ANS-C01 Network Implementation Practice Question
A company uses AWS Direct Connect with a private VIF to connect to a VPC. They also have a VPN connection as a backup. How should they configure BGP to ensure that the VPN is only used when Direct Connect fails?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse local preference (influences outbound path selection) with MED (influences inbound path selection) or AS path prepending (also influences inbound selection), leading them to choose options that would not achieve the desired primary/backup behavior for outbound traffic.
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
✓
Use a higher local preference on the Direct Connect BGP session
Local preference is a BGP attribute used to influence outbound traffic from an AS. By setting a higher local preference on the Direct Connect BGP session, the router will prefer that path over the VPN session. When Direct Connect fails, the BGP session goes down, and the VPN route becomes the only available path, ensuring seamless failover.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use a lower local preference on the Direct Connect BGP session
Why it's wrong here
Lower local preference makes it less preferred.
- ✗
Use a lower AS path prepend on the VPN BGP session
Why it's wrong here
AS path prepend makes a route less preferred; lower prepend would not help.
- ✓
Use a higher local preference on the Direct Connect BGP session
Why this is correct
Higher local preference makes the Direct Connect route preferred.
- ✗
Use a higher MED on the VPN BGP session
Why it's wrong here
MED is used to influence inbound traffic; local preference is for outbound.
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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.