This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network implementation. 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 connectivity from an on-premises network to an EC2 instance in a VPC via a Site-to-Site VPN. The VPN tunnel is up, but the engineer cannot ping the EC2 instance's private IP. What should the engineer check first?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Route propagation and route tables in the VPC and on-premises.
Option A is correct because the route tables on the on-premises router and in the VPC must have routes for the remote networks. Option B is incorrect because the VPN tunnel being up indicates Phase 1 and 2 are likely fine. Option C is incorrect because security groups are stateful and allow ICMP if outbound is allowed. Option D is incorrect because the VPN connection is active.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
The VPN connection status in the AWS console.
Why it's wrong here
Tunnel up indicates connection is active.
✗
Security group inbound rules for ICMP on the EC2 instance.
Why it's wrong here
Security groups are stateful; outbound ICMP may be blocked but inbound is needed for ping reply.
✗
IKE version mismatch between the VPN endpoints.
Why it's wrong here
Tunnel up means IKE is working.
✓
Route propagation and route tables in the VPC and on-premises.
Why this is correct
Missing routes are a common cause.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
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
How to think about this question
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.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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 Implementation — This question tests Network Implementation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Route propagation and route tables in the VPC and on-premises. — Option A is correct because the route tables on the on-premises router and in the VPC must have routes for the remote networks. Option B is incorrect because the VPN tunnel being up indicates Phase 1 and 2 are likely fine. Option C is incorrect because security groups are stateful and allow ICMP if outbound is allowed. Option D is incorrect because the VPN connection is active.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 question wrong?
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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
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