- A
ALB in private subnets, EC2 in private subnets with a NAT gateway.
Why wrong: ALB would not receive internet traffic.
- B
ALB in public subnets, EC2 in private subnets.
Standard architecture for internet-facing ALB.
- C
ALB in public subnets, EC2 in public subnets.
Why wrong: Backend instances should be private for security.
- D
ALB in private subnets, EC2 in public subnets.
Why wrong: ALB needs internet access.
Question 1,673 of 1,705
ANS-C01 Network Implementation Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network implementation. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 is deploying a web application in a VPC with an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in front of EC2 instances. The ALB must only accept traffic from the internet and forward it to the instances. Which subnet configuration is correct for the ALB and EC2 instances?
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
✓
ALB in public subnets, EC2 in private subnets.
An Application Load Balancer (ALB) must be deployed in public subnets to accept traffic directly from the internet, as it requires an internet gateway (IGW) route to receive inbound connections. The EC2 instances should reside in private subnets to enhance security, as they only need to respond to the ALB via the VPC's internal routing, not directly from the internet. This configuration ensures the ALB handles internet-facing traffic while the instances remain isolated from direct external access.
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.
- ✗
ALB in private subnets, EC2 in private subnets with a NAT gateway.
Why it's wrong here
ALB would not receive internet traffic.
- ✓
ALB in public subnets, EC2 in private subnets.
Why this is correct
Standard architecture for internet-facing ALB.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
ALB in public subnets, EC2 in public subnets.
Why it's wrong here
Backend instances should be private for security.
- ✗
ALB in private subnets, EC2 in public subnets.
Why it's wrong here
ALB needs internet access.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume both the ALB and EC2 instances must be in the same subnet type (both public or both private), failing to recognize that the ALB acts as a reverse proxy that can bridge internet-facing public subnets with backend private subnets.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the ALB's internet-facing scheme assigns it a public IP address and requires the subnet's route table to have a default route (0.0.0.0/0) pointing to an internet gateway; the ALB then forwards traffic to the target group using private IP addresses within the VPC. In a real-world scenario, this architecture allows the ALB to terminate TLS connections and offload SSL processing, while the EC2 instances in private subnets can be further secured with security groups that only allow traffic from the ALB's security group. A subtle behavior is that the ALB's health checks to the instances must succeed via the VPC's internal network, requiring the instance security groups to allow traffic from the ALB's subnet CIDR or security group.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Visual reference
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ANS-C01 question test?
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: ALB in public subnets, EC2 in private subnets. — An Application Load Balancer (ALB) must be deployed in public subnets to accept traffic directly from the internet, as it requires an internet gateway (IGW) route to receive inbound connections. The EC2 instances should reside in private subnets to enhance security, as they only need to respond to the ALB via the VPC's internal routing, not directly from the internet. This configuration ensures the ALB handles internet-facing traffic while the instances remain isolated from direct external access.
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.
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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.
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