- A
ActiveConnectionCount and NewConnectionCount
Why wrong: These show connection counts but do not indicate if the ALB is overwhelmed.
- B
SurgeQueueLength and SpilloverCount
SurgeQueueLength shows pending requests, and SpilloverCount shows dropped requests when the ALB is overloaded.
- C
RequestCount and TargetResponseTime
Why wrong: These metrics indicate the number of requests and backend response times, not whether the ALB is overwhelmed.
- D
HealthyHostCount and UnhealthyHostCount
Why wrong: These indicate the health of target instances, not the ALB's capacity.
Question 1,486 of 1,705
ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network design. 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 company has deployed a web application using an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in front of EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The application experiences intermittent high latency. The network team suspects that the ALB is being overwhelmed by traffic. Which metrics should be analyzed in Amazon CloudWatch to determine if the ALB is the bottleneck?
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
✓
SurgeQueueLength and SpilloverCount
SurgeQueueLength and SpilloverCount are the correct metrics to analyze because they directly indicate whether the ALB is overwhelmed. SurgeQueueLength measures the number of requests waiting to be routed to a target, and SpilloverCount tracks requests that were rejected because the queue was full. If these metrics are consistently high or non-zero, the ALB is the bottleneck, as it cannot keep up with incoming traffic.
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.
- ✗
ActiveConnectionCount and NewConnectionCount
Why it's wrong here
These show connection counts but do not indicate if the ALB is overwhelmed.
- ✓
SurgeQueueLength and SpilloverCount
Why this is correct
SurgeQueueLength shows pending requests, and SpilloverCount shows dropped requests when the ALB is overloaded.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
RequestCount and TargetResponseTime
Why it's wrong here
These metrics indicate the number of requests and backend response times, not whether the ALB is overwhelmed.
- ✗
HealthyHostCount and UnhealthyHostCount
Why it's wrong here
These indicate the health of target instances, not the ALB's capacity.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse metrics that show traffic or backend performance (like RequestCount or TargetResponseTime) with metrics that specifically measure ALB internal congestion, leading them to overlook SurgeQueueLength and SpilloverCount.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
These show connection counts but do not indicate if the ALB is overwhelmed.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the ALB uses a request queue per listener; when the queue exceeds its capacity (default 1024 requests), new requests are spilled and return 503 errors. SurgeQueueLength is a gauge metric that spikes during traffic bursts, while SpilloverCount is a cumulative counter; analyzing both together helps distinguish transient spikes from sustained overload. In real-world scenarios, a high SurgeQueueLength with zero SpilloverCount may indicate the ALB is handling the load but with increased latency, whereas any SpilloverCount confirms the ALB is dropping requests.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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 exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Network Design — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Network Design practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All ANS-C01 questions
1,705 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
ANS-C01 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related ANS-C01 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Network Management and Operations practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Management and Operations.
Network Security, Compliance and Governance practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Security, Compliance and Governance.
Network Design practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Design.
Network Implementation practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Implementation.
ANS-C01 fundamentals practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 fundamentals.
ANS-C01 scenario practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 scenario.
ANS-C01 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free ANS-C01 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ANS-C01 question test?
Network Design — This question tests Network Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: SurgeQueueLength and SpilloverCount — SurgeQueueLength and SpilloverCount are the correct metrics to analyze because they directly indicate whether the ALB is overwhelmed. SurgeQueueLength measures the number of requests waiting to be routed to a target, and SpilloverCount tracks requests that were rejected because the queue was full. If these metrics are consistently high or non-zero, the ALB is the bottleneck, as it cannot keep up with incoming traffic.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More ANS-C01 practice questions
- A financial services company has a VPC with a public subnet and a private subnet. EC2 instances in the private subnet ne…
- A company is designing a network security architecture for a multi-account environment using AWS Transit Gateway. The se…
- A company is using AWS Direct Connect to connect its on-premises network to AWS. The company wants to encrypt all traffi…
- A company uses AWS Transit Gateway to connect multiple VPCs and on-premises networks via AWS Site-to-Site VPN. The secur…
- A company runs a web application on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The application must be acc…
- A global e-commerce company uses a hub-and-spoke network topology with a transit VPC in us-east-1. Each spoke VPC has an…
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.