ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
A company wants to connect its on-premises data center to AWS using AWS Direct Connect with a public VIF to access Amazon S3. The on-premises network team reports that they can ping the Direct Connect public VIF IP but cannot access S3. The VPC has a private subnet with an S3 VPC endpoint. What is the most likely reason for the failure?
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
✓
The on-premises network is not routing traffic to S3 through the Direct Connect public VIF; instead, it is attempting to use the internet.
To access S3 via a Direct Connect public VIF, traffic must be routed through the public VIF, not through the internet. On-premises traffic destined for S3 will use the public VIF only if the on-premises routing directs it appropriately. If the on-premises network does not have specific routes pointing S3 traffic to the Direct Connect public VIF, it may attempt to use the internet, which can be blocked or not intended. Option A is incorrect because Direct Connect does support access to S3 via public VIF. Option B is incorrect because the S3 VPC endpoint is for instances within the VPC, not for on-premises traffic. Option D is incorrect because security groups do not apply to traffic that traverses Direct Connect; they apply to VPC traffic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Direct Connect does not support access to Amazon S3; you must use VPN.
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect does support access to Amazon S3 via a public VIF, so this is not the reason for the failure.
- ✗
The S3 endpoint is configured in the VPC, but the on-premises traffic is not using the endpoint.
Why it's wrong here
The S3 VPC endpoint is used by resources within the VPC, not by on-premises traffic over Direct Connect. On-premises traffic uses the public VIF, so this is not the cause.
- ✓
The on-premises network is not routing traffic to S3 through the Direct Connect public VIF; instead, it is attempting to use the internet.
Why this is correct
On-premises traffic to S3 must be routed through the Direct Connect public VIF. If the on-premises network does not have routes pointing to the public VIF, traffic may go over the internet, causing failure.
- ✗
A security group is blocking traffic from the on-premises network to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Security groups apply to VPC traffic, not to on-premises traffic that arrives via Direct Connect. They would not block this traffic.
Visual reference
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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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.