Quick Answer
The answer is Traffic Mirroring, as it is the only AWS service that can capture full packet contents, including headers and payload, for EC2 instances. This works by mirroring traffic from an Elastic Network Interface (ENI) and forwarding the complete packets to a monitoring appliance or directly to Amazon S3 for deep packet inspection, unlike VPC Flow Logs which only record metadata such as source/destination IPs and ports. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between network monitoring tools, with a common trap being to select VPC Flow Logs because they are more familiar—but remember, flow logs are for metadata, not full packets. A strong memory tip is: “Flow logs for flows, mirroring for messages,” meaning VPC Flow Logs give you flow-level summaries, while Traffic Mirroring gives you the actual message payload for compliance auditing.
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network security, compliance and governance. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 wants to audit all network traffic to and from an EC2 instance for compliance. The security team needs to capture full packet contents, including headers and payload, and store them in Amazon S3 for analysis. Which AWS service should they use?
Amazon CloudWatch Logs with the EC2 agent
Why wrong: Captures logs, not packets.
Traffic Mirroring
Captures full packet contents.
AWS Config
Why wrong: Tracks configuration changes.
VPC Flow Logs
Why wrong: Captures metadata only.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Traffic Mirroring
Option B is correct because VPC Flow Logs capture metadata, not full packets. Option A is wrong because CloudWatch Logs can capture logs but not packets. Option C is correct because Traffic Mirroring captures full packets. Option D is wrong because AWS Config records configuration changes, not traffic.
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.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs with the EC2 agent
Why it's wrong here
Captures logs, not packets.
Traffic Mirroring
Why this is correct
Captures full packet contents.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Tracks configuration changes.
VPC Flow Logs
Why it's wrong here
Captures metadata only.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Identify which ANS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Network Security, Compliance and Governance — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Network Security, Compliance and Governance practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All ANS-C01 questions
1,705 questions across all exam domains
AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
ANS-C01 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Management and Operations.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Security, Compliance and Governance.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Design.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Implementation.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 fundamentals.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 scenario.
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Network Security, Compliance and Governance — This question tests Network Security, Compliance and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Traffic Mirroring — Option B is correct because VPC Flow Logs capture metadata, not full packets. Option A is wrong because CloudWatch Logs can capture logs but not packets. Option C is correct because Traffic Mirroring captures full packets. Option D is wrong because AWS Config records configuration changes, not traffic.
Identify which ANS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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 →
Keep practising
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.