ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
A financial services company must ensure that all traffic between its on-premises data center and VPC is encrypted in transit and does not traverse the public internet. The company has an AWS Direct Connect connection. Which solution meets these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume Direct Connect provides encryption by default, but it does not; the exam tests whether you know that a private VIF alone is unencrypted and that an IPsec VPN overlay is required to meet encryption mandates.
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 private virtual interface (VIF) over the Direct Connect connection and establish an IPsec VPN tunnel over the private VIF
A private virtual interface (VIF) provides private, non-internet-routed connectivity between the on-premises data center and the VPC over AWS Direct Connect. However, Direct Connect itself does not natively encrypt traffic; by establishing an IPsec VPN tunnel over the private VIF, you add end-to-end encryption (e.g., using AES-256) while keeping all traffic off the public internet, meeting both requirements.
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 private virtual interface (VIF) over the Direct Connect connection and establish an IPsec VPN tunnel over the private VIF
Why this is correct
This provides encryption over a private connection, meeting both requirements.
- ✗
Use a private virtual interface (VIF) and rely on Direct Connect encryption
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect does not encrypt traffic by default; encryption must be added via IPsec.
- ✗
Use a public virtual interface (VIF) over the Direct Connect connection and configure an IPsec VPN tunnel over it
Why it's wrong here
Public VIF accesses public AWS services; traffic may traverse the internet, and encryption is not built-in.
- ✗
Use a transit virtual interface (VIF) over the Direct Connect connection and attach it to a transit gateway
Why it's wrong here
Transit VIF does not provide encryption; it is for connecting to transit gateways.
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
Go deeper
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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.