection_state' to CloudWatch. You can then create a CloudWatch alarm that triggers an alert (e.g., via SNS) when the BGP session state transitions to 0, providing real-time notification of a session failure.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
VPC Flow Logs
Why it's wrong here
Flow logs capture IP traffic, not BGP status.
Amazon CloudWatch
Why this is correct
Direct Connect metrics including BGP status are available in CloudWatch.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config tracks resource configuration changes, not real-time BGP status.
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail records API calls, not BGP status.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse network monitoring (CloudWatch metrics for BGP state) with logging (Flow Logs, CloudTrail) or configuration tracking (Config), assuming any AWS monitoring service can handle BGP session alerts, but only CloudWatch provides the specific metric and alarm functionality for Direct Connect BGP status.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, the Direct Connect router continuously exchanges BGP keepalive messages (every 60 seconds by default, with a hold timer of 180 seconds) with the customer router. CloudWatch receives the BGP session state metric from the Direct Connect service via the AWS infrastructure, and you can set an alarm with a period as low as 1 minute to detect a down session. In a real-world scenario, if the customer router fails or a fiber cut occurs, the BGP session drops, and CloudWatch can trigger an automated failover script or notify the NOC within minutes.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
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FAQ
Network Management and Operations — This question tests Network Management and Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon CloudWatch — Amazon CloudWatch is the correct service because it can monitor the BGP session status of a Direct Connect private VIF by publishing metrics such as 'bgp_session_state' (0=down, 1=up) and 'connection_state' to CloudWatch. You can then create a CloudWatch alarm that triggers an alert (e.g., via SNS) when the BGP session state transitions to 0, providing real-time notification of a session failure.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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