Quick Answer
The answer is network packets dropped by the RDS instance's network interface and round-trip time. When troubleshooting EC2 to RDS network performance metrics, packet drops at the RDS network interface directly indicate congestion or a bottleneck in the data path, while round-trip time measures the latency between the two endpoints, revealing delays that degrade throughput. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish network-layer metrics from system or application-level ones—a common trap is confusing CPU utilization or database connections with network performance. Remember that network-specific metrics focus on packet flow and timing, not resource usage. A useful memory tip: think "drops and delay" for the two core network performance indicators.
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network management and operations. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 network engineer is troubleshooting a slow connection between an EC2 instance and an RDS database in the same VPC. The engineer wants to analyze network performance metrics. Which TWO metrics should the engineer examine? (Choose two.)
Database connections count
Why wrong: Application-level metric, not network performance.
Disk queue depth
Why wrong: Storage metric, not network.
Round-trip time between the EC2 instance and RDS
Direct measure of latency.
RDS instance CPU utilization
Why wrong: CPU is not a network metric.
Network packets dropped by the RDS instance's network interface
Indicates network congestion.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Round-trip time between the EC2 instance and RDS
Option A and Option D are correct. Network packets dropped by the RDS instance's network interface indicate congestion. Round-trip time is a direct measure of latency. Option B is incorrect because CPU utilization is a system metric, not network-specific. Option C is incorrect because database connections are application-level. Option E is incorrect because disk queue depth is storage-related.
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.
Database connections count
Why it's wrong here
Application-level metric, not network performance.
Disk queue depth
Why it's wrong here
Storage metric, not network.
Round-trip time between the EC2 instance and RDS
Why this is correct
Direct measure of latency.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
RDS instance CPU utilization
Why it's wrong here
CPU is not a network metric.
Network packets dropped by the RDS instance's network interface
Why this is correct
Indicates network congestion.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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 Management and Operations — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Network Management and Operations — This question tests Network Management and Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Round-trip time between the EC2 instance and RDS — Option A and Option D are correct. Network packets dropped by the RDS instance's network interface indicate congestion. Round-trip time is a direct measure of latency. Option B is incorrect because CPU utilization is a system metric, not network-specific. Option C is incorrect because database connections are application-level. Option E is incorrect because disk queue depth is storage-related.
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.
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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.
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