ANS-C01 Network Management and Operations Practice Question
A company is using AWS Transit Gateway to interconnect multiple VPCs and on-premises networks. The network team notices that traffic between two VPCs is taking an unexpected path. Which AWS service should be used to analyze the packet-level traffic flow and identify the path?
⚠ Common exam trap
AWS often tests the misconception that CloudTrail or Config can analyze network traffic paths, but only VPC Flow Logs provide the packet-level metadata needed to trace the actual data plane flow through Transit Gateway.
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
✓
VPC Flow Logs
VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic metadata (source/destination IP, ports, protocol, packet/byte counts) at the network interface level, enabling analysis of packet-level traffic flow paths through AWS Transit Gateway. By enabling flow logs on the Transit Gateway attachment or VPC subnets, you can trace the actual path traffic takes between VPCs, including whether it traverses the Transit Gateway or an unexpected route.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail logs API calls, not network traffic.
- ✗
AWS X-Ray
Why it's wrong here
X-Ray is for application tracing, not network path analysis.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config tracks resource configuration changes, not traffic flow.
- ✓
VPC Flow Logs
Why this is correct
VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic metadata and can be used to trace paths.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on ANS-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is using AWS Transit Gateway to interconnect multiple VPCs and on-premises networks. The network team wants to log and monitor all traffic flows across the Transit Gateway for security analysis. Which TWO actions should the team take? (Choose TWO.)
medium- A.Use AWS Config rules to evaluate the Transit Gateway route tables.
- ✓ B.Send the flow logs to Amazon CloudWatch Logs for monitoring and alerting.
- ✓ C.Enable VPC Flow Logs on each Transit Gateway attachment.
- D.Enable VPC Flow Logs on the Transit Gateway itself.
- E.Configure VPC Traffic Mirroring on the Transit Gateway.
Why B: VPC Flow Logs can be published to Amazon CloudWatch Logs, enabling real-time monitoring, alerting, and integration with AWS Lambda or third-party tools for security analysis. This allows the network team to capture IP traffic information for all flows across Transit Gateway attachments when flow logs are enabled on those attachments. Option C is correct because VPC Flow Logs must be enabled at the Transit Gateway attachment level (not on the Transit Gateway itself) to capture traffic traversing the Transit Gateway, as the Transit Gateway is a network transit hub and does not generate its own flow logs.
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.