ANS-C01 Network Management and Operations Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network management and operations. 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 financial company has a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. They have deployed a centralized inspection VPC with a third-party firewall appliance. All VPCs are attached to a Transit Gateway. The security team wants to ensure that all traffic between VPCs is inspected by the firewall. The firewall is deployed in an Auto Scaling group behind a Network Load Balancer (NLB). What is the BEST way to route traffic to the firewall?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Use a Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB) endpoint in each VPC to route traffic to the firewall.
Why wrong: GWLB is for transparent appliances, but the scenario uses NLB.
B
Use VPC peering between each VPC and the inspection VPC.
Why wrong: Bypasses Transit Gateway and complicates routing.
C
Deploy a firewall appliance in each VPC and route traffic locally.
Why wrong: Not centralized inspection.
D
Create a Transit Gateway attachment in the inspection VPC and point the NLB as the target. Route traffic through the Transit Gateway route tables to the inspection VPC.
ECMP distributes traffic across firewall instances.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a Transit Gateway attachment in the inspection VPC and point the NLB as the target. Route traffic through the Transit Gateway route tables to the inspection VPC.
Option A is correct because Transit Gateway supports equal-cost multi-path (ECMP) routing, allowing traffic to be distributed across multiple firewall instances via the NLB. Option B is incorrect because VPC peering bypasses the Transit Gateway. Option C is incorrect because the firewall should be in the inspection VPC, not in each VPC. Option D is incorrect because the GWLB is not used here; the NLB is the correct choice.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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 Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB) endpoint in each VPC to route traffic to the firewall.
Why it's wrong here
GWLB is for transparent appliances, but the scenario uses NLB.
✗
Use VPC peering between each VPC and the inspection VPC.
Deploy a firewall appliance in each VPC and route traffic locally.
Why it's wrong here
Not centralized inspection.
✓
Create a Transit Gateway attachment in the inspection VPC and point the NLB as the target. Route traffic through the Transit Gateway route tables to the inspection VPC.
Why this is correct
ECMP distributes traffic across firewall instances.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
GWLB is for transparent appliances, but the scenario uses NLB.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related ANS-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Network Management and Operations — This question tests Network Management and Operations — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a Transit Gateway attachment in the inspection VPC and point the NLB as the target. Route traffic through the Transit Gateway route tables to the inspection VPC. — Option A is correct because Transit Gateway supports equal-cost multi-path (ECMP) routing, allowing traffic to be distributed across multiple firewall instances via the NLB. Option B is incorrect because VPC peering bypasses the Transit Gateway. Option C is incorrect because the firewall should be in the inspection VPC, not in each VPC. Option D is incorrect because the GWLB is not used here; the NLB is the correct choice.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related ANS-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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