Quick Answer
Amazon Route 53 Resolver is the correct choice because it provides recursive DNS resolution within a VPC and supports custom domain names through inbound and outbound endpoints, enabling seamless integration with on-premises DNS via conditional forwarding. This allows you to resolve custom private domains without exposing them to the internet, making it the only service that directly handles custom DNS resolution inside a VPC. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this concept often appears in scenario-based questions where a hybrid network requires resolving internal domain names across AWS and on-premises environments. A common trap is confusing Route 53 Resolver with Amazon Route 53 public hosted zones or Amazon CloudFront, but remember that Resolver is specifically for private, recursive DNS within VPCs. Memory tip: think “Resolver resolves inside” — it’s the internal DNS engine for your VPC.
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 needs to resolve DNS names within a VPC using a custom domain. Which AWS service should be used?
Elastic Load Balancing
Why wrong: Traffic distribution.
Amazon CloudFront
Why wrong: CDN service.
Amazon Route 53 Resolver
DNS resolution for VPC.
AWS WAF
Why wrong: Web application firewall.
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 Route 53 Resolver
Amazon Route 53 Resolver provides recursive DNS resolution for VPCs and supports custom domain names via inbound and outbound endpoints. It integrates with on-premises DNS through conditional forwarding, enabling resolution of custom private domains within the VPC without exposing them to the internet.
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.
Elastic Load Balancing
Why it's wrong here
Traffic distribution.
Amazon CloudFront
Why it's wrong here
CDN service.
Amazon Route 53 Resolver
Why this is correct
DNS resolution for VPC.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS WAF
Why it's wrong here
Web application firewall.
Common exam traps
AWS often tests the misconception that Route 53 public hosted zones or CloudFront can resolve custom VPC DNS names, but only Route 53 Resolver with private hosted zones or forwarding rules handles custom domain resolution within a VPC.
Detailed technical explanation
Route 53 Resolver uses conditional forwarding rules to direct DNS queries for custom domains to specified target IP addresses, such as on-premises DNS servers, via an inbound endpoint. It supports DNS-over-TCP and DNS-over-UDP on port 53, and can be configured with forwarding rules that match domain suffixes (e.g., example.local) to resolve names across hybrid networks. In a real-world scenario, a company with a VPC and an on-premises data center can use Route 53 Resolver to resolve internal hostnames like db.internal.example.com without exposing DNS traffic to the public internet.
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Network Design — This question tests Network Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon Route 53 Resolver — Amazon Route 53 Resolver provides recursive DNS resolution for VPCs and supports custom domain names via inbound and outbound endpoints. It integrates with on-premises DNS through conditional forwarding, enabling resolution of custom private domains within the VPC without exposing them to the internet.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
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 needs to resolve DNS names for their EC2 instances using custom domain names like "app.example.com". Which AWS service should they use?
easyWhy C: Amazon Route 53 is a scalable DNS web service that can resolve custom domain names like 'app.example.com' to EC2 instance IP addresses. It supports private hosted zones for VPCs, enabling DNS resolution for internal resources without exposing them to the internet, and integrates with EC2 via alias records or health checks.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 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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